Christmas spending - A time for perspective

DESPITE the fact that our world seems to be collapsing all around us we will spend more than the vast majority of Europeans – the people standing between us and bankruptcy – this Christmas.

Despite cutting our Christmas budget by just over 10%, in Europe only Luxembourg will spend more than Ireland decking the halls with holly.

Christmas has been a festival of excess for many years and in our pomp (borrowed) our celebrations often passed the line between appropriate and excess.