The perfect Christmas present?

I have a couple of suggestions (below) that might help you to buy the perfect Christmas presents. . . suggestions prompted by thoughts about what we spend our money on each Christmas. Especially, as your local Chamber of Commerce wants you to get out and 'shop for Ireland' this Christmas and help rescue the economy.

(Lord save us, they've even turned the lights on a whole month early . . . low-energy lights, but still, hardly the right message, and this from a Green coalition.)

Irish households already spend rather a lot of money at this time of year -- regularly topping the list of big spenders. According to the latest Deloitte survey, even with the current recession and cutbacks, we still expect to spend more than our European neighbours: nearly €1400 all told, and half of that will go on presents.

Except that, up to one-third of those presents are not appreciated. That amounts to about €250 million in wasted money. Not to mention all the time wasted in crowded shops trying to decide what to buy. Simpler and cheaper, you might think, just to take some rubbish and wrap it, with a gift tag saying: Bin this!

So, instead, here are a couple of simple gift ideas that might help you to choose the perfect present.

The first tip, though it may sound obvious, is to buy something the person wants. And if you don’t know or you're too shy to ask, then simply take a lesson from the three Wise Men, and give them gold (in other words: money, or a gift voucher). They will make sure to buy the present they want.

The second tip, is to give something 'insubstantial' -- an 'experience' rather than a 'thing'. Could be a golf lesson, tickets for a gig, a night at the theatre, or a voucher for a massage. Let's face it, most of us already have enough stuff, but we all like a night out from time to time, or a special treat.

Give insubstantial gifts like these, and you're essentially buying people (or at least, some of their time), rather than things.

You don't waste time or money or packaging or wrapping, it's more sustainable and, perhaps most importantly at the moment, you'll be directly supporting Irish jobs. What's not to like.

Image: this year's Beauty and the Beast pantomime at Galway Town Hall Theatre.