The best practical gifts for the home this festive season

Leading Irish home interiors retailers share top tips on shopping for presents the recipient will use all year round

For those who treat shopping as a hobby, this really is the most wonderful time of the year. For the rest of us who dread the shops at the best of times, any tips for making the process of choosing Christmas gifts as effort-free as possible, are welcome.

I have a particular love of buying gifts for the home, but also tackle some Christmas week conjuring of homemade ones — typically, a jar of mincemeat and a pound of shortcrust pastry presented in prettyish, reusable containers. Other times it’s a Christmas cake on a fancy plate, but there are times when retail beckons, especially online when time is tight.