FAIR'S FAIR They obviously get up early in the southern hemisphere, as New Zealand Wine is first out in the new year, with its 2006 wine fair.
The event, which takes place on Wednesday, January 11th, at the Stillorgan Park Hotel, in south Co Dublin, will be open from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Tickets, which must be bought in advance, cost €15. Although known mainly for its lip-smacking Sauvignon Blancs, the country's nascent wine industry produces a wide range of white wines, including some stunning aromatics, such as Riesling and Pinot Gris; Kiwi red wines, particularly Pinot Noir from South Island, have been rightly attracting high praise. Among the producers participating will be notables such as Mt Difficulty, Felton Road, Nautilus and Waipara Hills. You can buy tickets from Wine Event Ireland (01-2745955 or 086-8168468, info@wineeventireland.com). Joe Breen
BOOK NOW Tucked into a corner of Meeting House Square, in Temple Bar, is one of Dublin's few remaining independent bookshops. Unlike the branches of some of the big chains, Anthology Books has a personal, intimate feel, with friendly staff and a quirky selection of books. As a shop that prides itself on supporting small publishers and the local arts scene, it helps to make the city feel like a community. It has just got even better, as it has opened a mezzanine. The ground floor focuses on fiction, travel, lifestyle and children's books; upstairs concentrates on history, current affairs, poetry, drama, architecture and critical theory. It is also temporarily housing the bookshop of the Hugh Lane gallery, whose normal home is closed until March for renovations. As well as general-interest art books and coffee-table books, it stocks the gallery's own publications, including Margarita Cappock's fascinating Francis Bacon's Studio, which went on sale this week. Call 01-6351422 or visit www.anthologystore.com. Eimear McKeith
MONTHLY STATEMENT If you're looking for a 2006 calendar with a difference, you should consider Oxfambooks' limited-edition Poems for 2006. Six poets - Theo Dorgan, Pat Boran, Kerry Hardie, Paula Meehan, Sinéad Morrissey and Dennis O'Driscoll - were invited to submit a work for the calendar. Morrissey selected the remaining six poems, including one by the occasional Irish Times contributor Kusi Okamura, from entries to an Oxfam competition held during the summer. Each month's poem is accompanied by an image by one of four Ireland-based artists: Cormac Healy, Ludmila Korol, John McCullagh and Cian McLoughlin. The calendar costs €10 from Oxfam Ireland shops. See www.oxfamireland.org. Eimear McKeith
PLANT HIGHER We had to admire the chutzpah of Shane Madden and Jack Hanratty, second-year business students who called to our offices to show us their keenly priced poinsettias, complete with their own USP - or unique selling point - which is a reusable terracotta pot. Based in Clontarf, they will deliver all over Dublin, the potted plants costing a mere €15. To contact Sha/ck - for Shane and Jack, although perhaps they should work on that typographically peculiar USP - call 086-3945724. Patsey Murphy
DECK THE HALLS The Bridge Gallery, on Ormond Quay in Dublin, has an unusual collection of handmade Christmas decorations that are a world away from tacky tinsel and gaudy plastic baubles. Zekiye Yegenognu, a Turkish artist, has created a series of delicate egg-shaped baubles from beads and wire (above, €20); Christine Fitzgerald's glass decorations, featuring frosted snowflakes, are chunky and modern (€14 and €18). The gallery also has an interesting collection of arts and crafts, with a wide range of jewellery, ceramics, wood, paintings and prints. Call 01-8729702 or visit www.thebridgegallery.com. Eimear McKeith
THERE'S AN ANGEL Catherine Dunne has combined her background in graphic design with her hobby of painting and drummed up a greetings-card company. She specialises in views of Dublin: Malahide, Portmarnock beach and central Dublin; Grafton Street is her bestseller. Howth is next on her list. "People ask me all the time to produce cards depicting their areas," she says. Angels feature on her festive cards, which are stocked by Veritas, on Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1, and the post office in Sutton, Co Dublin, among other outlets. Irene Stevenson
CARD SHARK Among the most beautiful Christmas cards we've come across this year are by an illustrator named Sarah Brownlee, who recently graduated from Dublin Institute of Technology. Convincing Topshop in Dublin to sell the cards must have been a breeze: the female star of each picture is coolly dressed and magnificently drawn. Sold as a set of five, costing €12.95 and tied with a piece of string, the cards show a sequence of events in which the character makes a Christmas wish list, messes about in the snow, parties and, finally, kisses her prince under mistletoe - all wittily and acutely observed. Topshop, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. Eoin Lyons
TIME FOR A CHANGE We've all watered plants, but what about a clock? The Cultivate Centre, on West Essex Street in Temple Bar, Dublin, is selling water-powered alarm clocks and calculators. There is no need for batteries; all you do is add water, topping it up as it evaporates. Anything from the H20 Power range would be an ideal Christmas gift for a gadget-lover or eco-friendly person, and the prices are pretty reasonable, ranging from €10 to €21.99. For more, visit www.tangogroup.net or call Cultivate at 01-6746415. Eimear McKeith
BAGS OF HOPE Angela Hope's handmade bags are lovely even without her latest clever little trick. Some of the bags she and her design partner, Daniela Benson, are selling are unexpectedly aromatic. She has put dried lavender inside the lining of designs such as the Harrie herringbone-tweed bag (right, about €160, including delivery; the scarf is an additional €90 or so) and the Dottie wool bag (about €140, including delivery). They and lots of other present ideas are on a new website, www.greenribbongifts.com. Sisters and former chefs Emma and Charlene Hipwell, who are based in Wicklow, started the site with the idea that Irish people abroad would appreciate the goodies - from food to music and jewellery to art and design - although they also deliver to Irish addresses. See www.greenribbongifts.com or call 0404-25800. Nicoline Greer
TOY STORY If you think they don't make toys like they used to, check out Muji, on Chatham Street in Dublin. The shop has a great selection of old-fashioned miniature wooden toys, including spinning tops, pop-up giraffes, dogs and cows and animal-shaped puzzles. It even has red-roofed wooden villages and models of Paris, London and Tokyo. Everything is small - ideal for stockings - and reasonable value, with prices starting at €2.50 for a yo-yo. As well as being great for parents who are feeling a touch of nostalgia, they're a novelty for children who are used to computer games and plastic toys. Call 01-6794591. Eimear McKeith