Panic is a complete no-no. Be of good cheer and remember that online shopping is the perfect foil for the last-minute-lucys and shopping phobics among us. 4giftsdirect.com, Ireland's largest worldwide gift delivery company, is the obvious place to start. All you have to do is a) have some plastic at the ready and b) ring 01-8611580 or order online.
LOFTY FASHIONS
Aisling Farinella has gathered together a group of 21 independent young fashion designers and artists, some established and some newcomers, just beside the Design Centre on the top floor of the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. It's called The Loft Market and it has high ambitions to be the cool place to shop on Saturday and Sundays from noon to 6pm. You'll find fashion from Chupi Sweetman, cute knits from Heather Finn, accessories from Sharon Ferguson (including the neckpiece above), all sorts of jewellery, vintage and organic clothing, graphic prints and even clothing and accessories for dogs - take a trot to Wendy's Wardrobe. The Loft Market is open at weekends only, but it will be opening daily in the run up to Christmas, and until 8pm from next Wednesday, December 20th. Deirdre McQuillan
WHAT'S ON THE MENU
Need to book a restaurant table in a hurry? Can't think of anywhere to go? What was that place that got the good review recently? Check out www.menupages.ie, a new restaurant review and booking website where you can look at menus, read user reviews, search for specific types of restaurant, find your chosen restaurant on a map, and book your table online. You can even search by dish: an inquiry for restaurants that serve venison gave 33 results, which filtered down to just one - Dali's - when the search was narrowed down to the Blackrock area of Dublin. At the moment, only Dublin restaurants are included on the site, but there are plans to go countrywide in the new year. Just six weeks since it went live, www.menupages.ie already has more than 2,000 registered users, and there are 789 menus to peruse. You can also earn free meals by submitting reviews of restaurants you've eaten in. Check it out, it's so much fun you'll be in danger of forgetting about dinner altogether. Marie-Claire Digby
FEND IT LIKE HENDRIX
Budding guitar stars, and, more likely, their parents, should take note of a range of special Christmas offers at the Irish-owned online music equipment retailer, www.247Guitar.com. The site offers savings of more than 15 per cent on a select range of music equipment, such as a Fender Squier Strat electric guitar starter pack on offer at €249, including delivery, which is guaranteed within three to five working days. The starter pack includes a Squier Strat electric guitar, a 15w Fender amplifier, a cable, picks, spare strings, a strap, headphones (to ensure peace in the valley), plus a tutorial DVD. Joe Breen
HAVE A SMASHING TIME
Unbreakable wine glasses that don't look like picnic tumblers? Sounds too good to be true, but Kilkenny-based Vendemia Wines, which specialises in organic wines from around the world, has sourced a range of attractive glasses made from hardened crystal that they say are "virtually unbreakable". The Bohemian Bistro range of wine. liqueur and water glasses is manufactured in the Czech Republic and costs from €8 for a set of two. No more shattered glass on the floor, then. Call 056-7770225 or see www.vendemiawines.com for details. Marie-Claire Digby
MOVING TROY
The most exciting restaurant news of the year is probably the imminent departure of Troy Maguire, the chef at L'Gueuleton, to head up the team at a brand new Locks restaurant (left), which will open in Portobello, Dublin 8, towards the end of February.
Maguire will remain at the helm in Fade Street until Christmas, and will then hand over to Warren Massey. Massey worked at L'Gueuleton before going to Dobbins as head chef, and Maguire is glad to get him back.
"I'm as anxious as anyone that this place continues in the same way and that's why it has to be someone who understands my approach to food here. Warren is a great choice as my successor," he says.
Maguire is looking forward to Locks. "It's going to be cheaper than it was, but I'm looking forward to the freedom of being able to put scallops and the like on the menu," he says. "And I'll be working with small producers and lots of organic growers."
Troy Maguire's partners in the new venture are Kelvin Rynhart of Bang Cafe and Teresa Carr of Chapter One. (See Troy Maguire's recipe for devils-on-horseback on page 38.) Tom Doorley