Interiors: Ideas for last-minute gifts they won't want to return 

With a week to go, here are practical presents less likely to be left languishing on the re-gift pile or to be set aside in January

The fireside stool by Studio Harris (from €360) also works as an occasional table with storage. Along with the Baidin ceramics by Luke Sisk (from €22), they are from the sustainable product range at Cork-based Origineire.

 For the last time this year I’m recommending Christmas gifts for the home to anyone who has left their shopping until Christmas week.

Online might still be an option, especially if buying from an Irish-based company, but check delivery dates with the company before piling up your cart.

Otherwise, it’s time to hit the real live shops.

The Joanna throw from Meadows & Byrne, €150.

WARM AND COSY

I’m nostalgic for the electric blanket since they made a comeback. Maybe it’s the times we’re living in that extra comfort and warmth is reassuring.

DID Electrical’s Imetec heated underblanket (from €69.99) is definitely one for grown-ups, but if there’s a new arrival in your circle, Avoca has launched a new range of traditional (non-electric) baby blankets in time for Christmas in blue or pink check (€59.99).

Meadows & Byrne’s Joanna wool throw is in grey for year-round use (€150), and the Sherpa throw in red has naive-style tree motifs and fluffy white trim (€49.95). You can go for a Christmas-friendly look with the Leaping Deer (€69.99), a knit with red detail on a cream background that you can bring out every Christmas.

A GOOD READ

I love a good cook book, especially one steering clear of frothy île flottante in spun sugar cages, and the sticky aftermath on kitchen surfaces.

Three yummy options I’d love Santa baby to slip under the tree for me are In Minutes (€20) by Corkonian Clodagh McKenna, whose star is rising with an Instagram following of 200k and major television appearances.

She’s dishing up meals taking 10, 20, and 30 minutes to make, which sounds the business when the only time you might commit to slaving over pots is Christmas Day.

I also fancy indulging in the delectable recipes Yotam Ottolenghi contrives from his travels around the Mediterranean rim in his Channel 4 series, so I’m coveting a stocking filler like Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love. Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer.

It treats us to recipes from behind the scenes in Ottolenghi’s test kitchen, where his team does what we all do: Stand in front of the kitchen cupboard bewildered, trying to figure out what we can concoct from the contents — typically a can of chickpeas and a bottle of hot sauce.

MULTIFUNCTION

If something performs more than one task I’m sold, so a fireside stool by Studio Harris (from €360) from new Cork business Origineire, hits the mark.

Triple-functioning as a seat with storage for books, it’s just the right height to reimagine itself as a side table for perching a fireside hot chocolate on a chilly day — possibly drunk from the Baidin ceramic cups Origineire also sells, made by Luke Sisk, from €22.

Carry it in on a tray, which is something you never have too many of at Christmas for drinks, casual TV dinners, and trying to mealscape leftovers so they have maximum appeal three days later.

The rattan Feldspat tray from JYSK (€20) is an option, or take it visiting with a selection of cheeses and a nice crusty loaf.

Meadows & Byrne’s Sheesham round serving board with handles (€69) doubles up as a tray with its raised edge, but could multi-task to carry a spectacularly decorated Christmas cake.

Clean Slate's scented candle collection includes Homebody, a fragrance with notes of pine and lemon (€20).

MAKING SCENTS

Did you know that scenting your wedding is a thing? Apparently, you commission a perfumier to design a fragrance that is diffused at your wedding venue so you and your guests will always associate it with the day. Same goes for scenting the home, if you have several grand down the back of the sofa.

However, if like me you’re buying off the shelf, happily there are delectable scented candles and diffusers around in an ever-developing market. Seasonally appropriate is cedar, clove and amber, a combination offered by Irish luxury candle maker Rathbornes, which has been in business since 1488.

Rathbornes blends candle-making experience since 1488 with modern fragrance combinations. The Cedar, Cloves & Amber gift set includes a scented candle and a diffuser (€90), from Brown Thomas and Kilkenny.

Splash out on a gift set (€90) which includes a scented candle and diffuser or, if something with culinary notes for the season of over-eating is more your thing, Clean Slate offers espresso and coconut (from €20) to rouse you from Christmas hibernation. Another option is Homebody (from €20), inspired by the wood and oil of the Palo Santo tree. Think pine mixed with lemon.