About the book
‘Finding Nutmeg’ is a charming, imaginative Christmas tale that brings the magic of Christmas home this year and is must-have for all children aged 3-100+ years old.
Although Christmas is different for each and every family, 'Finding Nutmeg' the book gives an opportunity to create new traditions that bring the whole family together.
This beautifully illustrated children’s book details the story of one boy’s magical adventure to the North Pole. After finding a magical coin outside his grandad’s workshop, Sean embarks on a mission to return it to its rightful owner: Nutmeg the Elf. Join Sean on his journey to find Nutmeg as he meets elves, reindeer and even a talking snowman along the way—all while learning about the importance of helping and giving (the true qualities of an elf!).
Written by Limerick native, Greg Clarke, and illustrated by Des Langford and Deborah Hilbert, ‘Finding Nutmeg’, is a timeless tale that’s sure to bring the whole family together. And for the year that’s in it, ‘Finding Nutmeg’ will help families re-create the magic of The Santa Experience safely in their homes.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the book, Greg, who is the Managing Director of The Santa Experience (Now Santa's Magical Cabin), said the book is the product of a lifetime love for everything festive, as well as his experiences interacting with thousands of families and witnessing their joy and happiness as they visit Santa at one of their locations.
He said: “I grew up in a house where Christmas was a big deal – and retrieving the giant box from the attic once a year was an eagerly anticipated moment. The night spent decorating the entire house from carefully drawn blueprints was the best family fun.
“’Finding Nutmeg’ came from a love of Christmas and knowing what makes a Christmas experience authentic, genuine and magical. We have learned this not only from years of creating and building Santa's Magical Cabin but also from interacting with thousands of families and seeing children’s reactions as they journey through the North Pole on their way to visit Santa.”
"As opposed to a once-a-year event for families, owning ‘Finding Nutmeg’ allows children to relive the magic time and time again, pass it on to other family members, and create traditions that can live on forever, ” Greg added.
‘Finding Nutmeg’ will be available to purchase from October 2023.
About the Author
Greg was born and raised in Limerick City. He grew up in a house where Christmas was a big deal.Retrieving the “giant” box from the attic once a year was an eagerly anticipated moment and the night spent decorating the entire house from carefully drawn blueprints was the best family fun.
He attended Scoil Ide national school, St.Munchins College secondary school and Limerick Institute of Technology where he studied Property Valuation & Management. He worked in Industrial property sales and lettings for over 7 years in Dublin before finally partnering with his father Ger to run the new family business, Magic Hammer Events Ltd.
The previous year Greg had helped his father bring the vision of “The Santa Experience” (Now called Santa's Magical Cabin) to life. A pre-booked, multi-family, multi-room interactive experience where families travel through the Elves Post Office, Stables, Sleigh Station and the North Pole before arriving at Santa’s House where Santa knows some personal information about each child. The Clarkes love of Christmas and Ger’s previous experience in amateur theatre production as well as a successful career working at a high level in American multi-nationals was a great recipe to create this magical experience. Greg took to creating scripts, designing and building scenes as well as marketing and social media. Over the years together with Greg’s wife Melanie they honed and fine-tuned Santa's Magical Cabin to where it is now in 6 cities in Ireland and saw 65,000 people in 2022.
Greg also loves traveling and the year prior to the Santa Experience commencing whilst in Barcelona he met his future wife, Melanie , who is now also an integral part of the team. They live in Limerick City but also frequent Melanie’s hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Finding Nutmeg came from a love of Christmas and knowing what makes a Christmas experience
authentic, genuine and magical from years of creating and building The Santa Experience but also learning from interacting with thousands of families and seeing children’s reactions.