The most wonderful time of year will officially begin tonight, as we all know that Christmas really only kicks off when the opening credits to The Late Late Toy Show roll in.  The big event is now only hours away and excitement levels are undoubtedly sky high in households across the country, whether there are kids in them or not.

Many of you Toy Show veterans out there will know that while of course it's a live television show and anything could happen, there are a few predictable scenarios that are guaranteed to occur every year.

1. Kid goes off script

No matter how much planning goes into The Late Late Toy Show, at the end of the day, you are dealing with live television and children that are up way past their bedtime. Sometimes they will simply freeze up, at other times, well, you wouldn't know what would come out of their mouths.

2. A celebrity will surprise a kid

Look, sometimes it's Ed Sheeran, other times it's Evelyn Cusack, no matter what way it goes, you can guarantee a kid is going to be surprised by their hero tonight.

3. Ryan squirts the audience with some shooting device (easy..)

This trick harks back to the days of Gay Byrne, but it is a custom that both Pat Kenny and Ryan Tubridy adopted after him. Essentially it's just a way of waking the audience up a bit... with some gentle water boarding.


4. Christmas jumper galore

It was Ryan that got this tradition going, with Pat and Gay opting for more of a 'Sunday mass' look when they presented The Toy Show. It's taken off so much that there are now odds on the colour and pattern of his jumper, while there's competitions to design it. So yeah, you can be pretty sure there will even be a few Christmas jumper costume changes tonight.

5. One kid will win the heart of the nation

We had the kid who was starstruck meeting Robbie Keane, Fergal the co-host, Ashley the singer, and who could ever forget aspiring horologist John Joe? Don't even try and stay strong, because one of these mini people will steal your heart away tonight.

 6. Billy Barry kids EVERYWHERE

It was all we wanted to be as a child. ALL WE WANTED. Although it wouldn't help that the only time we remembered this was when we watched The Toy Show, and then promptly forgot until the following year.

7. Over-achiever kid

This is the one who makes you question what you've been doing with your life. This little Doogie Howser has read more books than you, won more awards than you and generally has their shi*t more together than you ever will.

8. Vehicle parade

Our favourite part of the entire show. This is always a hilarious mess of the highest order. As we said before, kids and live TV are a difficult match... and then they go and put them behind the wheel. One kid usually just stares into the abyss as he drives by, another will probably crash or at least look like he's about to, and some are just so busy trying to get from A to B that they have no time for entertaining Tubbers....

Catch The Late Late Toy Show tonight on RTE1 at 9.35pm.

How do all the world’s Santas #StayStrong at Christmas? They train their mindset to #StayStrong throughout the holiday struggles.
Actimel takes us into the training grounds for Santa Claus and show us how they train to prepare for Christmas.