A long weekend of warmth, wonder and welcome — for families who need it most.

This Advent, we're bringing families out of emergency accommodation for three nights at a family-run hotel in the west of Ireland — full board, a Christmas morning of their own, and presents for every child. We couldn't do it without you.

A long weekend

Three nights, Thursday to Sunday, full board

A Christmas morning

Presents under the tree for every child

Three towns

Leenane, Westport & Clifden — a winter weekend by the water
The Programme

Christmas asks us to come home.

But for families living in emergency accommodation across Ireland, home is the one thing the season cannot offer — a hostel room shared with strangers, a hub where the lights go out on someone else's schedule, a hotel that houses them but was never theirs.

Home for Christmas gives those families a long weekend in the west of Ireland — three nights of peace where the mountains meet the water. Each family receives full-board accommodation, a Christmas dinner together, and presents under a tree for every child. We run it in the Advent weeks before Christmas, so the day itself is still theirs at home.

They already live in hotels. They have never been guests. This is not a solution to homelessness — but it is a weekend where a family can close a door, light a lamp, and be together in a place that is briefly, beautifully, theirs.

What a stay is
First of its kind

The first programme of its kind in Ireland.

Charities across Ireland and the UK do vital work at Christmas — meals, gifts, support — and a few UK charities fund holidays for families on low incomes. But none takes families out of emergency accommodation and away somewhere beautiful for a Christmas of their own. Home for Christmas treats the break itself as the point: not a step to services, but a few days where a family can simply be a family.

Why full price

We pay full price. On purpose.

We pay the full rate for every room and every meal. Rural hotels are the heart of their villages — they employ local people and keep communities going through the quiet months. Booking at full rate in the shoulder season is an investment in the whole community that welcomes the families. Every stay helps two communities at once.

A Stay

What each family receives.

Three nights, full board

Thursday to Sunday, every meal together at a laid table — including a Christmas dinner on the Saturday.

A Christmas morning of their own

Presents under the tree for every child, chosen with care and wrapped — plus a welcome hamper and a stocking each.

Time in the west

Transport laid on, walks by the water and the hills, and a little spending money for the village.

Where & when

Three weekends. Three towns.

The programme takes the first three weekends of Advent, in three of the loveliest towns in the west of Ireland. Each weekend runs Thursday to Sunday, so every family is home well before Christmas Day.

Weekend oneThu 26 – Sun 29 Nov 2026
Weekend twoThu 3 – Sun 6 Dec 2026
Weekend threeThu 10 – Sun 13 Dec 2026

Three towns in the west

Leenane

A village at the head of Killary Harbour, where the mountains fall straight to the water — the quiet edge of Connemara.

Westport

A heritage town beneath Croagh Patrick, with a lit main street, tree-lined mall, and a welcome built for families.

Clifden

The capital of Connemara, set between the Twelve Bens and the Atlantic — a small town that knows how to keep Christmas.

Which town hosts which weekend is confirmed closer to the season. One programme, three communities — we rotate the same warm weekend between the towns, so more of rural Ireland shares in it.

Get Involved

Four ways to be part of it.

Whether you give, nominate a family, lend a hand, or open a hotel's doors — the programme runs on the people around it.

Stay in touch

Follow the season.

A short note now and then — how the programme is coming together, and how to help. No noise.