Have you started your Christmas shopping already?

New research from Penneys this morning shows that its sales of Christmas items are up 33% on this time last year – with partywear, bedding, Christmas jumpers and ‘fam-jams’ among the most popular items.

Meanwhile, the retailer claims Irish customers will spend an average of €582 on presents this Christmas.

The survey also found that brick-and-mortar shops are set to benefit from the Christmas rush, with just over one-third of shoppers saying they are more likely to spend in-store than online this year.

Meanwhile, Irish businesses are also set for a boost with 6-in-10 (62%) shoppers hoping to buy gifts from Irish businesses and almost 7-in-10 (68%) planning to buy Irish food as much as possible for their festive feasts.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, reporter Irish Times Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope gave Henry McKean his top tips for tackling the big Christmas shop.

“When it comes to buying presents for other people, I think the key thing is to shop early because the last-minute shopper is a stupid shopper,” he said.

“You still have weeks to do that, so make sure you shop in good time.

“Don't shop in the run-up to Christmas when it's really busy, because when you're stressed and hassled, you'll make the wrong decisions.

“Set aside a morning in November or early December, go and do all your Christmas shopping, make a list, rank them from the highest and most expensive presents down to the cheapest present and do it that way.”

People shopping on Henry Street in Dublin city centre on December 5th 2020. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

Mr Pope said many parents leave the children’s present to Santa – but if you do want to get them something yourself, there’s a handy rhyme to remember: “Buy something they want to buy, something they need, buy something they'll wear and buy something they'll read”.

When it comes to your friends and family, Mr Pope said Secret Santa and Kris Kringle plans are the way to go.

“That is a really good money saver and to be honest, it's much better to spend £50 or £100 on one present per person rather than spending £10 on 10 presents for people,” he said.

“Another thing is to consider present boycotts.

“Now I know it sounds really, really cheap, but what is the point of me buying my sister a bottle of whiskey and my sister buying me a bottle of whiskey when neither of us drink whiskey?

“So sometimes we get sucked into that world where we feel like we have to buy presents for people who don't really appreciate them, don't really deserve them and certainly don’t need them.”

Christmas decorations hanging on Henry Street in Dublin. Image: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews

He said people too often get sucked into buying “really terrible presents” for people.

“It's just creating landfill,” he said. “It's bad for the environment, it's bad for our pockets and it doesn't make any sense at all.”

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