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Santa with one of the presents he got round to wrapping. Shutterstock/Melpomene

Poll: Does Santa wrap presents in your house?

He seems to go along with each family’s traditions but what was yours?

WE NEVER THOUGHT we would get to this point but here it is: our readers are having a row over Santa.

Emmet Lynch got in contact with us to ask if we could help solve a “heated discussion” between him and his wife over whether Santa wraps presents that he drops off to children each Christmas.

In Emmet’s house growing up, Santa didn’t leave wrapped presents – “It’s great to see everything together and ready to play with,” says Emmet. But in his wife Emma’s house, Santa always left wrapped presents – “She says it’s all about the excitement of opening the wrapping paper.”

CLEARLY, Santa goes along with whatever family tradition rules in each household because he knows everything and just wants everyone to be happy.

But it got us wondering.

Did Santa leave wrapped presents in your house?


Poll Results:

No, of course not (7909)
Yes, of course (6191)
I only ever got a lump of coal (426)

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    Mute The Green Monkey
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    Feb 21st 2024, 5:51 PM

    What is the reason behind not being allowed to comment on the Genocide in Gaza. Comments were open on stories relating to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia until after the attacks on 7th of October. There is very little anti-Semitism in Ireland, Most people detest what the State of Israel are doing but don’t automatically blame the international Jewish community for Israel’s actions.

    Thejournal.ie can not pass themselves off as free and impartial journalists if they pick and choose which stories are open for comment.

    299
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    Mute Daniel Gilroy
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    Feb 21st 2024, 5:56 PM

    @The Green Monkey: Well said.

    106
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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Feb 21st 2024, 8:00 PM

    @The Green Monkey: By shutting down criticism of Israel, The Journal is complicit in Israeli atrocities.

    33
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    Mute Thomas Sheridan
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    Feb 21st 2024, 8:10 PM

    @The Green Monkey: Most people haven’t studied the Hamas Covenant 1988 – where they vow to wipe out, not just Israel but all of us that done believe in their rubbish.
    Meanwhile, our Tanaiste, Micheál Martin, accuses Israel of disinformation for saying that UN workers were involved in the Oct 7 massacre, when video images are online that show hostages being taken away in UN vehicles and Hamas and UN sharing the same office block.
    There is some merit to the Israeli ambassador stating that there isn’t balanced comment in Ireland regarding the Palestinian issues.
    And probably not a very deep understanding by many commentators, I would suggest.
    And that’s not saying that all Israeli are wonderful people – at least not until compared to their neighbours

    27
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    Mute The Green Monkey
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    Feb 21st 2024, 9:16 PM

    @Thomas Sheridan: and what’s the excuse for what’s happening in the West Bank?

    17
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    Mute Tom Newell
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:00 PM

    Like telling us politicians lie to get elected or that we never bailed out the banks was that true or misinformation……depends on whos using it like most things

    232
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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Feb 22nd 2024, 10:24 AM

    @Gregory C Donoghue: NAMA acquired loans for €31.8bn which were worth €26.2bn at the time of acquisition. It paid €31.8bn for these loans – €26.2bn being their market value at the time plus an extra €5.6bn in State Aid to Participating Institutions. NAMA has completed the full repayment of the €31.8bn it borrowed to acquire these loans.

    4
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    Mute Pelagius Asturias
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:42 PM

    Yeah just vote No, the way some ministers have been caught out over the last few days, I wouldn’t trust them to tell the time.

    214
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    Mute Paul Kavanagh
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:13 PM

    No one believes politicians or their stooges any longer. They are getting desperate.

    239
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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:58 PM

    Journalism as a profession is dead. Those who describe themselves as journalists are merely purveyors of propaganda. They are told what is expected of them, and if their scribblings don’t follow the narrative, it isn’t published and they are out of a job!

    188
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    Mute ForrestG45
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    Feb 21st 2024, 7:30 PM

    @Brian Hunt: Gemma is, according to herself, an investigative journalist. That made me smile.

    27
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    Mute colette byrne
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    Feb 22nd 2024, 11:58 PM

    @Brian Hunt: I spoke to a journalism student, asked did their college encourage investigative journalism.
    He said no. So speaks volumes.

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    Mute Irish Axe
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:11 PM

    Every day is Fools Day with this Government

    211
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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    Feb 21st 2024, 7:34 PM

    It’s a pity this commission wasn’t set up before the last election when Mehole said he wouldn’t go into coalition with fg. How many thousands of votes did ff get extra by him saying this. Or even before when roger rabbit said oh that’s what you do at election time I.e. LIE.

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    Mute Sean O'Dhubhghaill
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    Feb 21st 2024, 5:47 PM

    That bit about separate registers is a problem. At one time many years ago I was on 3 registers, in 3 constituencies. My home in Wicklow, my student address in Dublin, and a work address where I lived for 8 months. There needs to be 1 central register where people are coded by a PPSN. All citizens are allocated one and it is a unique identifier. Though personally I believe this country needs a National ID card, along the lines of the Public Services Card. It would streamline many services.

    54
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    Mute Sean O'Dhubhghaill
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:06 PM

    @William Slevin: Would a national id card not be an obvious way to distinguish between citizens and others, which seems to be whatbyou, in particular, wish for?

    22
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    Mute Wolfgang Bonow
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    Feb 21st 2024, 8:23 PM

    @Sean O’Dhubhghaill: I’m 100% in favour of a national ID card: 1 specific card for 1 specific person. I cannot find anything wrong with that.

    8
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    Mute Mayo seem to be the football equivalent of Waterfo
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    Feb 21st 2024, 9:59 PM

    Anyone who thinks Democracy works in this country needs to think again. The government only accepts the answer they want. If the voting population decides to say no when the politicians wanted a yes then we are just made to vote again. Anyone remember the Lisbon treaty?

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    Mute Damien Leahy
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:51 PM

    Democracy in Ireland is a waste of time as we’re he’ll bent on voting in the same corrupt c###s over and over again because our daddies voted for they’re daddies.

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:15 PM

    Serious damage can be done to your head by listening to this know-all!

    47
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    Mute John Boyle
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:12 PM

    Since the beginning of time disinformation has been .yoused to miss lead the people and you have no call to ask hue I mean

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    Mute Donal Desmond
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    Feb 21st 2024, 10:31 PM

    When Martin stated …There was NO BANK Bailout…Was that the truth or disinformation? When the Attorney General got Varadkar off the hook concerning Zappone gate with rules discovered which came a a shock to the Hospitality sector… Was that the truth or DISINFORMATION? …FFG since the foundation of this state have spread so much disinformation and censorship that their pretend hypocrisy is comical.

    46
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    Mute Donal Desmond
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    Feb 22nd 2024, 1:05 PM

    @Gregory C Donoghue: Facts seem to elude you constantly. Perhaps you could explain the Billions of taxpayers money that was taken from the economy to repay for the gangsterism of the banks and developers facilated by FF/ Greens. The added mess created by FG/ So called Labour..Remember they enforced austerity to repay for the gangsterism of the above…As for Varadkar…Attorney General got him off the hook by inventing rules the Hospitality industry didn’t know about…The leaking of confidential government documents by Varadkar has not gone away…PS how many fake profiles are you using at the moment?

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    Mute Sun Rise
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:29 PM

    One doesn’t have to look any further than these very comment sections to see those who have been conned by disinformation.

    They spout nonsense about comments sections under articles relating to the conflict in Gaza as being part of some pro-Zionist agenda when the truth is that comments are not allowed as contributors can’t be trusted to be civil. They don’t have the brain capacity to understand this.

    The disinformation crew will often call others ‘woke’ too. This isca giveaway. They claim others are sheep who just fall into line whilst the disinformed themselves are not aware that they are being used as pawns by others. Again, this is due to their brain capacity.

    From what I have seen, most of the disinformation regarding politics comes from the right, those who are full of hate, those who live in conspiracy land and let’s be honest, Trump supporters knowingly swallow and share so much disinformation without really considering that it is nonsense.

    The spread of disinformation has one advantage, it really is a very easy way to identify simpletons. The number of simpletons is staggering.

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    Mute Jerry LeFrog
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:46 PM

    @Sun Rise: wow, long comment but well written (a feast for the eyes with no grammatical horrors, hats off to you, it’s becoming rare in here!). Perfectly sums many ‘moderate’ people’s thoughts

    17
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    Mute Thomas Sheridan
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    Feb 21st 2024, 10:45 PM

    @Sun Rise: You are trying to take the high moral ground and call out people for not being civil.
    But you take it upon yourself to declare that people you don’t agree with are being used as pawns, have limited brain capacity, can’t be trusted, lack awareness, are full of hate, live in conspiracy land, are simpletons….
    You and Mr Putin seem to have a lot in common. Have you considered using his methods to deal with these dysfunctional people that you so eloquently identified.

    18
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    Mute Chris
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    Feb 21st 2024, 5:55 PM

    Going to vote YES not for the Government, which is failing in a few major problems, but against the hordes of misinformers, conspirationists and in general the people who can’t think for the general good but for their tiny, mean life where if they feel they failed themselves they need to drag in their own fate everybody else.

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    Mute R B
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:08 PM

    @Chris: I honestly think this is the most ridiculous post I have seen on this site and that says a lot.

    “I’ll vote to spite ppl who are interested in the future of their country”

    Just read up on both sides and make a decision like an adult, one that you can actually believe you did what was right for the country.

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    Mute Chris
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:10 PM

    @William Slevin: no, I am deeply informed and that’s why I realised all these people who only see conspiracies are doing this because of personal failures in their lives. Actually I read the website, I got the flyer in the post, like everybody else, I read about it and it’s gonna be Yes. We live in 2024, not in 1988, like our big red neighbour east of EU want us to live.

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    Mute Chris
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    Feb 21st 2024, 6:15 PM

    @R B: QED.

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    Feb 22nd 2024, 9:16 AM

    @Gregory C Donoghue: You have to be 18 to vote.

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    Mute Niall Murphy
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    Feb 22nd 2024, 12:31 AM

    Dont politicians lie and spread disinformation?

    It’s been a slippery slope into a deep state of censorship, that we’ve been on for some time now and it looks like it might get worse.

    22
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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Feb 21st 2024, 10:36 PM

    It’s this government’s fault. “DURABLE RELATIONSHIP”

    20
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    Mute Wombleman
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    Feb 21st 2024, 9:49 PM

    Ah jaysus, what’s going on here – auld Willie Slevin is posting on the day before dole day. Normally his credit is out, his leccie meter is beeping and he’s recycling the butts of his rollies by now – he must have had a winner on the horsies!

    He’s also not capable of any genuine critical thinking. He mentions that the average age of Covid deaths is 83 and then goes to say the average life expectancy is 83 as if it means that those people would have died anyway.

    His brain isn’t capable of realising that whilst the average life expectancy is 83, this means that those who are actually 83 today do not have a future life expectancy of 0, rather they will live on average for another 3 years, the pre 83 deaths bring down the average.

    Confirmation bias, blinkers, poor education (as evidenced by his grammar) and the fact that he subscribes to exactly the same conspiracy theories as all of the other ‘do your own researchers’ exposes him for what he is.

    Disillusioned with his own life and looking for an imaginary bogieman to blame it on.

    Failure of a life Willie, try harder.

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    Mute Sun Rise
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    Feb 21st 2024, 11:19 PM

    The simpletons are busy.

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    Mute smatrix mantra
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    Feb 21st 2024, 10:25 PM

    Then you need to disinform the disinformationists.

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    Mute Wombleman
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    Feb 21st 2024, 10:40 PM

    @William Slevin: *you’re

    “at the age of age that the life expectancy” -it’s ironic that someone so anti-immigrant doesn’t even speak english.

    “would go along why to explain” – as above

    “ your constant delusional personal attacks are plain to see you can’t refute” – and again, as above

    “ and when your try once in a blue moon” – yep…

    Seriously Willie, I’m sorry to say it but, not only are you demonstrably uneducated, you don’t even show any inclination towards trying to improve.

    Now answer me this, if you are clearly showing absolutely no interest in trying to educate yourself to even a basic level, why do you think that other people might be interested in what you have to say?

    You can’t even convince yourself to think!

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