Frequently Asked Questions

About Christmas FM?

ChristmasFM.com is a family of Christmas Radio Stations and Festive Content Publisher. We create and curate a unique mix of content centered around the Magic of Christmas and deliver it on the radio and digitally via our website, player, apps and social networks. We serve a worldwide community who want to connect to that Christmas feeling. https://christmasfm.com/about-us/

No – Christmas FM is not a charity.  Christmas FM is a family of Christmas Radio Stations and Festive Content Publisher.  Christmas FM broadcasts on a temporary license from Coimisiún na Meán from Nov 28th for 30 days (subject to license) and streams online around the world throughout the year.  An important part of our activity is fundraising – since the station began in 2008 we have raised over €3,000,000 for a range of charities.  Revenue generated from on air sponsorship activity pays for the running costs of Christmas FM.  Read more about our history here https://christmasfm.com/our-history/

Charity

Give the Gift of Childhood to those who need it most, because every child deserves Magic at Christmas.

The Magic of Christmas Appeal is a fundraising initiative which brings together some of Ireland’s best known Children’s charities – Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland and a range of children’s charities across Ireland making a difference in local communities through Community Foundation Ireland – to raise over €1 million over the next two years for children who need it most.  So far, The Magic of Christmas appeal has raised over €300,000.

The funds will go directly towards helping vulnerable children in our communities affected by traumatic life events such as poverty, abuse, neglect and bereavement, and to supporting children whose lives are affected by serious childhood illness. By donating to The Magic of Christmas, you will Give the Gift of Childhood to those who need it most, because every child deserves Magic at Christmas.  Find out more https://christmasfm.com/themagicofchristmas/ 

Follow The Magic of Christmas on social media here:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/themagicofchristmas.ie
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/themagicofchristmas.ie
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SupportTheMagic

TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@christmasfm

The Magic of Christmas brings together some of Ireland’s best known Children’s charities – Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland and Community Foundation Ireland – to raise over €1 million in three years (2022-2024) for children who need it most.

The funds will go directly towards helping vulnerable children in our communities affected by traumatic life events such as poverty, abuse, neglect and bereavement, and to supporting children whose lives are affected by serious childhood illness.  By donating to The Magic of Christmas, you will Give the Gift of Childhood to those who need it most, because every child deserves Magic at Christmas.  Read more https://christmasfm.com/themagicofchristmas/

The Magic of Christmas appeal is a fundraising initiative which brings together some of Ireland’s best known Children’s charities – Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland and a range of children’s charities across Ireland making a difference in local communities through Community Foundation Ireland – to raise over €1 million in 3 years (2022-2024) for children who need it most. So far, The Magic of Christmas appeal has raised over €300,000.

The funds will go directly towards helping vulnerable children in our communities affected by traumatic life events such as poverty, abuse, neglect and bereavement, and to supporting children whose lives are affected by serious childhood illness. By donating to The Magic of Christmas, you will Give the Gift of Childhood to those who need it most, because every child deserves Magic at Christmas. 

Read more https://christmasfm.com/themagicofchristmas/ 

The Magic of Christmas is an independent not for profit social enterprise to allow Christmas FM to engage multiple charity partners and, by extension, help more children and causes than previously possible. As in previous years, Christmas FM will raise donations through The Magic of Christmas Fundraising appeal for its charity partner.

No, they don’t.  100% of donations generated by Christmas FM will go to The Magic of Christmas fundraising appeal.

100% of donations generated by Christmas FM will go to The Magic of Christmas Appeal. Like a lot of charities and not for profit organizations, The Magic of Christmas Appeal will make a budget available to cover essential running costs such as call center operations, ecommerce and website hosting, marketing and promotions and day to day administration and costs of fundraising.

Donations are split equally between charity partners Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland, and Community Foundation Ireland. No more than €1 of every €10 donated will be used to develop The Magic of Christmas fundraising initiative such as growing new media and other partnerships, marketing and promotions to help raise even more funds to reach more of the children who need it most.

100% of donations generated by Christmas FM will go to The Magic of Christmas Appeal. Revenue generated from on air sponsorship activity pays for the running costs of Christmas FM. This includes transmission network costs, licensing and royalties, compliance and insurance, programming, production, social and digital activity, website hosting, marketing and day to day administration.

Christmas FM is partnering with The Magic of Christmas appeal from 2022 for 3 years.  We will not be inviting applications for new partnerships until after that time period.

Get your office, school, college, or business involved in fundraising  – details of how to get involved are on 

https://themagicofchristmas.ie

Donations in Christmas 2022 to The Magic of Christmas Appeal went to support Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland and a range of children’s charities around Ireland with a local, community focus through the Community Foundation Ireland. Together we raised almost €300,000. 

Donations to The Magic of Christmas Appeal each year help a range of children’s charities around Ireland with a local, community focus through the Community Foundation Ireland. These Charities received a grant in 2023. Read more here https://themagicofchristmas.ie/2022-donations/

Key Dates

Christmas FM broadcasts on FM (subject to license) from November 28th to December 27th every year.  Listen here on FM and online https://christmasfm.com/listenin/

Text donations open at midday on 28th November every year when we start our FM run (subject to license).  Details are available on air, on socials and on the homepage https://christmasfm.com/

Christmas FM’s annual Donation Day is where we ask listeners and their friends to dig deep and help our charity partner. 

Donation Day takes place around 20th December annually (check our homepage/socials for exact date) – to raise funds for children’s charities Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland and Community Foundation Ireland through The Magic of Christmas appeal.  During the 12 hour long festive radiothon from 7am – 7pm Christmas FM will be asking you to help Give the Gift of Childhood to 5,000 children who need it most.

Donations can be made for Donation Day through our website https://christmasfm.com/ from anywhere in the world or by calling 0818 911977 (inside of Ireland only). 

The Christmas FM Song Contest details are available here – including entry dates and voting  https://christmasfm.com/songcontest

On-air

The FM schedule is announced towards the end of November every year and is available here https://christmasfm.com/about-us/schedule/

Due to the large volume of text messages we receive from listeners during our live programmes and during our FM run, we are unable to read out dedications at specific times.  Our presenters will endeavour to read out messages within one hour of the text reaching our donation text line – but this is not guaranteed due to the large numbers of texts we receive. 

Please do not send your dedication several hours/days in advance as we will not be able to schedule your dedication for a specific time.

Please note we are unable to play specific songs on request.  

Dedications are only accepted via our donation text line. 

Messages sent via social media, the website (unless outside of the Republic of Ireland) or other forms of communication do not reach the studio and will not be read out on air.

Unfortunately, we are not in a position to repeat messages or forward copies of messages to listeners.

Please do not contact the studio – instead read the Music Submissions guidelines answer below.  The form to submit music for airplay consideration is here and this is the only way new music can be submitted for airplay consideration: https://christmasfm.com/contact-christmas-fm/music-submissions/

Ways to listen

Christmas FM broadcasts on FM in Ireland only from November 28th to December 27th each year subject to licence – for a full list of frequencies click here https://christmasfm.com/our-fm-frequencies/ 

Besides listening on FM during our broadcast period, you can also listen to Christmas FM 24/7 every day throughout the year-

Online: https://christmasfm.com/listenin/

On our free mobile app: https://christmasfm.com/mobile-apps/ 

Virgin Media Digital TV subscribers in Ireland can listen to Christmas FM Ireland on Channel 900 (from November 28th).

If you have a Virgin Media 360 set top box with voice control – using the microphone button on the remote control say ‘radio’ to see the radio station menu screen then select Christmas FM

eir TV subscribers can listen to Christmas FM by selecting the ‘Channels’ option within the eir TV main menu and then selecting the ‘Radio’ option. Christmas FM can then be selected from this list. (available from November 28th to December 27th only each year). 

Christmas FM only broadcasts on FM in November and December in certain locations only.

You may be able to receive FM transmissions depending on geography or signal strength in your area – see the  frequencies here https://christmasfm.com/our-fm-frequencies/

 

If you cannot listen to us on FM, you can:

Listen Online at any time: https://play.christmasfm.com/

Download our app for iOS or Android: https://christmasfm.com/mobile-apps/ 

Listen on your SMART SPEAKER:

Alexa:
Enable the Christmas FM Skill by asking Alexa to ‘Enable the Christmas FM Skill’ and from then on just say ‘Start Christmas FM’ or click here and enable on your Amazon account

Google:
Say ‘Start Christmas FM’

Listen via the TuneIn radio app for iOS or Android or click here 

 

There are many ways of listening to Christmas FM all throughout the year

click here for all the ways to listen: https://christmasfm.com/listenin/

Christmas FM broadcasts on the FM band in Ireland in certain locations. This is dependent on several factors including budget and licensing limitations.

Contact Us

Please read all the FAQ’s to check that your question has not already been answered.

If you still wish to contact us, please select the most appropriate contact option for your query HERE

Please bear in mind that we are a small team and we do our best to respond to queries that are not covered in the FAQ’s or on our website or social media channels.

Mobile App

Our mobile application for iOS and Android devices is free to download from the App Store and Google Play. Click here to for details on our free app: https://christmasfm.com/mobile-apps/

Data charges may apply when using the application on mobile networks.

If you are experiencing difficulties with our mobile app,  here are a few things to check:

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ANDROID USERS ONLY: If you installed the Christmas FM Android app before November 18th, 2022 then you should do the following:

  • Delete the current version of the app from your device.
  • Visit the Google Play store and install the new Christmas FM app

General issues:

If you have difficulties with our mobile application the following may help you identify the issue.

  • The app requires a working data connection to stream. Please check that you have a data connection either over your mobile network or wifi.
  • Check if your phone can support the app. The minimum OS for each app version is as follows:
    • Android – Requires Android 4.1 (Jellybean) and up. Compatible with phones and tablets.
    • iOS – Requires iOS 13.0, iPadOS 13.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
  • Check your version by going to Settings > About on your phone/tablet and the version will be listed there.
  • Check if you are running the latest version of the app by visiting either the App Store or Google Play (Search for Christmas FM) and update from there.
  • Check you are running the latest version of your Operating System – go to Settings>Software updates
  • Some issues can be solved by exiting and restarting the app.

Currently our app does not support either CarPlay or Android Auto. We plan to have this functionality available in a future release.

If your car head unit supports Bluetooth, you can connect your mobile device and listen via the Christmas FM mobile app.

Smart Speakers

If you have an Alexa smart speaker:

  • For Christmas FM say “Alexa, Play Christmas FM”
  • For Christmas FM Classical  say “Alexa, Play Christmas FM Classical”
  • For Christmas FM Classics say “Alexa, Play Christmas FM Classics radio”

Alexa Skill:
You may prefer to activate our Alexa skill by saying: “Alexa, enable Christmas FM” or click here and enable the Christmas FM skill on your Amazon account. After that say “Alexa, start Christmas FM” 

Please note that Google Home media functionality is changing and some of these changes may impact availability. Service may be available outside the Republic of Ireland.

  • For Christmas FM Say “Start Christmas FM”
  • For Christmas FM Classicalsay “Talk to Christmas FM Classical”
  • For Christmas FM Classics say “Talk to Christmas FM Classics”

UK USERS: Please note that Google Homes uses TuneIn as its radio database. For legal reasons Christmas FM is not available on TuneIn in the UK. We recommend streaming from our website instead.

If you have a Sonos speaker, you can find Christmas FM in the Sonos Radio app or the TuneIn app which can be accessed in the Sonos mobile app.

UK USERS: Please note that Google Homes uses TuneIn as its radio database. For legal reasons Christmas FM is not available on TuneIn in the UK. We recommend streaming from our website instead.

  • Open Apple Music on your companion device.
  • Search for Christmas FM or Christmas FM Classics or Christmas FM Classical
  • Select the station and click play on your HomePod or when playing,  transfer to  HomePod
  • You can also open the Christmas FM app, TuneIn or other radio app and transfer the audio to your HomePod

Song Contest

Entry/voting form here https://christmasfm.com/songcontest/

Dates and times are subject to change – for the most up to date details click the song contest page here.   

The song contest is open for entry from Nov 1st 2024 at 11.00hrs. 

The contest closes for entry on Nov 29th at 13.00hrs.

Finalists will be announced on-air and public voting will take place on the website from 07.00hrs Sat 7th Dec to 18.00hrs Sun 8th Dec 2024.

The winner will be announced on the breakfast show on Monday 9th December 2024. 

https://christmasfm.com/songcontest/

Competition Rules – https://christmasfm.com/legal/competition-rules/#songcontest 

Volunteers & Work Experience

We are very grateful to all those who are interested in volunteering with us and who wish to support our work but we are no longer accepting volunteer submissions. We gather our team in various ways and we now have a full team. Thank you for your interest. If you are interested in Radio Training, please see Radio Training question below.

While we are very grateful to those who would like to have work experience at Christmas FM, we regret that we are not in a position to invite or accomodate applications from external under 18’s or Transition Year students on work experience at this stage. If you are interested in Radio Training, please see Radio Training question below.

Radio Training Courses

Music Submissions

Music submissions are ONLY accepted by completing the Music Submission form here: https://christmasfm.com/contact-christmas-fm/music-submissions/  

Submissions will not be accepted any other way and your correspondence will not be considered.  

Please be aware that we receive a very high number of new music submissions every year and only a small number are selected for playlist/airplay.  We will contact you if we are going to play your song – it is not necessary to contact us again after you have sent us your submission.  We are not in a position to offer feedback on submissions.  We are a small team and we thank you for your understanding.

Before making a music submission for airplay, please ensure your ‘sound’ and musical style fits one of our music formats below, to avoid disappointment. 

We have a family of radio stations playing specific types of Christmas songs:

Christmas FM Ireland plays a mix of contemporary Christmas pop and rock music mixed with traditional throwbacks and gold favourites from years gone by. 

Our Classical and Carols online channel plays a mix of carols, vocal and classical Christmas favourites.

Our Classics online channel plays a mix of classic adult standards songs and classic gold songs from pre 1975.

We do not accept music videos for play, for sharing or for broadcast – we only accept broadcast quality WAV or MP3 audio files submitted using the Music Submission process above.

Promotion & Sponsorship

Under our broadcast license we are not in a position to offer advertising. However, we do offer sponsorship and promotional packages. Please complete the Sponsorship/Promotions contact form here and one of our team will reply to your query: https://christmasfm.com/contact-christmas-fm/sponsorship-and-promotions/

No, they don’t.  Our on air volunteer team are all give their time for free.

Christmas FM has a small core management team and contractors who manage areas such as Administration, Programming, Technical, Production, Social and Marketing, PR, Streaming and Transmission and are paid from sponsorship revenue.

Media & PR Request

Please complete the form for Press/Media queries – this will reach our PR company who handle media requests.  https://christmasfm.com/contact-christmas-fm/ 

Social Media

In general, we are not in a position to accept content for our social media channels or online presence from external sources.  If you feel that you would be of particular media interest, please complete the contact form here https://christmasfm.com/contact-christmas-fm/

General Queries

Please visit our Legal Hub for details on our policies, competition rules and other terms and conditions: https://christmasfm.com/legal/

Our code of practice for programme complaints is here: https://christmasfm.com/complaints/

If you have feedback or a complaint about anything else, please contact us.

Please visit our Legal Hub for full details on our Privacy and Cookie Policy and how to amend your preferences: https://christmasfm.com/legal/

Christmas can be a time of celebration for many people, but for others it might be challenging.  We have compiled a list of helplines that you might consider reaching out to for guidance and support here  https://christmasfm.com/helplines/

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