Thumbs up/Season's eatings:Organic online retailer Ballybrado Direct is selling a range of fabulous-sounding Christmas treats on its website (www.ballybrado.com).
As well as organic plum puddings and fruit cakes, the site also has roasted hazelnuts in a cinnamon chocolate/nougat coating, apple cinnamon almond bites covered in milk chocolate and very posh-sounding Advent calendars.
Thumbs up/V3 and no crowds
Pet rocks, maths books and highlighter pens are among the worst Christmas gifts, according to a shopping survey carried out by the online Visa voucher company V3. The research also shows that 40 per cent of people hate fighting through crowds the most, while the absence of parking and the tendency to overspend also feature prominently. Naturally enough, V3 has a solution to all three problems with its prepaid vouchers, which allow people shop online without revealing their credit card details. Notwithstanding the shameless linking of their product with the festive season, the vouchers - issued by Permanent TSB - make online shopping available to everyone over 16.
Thumbs up/Do your duty
Duty-free allowances are to be doubled for people returning from outside the EU. The move, agreed by European finance ministers in Brussels last Tuesday, means shopping trips to cities such as New York could become even cheaper. Recently, European judges ruled that online and mail-order shoppers should not be allowed to buy cut-price cigarettes and alcohol from anywhere in the EU.
Thumbs up/Online tickets
Last week we highlighted the fact that the National Concert Hall could not offer children's tickets to people booking online for the Dublin County Choir's Christmas Festival show. That show is booked out but also takes place on December 23 in The Helix, which offers tickets online for children - they cost €10.
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