Francis Brennan: How to put a sparkle in your Christmas

There’s no easy way around this readers: a great Christmas present won’t be bought in the mad dash run-up to Christmas.

And it certainly won’t be bought at 4.45pm on December 24th . I don’t know how many times I’ve had people racing in the door of the hotel late on Christmas Eve franctically looking for vouchers for the spa [at the Park Hotel, Kenmare].

People who do that kind of last minute shopping just don’t have the time to really think about what kind of present they are buying for a person, they’re just racing through a list, crossing names off.

Buying a good Christmas present is about finding the right present for each person and so ideally, it’s something you should keep at the back of your mind all year.

I could buy a Christmas present at any time of the year – even on a baking hot day in New York in June.

And so my advice would be if you see something that you know somebody will love in April or May, don’t put off buying it, buy it straight away and hide it at home.

For instance, I have a 17 year old nephew and he’s mad about boats. He helps organise the Bull Run for Fun, a cruise from Dromquinna Manor out to the Bull Rock every May Bank Holiday Weekend.Anyway, I was in an airport in London months ago when I spotted a GoPro camera. That’s just the kind of thing he’d love so I bought it and put it into the wardrobe.

There are lots of advantages to Christmas shopping during the year as it removes all that stress associated with tearing around doing last minute and it can also mean great value. All year Christmas shopping also means that you won’t run up an overdraft in the run-up to Christmas as spending is spread throughout the year.

Another thing to remember with present buying is to buy suitable presents. Don’t be buying a rugby ball for Granny! Presents need to be age appropriate as anything else shows a lack of thought.

Vouchers for clothes shops can be handy when buying for teenagers. I have 11 nieces and nephews to buy for! So, I’ll try and keep up with trends. Is Ambercrombie and Fitch out, Hollister in, what’s passé?

I’m always on the lookout for presents for them – and so when I’m travelling will always have one eye scanning for things like a quirky piggy bank, t-shirts with funny comments on them.

I have a stock of presents in a wardrobe at home so I never get caught by a birthday or an event. If I was to die, they’d have great fun going through the wardrobe trying to work out who each present was for!

I do get it wrong though. My 14 year old niece who lives in Dingle set me straight, it was very good the way that she did it though. She sent me a photograph of her father wearing one of the shirts that I’ve been buying him for years. I’d always bought him a large and the photo showed me quickly that he is NOT a large!

Also, I was speaking at a business event in Listowel last week and I discovered they have their own currency. You can go into the credit union and buy €10, €20 and € 50 vouchers that can only be spent in the town. This would make a great present for somebody living outside the town as they could turn it into a day trip and spend the day shopping, having lunch and the like.

Now vouchers are great but they can be that bit impersonal. In addition to the voucher, I’ll buy people something small that the person can keep like an ornament or a nice pen.So there you go, with 23 days shopping left there’s no excuse not to be on the shopping trail immediately!

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS. Francis Brennan’s Guide to Life, GILL & MACMILLAN