Expert Christmas Flowers Netherlands Exporters Around The World

Flower industry operates as a simple value chain: producers grow flowers, suppliers obtain them, the flowers are sold at retail or wholesale consumer prior to purchase in bunches or bouquets.It seems very simple, except for the people involved come from all over the world. Most products are grown in the flower industry in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia and the Netherlands as the biggest shopping mall and Germany as the largest market for imports.

Cut flowers exported from the christmas flowers delivery netherlands are the main component of the international flower industry and a significant proportion of European trade, which in itself is a large share of world trade. In the Americas, Colombia is the leading provider in the United States. Japan gets its supply of cut flowers in a more diversified economy, with New Zealand, Europe, Philippines and Taiwan, the most important.

Holland was the center of international trade in christmas flowers netherlands since 1950. The secret of its leading position in the industry is an effective system of trade which facilitates the transport of flowers from around the world. The flowers are imported from producers in South America, Australia, Africa, Asia and assembled in the Aalsmeer flower auction, the largest market for buying and selling of floricultural products. This allows the industry to overcome the flowers in bulk to be able to directly import country of flowers.

On the supply side of the flower industry is dominated by a few large players who are a group of interconnected companies, with its specialization and export markets. Flowers in Holland Group is the leading global provider of flowers with companies located in Western Europe and Africa. Another major supplier in the European market is the group Zurel with a turnover of over $ 150 million. Dutch Flower Group has three divisions of the Group's import Zurel facing high retail.

The benefits of these large groups are very clear, as sub-companies to make the process of production and distribution throughout the year. Discounts are also offered when buying flowers through marketing strategies, such as offerings of flowers, flowers coupons and other offers customer-focused, saving customers money and allow the purchase large volumes of flowers.

In addition to flowers, flower companies also exports accessories like the leaves (filler for bouquets), flowers bouquet of foam materials, artificial leaves, vases, and ribbons. Other important accessories that are purchased are packaging equipment for the transfer of fresh flowers and perishables. These include carpet of flowers, paper flowers, and ice packs. One of the largest suppliers of flower accessories in Europe is a member of the Dutch international cold calling fresh christmas flowers netherlands blogs .

This article was written by Timothy Spencer for Island Rose - Flowers Philippines. We hope you enjoyed this article and encourage you to visit our website. Through Island Rose, you can find high quality Roses Philippines or simply browse through our blog for more informative articles.

Spare Times for Dec. 9-15 - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum: St. Nicholas Celebration (Saturday and Sunday) The traditions of a Dutch christmas flowers netherlands will be told in stories and music by the Bronx Arts Ensemble at 1 and 3 p.m., 895 Shore Road North, the Bronx, (718) 601-7399, bronxartsensemble.org. Free, but reservations are required, and tickets are limited to five per person.

Conference House: Colonial Christmas and Holiday Play (Sunday and Thursday) Music, crafts and a visit with Father Christmas will be part of the festivities on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; $3 admission includes hot cider and cookies. A re-telling of Dickens’ ”Christmas Carol,” told through the eyes of Ebenezer Scrooge’s partner, Jacob Marley, will be presented by the Staten Island Shakespearean Theater; this version, by Tom Mula, can be seen on Thursday at 8 p.m. with additional performances through Dec. 18; tickets are $18, or $15 for students and 65+; sistny.org. 7455 Hylan Boulevard, Tottenville, Staten Island, (718) 984-6046, conferencehouse.org.

Historic Richmond Town: Candlelight Tours (Saturday) Holiday celebrations in the Netherlands and England will be a feast for the eyes, ears and stomach at the christmas flowers netherlands blogs displays on view at this historic restoration; included will be a wassail bowl reception. Tours run every 20 minutes from 4:50 to 8:30 p.m.; reservations are required: (718) 351-1611, Ext. 281. Also Dec. 17. 441 Clarke Avenue; historicrichmondtown.org; $22; $20 for members; $10 for children 12 and younger.

The Jewish Museum: Hanukkah Lamps (through Jan. 29) The show “An Artist Remembers: Hanukkah Lamps Selected by Maurice Sendak” features, along with 33 lamps from a variety of eras in many styles, an audio recording of Mr. Sendak that illuminates his choices through personal anecdotes. Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street, (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org; $12; $10 for 65+; $7 for students; children under 12 enter free.

Louis Armstrong House Museum: Holiday Tours (Friday through Sunday, and Tuesday through Thursday) Bright traditional decorations and a recording of Mr. Armstrong reading “A Visit From St. Nicholas” are the features of the holiday tours here through Dec. 30. The 40-minute tours begin on the hour starting at noon, with the last tour of the day at 4 p.m. The museum closes at 5 p.m. Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th Street, Corona, Queens, (718) 478-8274, louisarmstronghouse.org; $10, or $7 for 65+, students and children.

Merchant’s House Museum: ‘A 1950s Christmas in an 1850s House’ (Saturday and Wednesday) This house dates to the mid-1850s, but the holiday decorations here through Jan. 9 are vintage 1950s, with plastic Santas, tinsel trees and rock Christmas carols. For adults, house tours with cocktails and canapes are planned for this Saturday at 6 and 8 p.m., and a benefit cocktail party with a silent auction will take place on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m.; tickets are $40, or $25 for members for the cocktail tours, and $40 (free for members) for the cocktail party on Wednesday. Family house tours will be offered on Saturday at 4 and 5 p.m.; tickets are $20; $15 for children 12 and younger; or $10 for members. The house is open daily, except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from noon to 5 p.m. 29 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 777-1089, merchantshouse.org; $10; $5 for students and 65+; free for members and children under 12.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: In the Footsteps of Babur (Friday) This program of musical collaboration, presented in part by the Aga Khan Music Initiative, features musicians from Afghanistan, India and Tajikistan creating sounds from a combination of traditions. At 7 p.m., Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (212) 535-7710, metmuseum.org/tickets; $35.

Morgan Library & Museum: Holiday Story and Song (Friday through Thursday) Two writers linked to the Christmas holiday — Charles Dickens and Robert Burns — are the subjects of exhibitions at the museum. On view through Feb. 12 is “Charles Dickens at 200,” a display of his letters, stories, photographs and other items; on Sunday, a tour of the display will be given at 2 p.m. Opening on Thursday and remaining on view through Feb. 5 will be “Robert Burns and ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ” an exhibition of that Scottish poet’s writing, including a handwritten version of the poem that gave birth to the lyrics for the New Year’s Eve chestnut “Auld Lang Syne.” Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th Street, (212) 685-0008, Ext. 560, themorgan.org; $15, or $10 for students, 65+ and children; free for members and children under 12.

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden: Candlelight Tours (Friday and Saturday) Holiday preparations in the style of around 1830 will be on display during candlelight tours of this historic site at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.; there will also be period refreshments, like chocolate drinks. Tours will also be available on Saturday at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Reservations are recommended: (212) 838-6878, mvhm.org. $20; $10 for members; $5 for children under 12. 421 East 61st Street, at York Avenue, Manhattan.

Museum at Eldridge Street: ‘Voices of the Yiddish Fiddle’ (Sunday) Yiddish poetry, set to the strains of Yiddish fiddle music and klezmer, will be featured at “The Kadya Project: Voices of the Yiddish Fiddle” at 3 p.m.; performers include Deborah Strauss, a klezmer violinist. 12 Eldridge Street, Lower East Side, (212) 219-0888, eldridgestreet.org; $20, or $15 for students.

Museum of the City of New York: ‘Kevin Roche: Architecture as Environment’ (Friday through Thursday) New York sites connected to the 89-year-old architect Kevin Roche — among them the United Nations Plaza, the Ford Foundation building on 43rd Street and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for which he designed more than 45 projects — are the focus of an exhibition of his work that will be on view through Jan. 22. Daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Museum of the City of New York, Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, (917) 492-3395, mcny.org; $10; $6 for students and 65+; free for children 12 and younger and members.

Museum of the Moving Image: Roger Corman Screening and Discussion (Wednesday) Mr. Corman (director of “The Wild Angels,” “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” “Gas-s-s-s”) is the subject of “Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel,” a documentary by Alex Stapleton that will open next Friday. A preview screening of the documentary at 7 p.m. will be followed with a live video conversation with Mr. Corman. 35th Avenue at 37th Street, Astoria, Queens, (718) 777-6800, movingimage.us; $15, or $10 for museum members; free for Silver Screen members.

New York City Police Museum: ‘9/11: A Uniform Response’ (through Jan. 16) Photographs of the Sept. 11 attacks and response, taken by The Associated Press, will be on display at the New York City Police Museum. Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., 100 Old Slip between Water and South Streets, Lower Manhattan, (212) 480-3100, nycpm.org; $8, or $5 for students, children and 65+; free for children under 2, members of the service and museum members.

New York Transit Museum: ‘ElectriCity: Powering New York’s Rails’ (continuing) A historical display of items from the museum collection, including switches and circuit breakers, that illustrates how electricity powers the subway system. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, (718) 694-1600, mta.info/mta/museum; $7; $5 for those ages 2 to 17 and 62+; free for members.

Gardens

New York Botanical Garden: Bar Car Nights (Saturday) The Holiday Train Show, an attraction for families, adds appeal for adults during “Bar Car Nights,” when those 21 and older can sip a complimentary cocktail while watching the model trains pass New York City landmarks in the Conservatory; from 7 to 9 p.m., New York Botanical Garden, Bronx River Parkway, Exit 7W, and Fordham Road, the Bronx, (718) 817-8700, nybg.org; $30, or $20 for members; advanced purchase is recommended.

Events

ASPCA’s Blessing of the Animals (Sunday) This annual free interdenominational event, featuring a priest and a rabbi, will also feature holiday treats and music for owners and their pets; at 2 p.m. Christ Church, 520 Park Avenue, at 60th Street; (212) 838-3036; free.

Brooklyn Baroque: Holiday Concert (Saturday) This annual concert will feature Gregory Bynum on recorder. A reception will follow. At 4 p.m., Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace, at Sylvan Terrace, Washington Heights, (212) 923-8008, morrisjumel.org; $25, with registration required.

Contra Dancing (Saturday) Fans of contra dancing, a style of traditional American dance dating to the 1700s, can kick up their heels for free from 8 to 11 p.m. to music by the Boston-based band Nor’easter. Those new to the dance can take part in a half-hour of instruction, from 7:30 to 8; soft-soled shoes are recommended. The event is sponsored by Country Dance*New York. Chinatown YMCA Houston Street Center, 273 Bowery, (347) 292-8828, cdny.org.

Crafts and Gift Shows (Friday and Saturday) ’Tis the season to visit holiday gift shows, and several onetime events join longstanding shows this weekend. Lighthouse International’s “Posh Holiday,’‘ to raise funds for that nonprofit organization, will take place on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Plaza Hotel, 1 West 58th Street, Manhattan, (212) 821-9445, poshsale.org; $10. The Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, will host a crafts sale for the Bead Society of Greater New York on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., nybead.org; free. Other crafts displays are continuing in Bryant Park through Jan. 8 (bryantpark.org); in Grand Central Terminal through Dec. 24 (grandcentralterminal.com); and in the plaza at St. Bartholomew’s Church through Dec. 24; nycstreetfairs.com.

Folk Music Society of New York: Pub Sing (Sunday) Singers, acoustic instrumentalists and friends are invited to participate in an evening of English pub music and traditional seasonal songs co-sponsored by the Park Slope Food Coop. From 7 to 10 p.m., Bar 4, 444 Seventh Avenue, at the corner of 15th Street, Park Slope South, Brooklyn, (718) 429-3437, folkmusicny.org; free, with refreshments available for purchase.

Grand Central Terminal Holiday Fair (through Dec. 24) This annual holiday fair, featuring craftspeople and items from around the world, will be set up in Vanderbilt Hall. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Vanderbilt Avenue and 42nd Street; free.

Homemade Holiday Craft Fair (Saturday) The Bead Society of Greater New York has gathered over 50 exhibitors offering jewelry and other objects for sale. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fashion Institute of Technology, the Great Hall, West 28th Street, at Seventh Avenue, Chelsea, (212) 591-1127, nybead.org; free. Crafts sales are cash only.

Israeli-Russian Film Festival (Sunday) This film festival, the second sponsored by the Russian American Cultural Center, focuses on the Russian roots of Israeli culture and will feature four films and a panel discussion. Three of the films — “Weeping Susannah,” “Paper Snow” and “Yoel, Israel and Pashkavills” — are by the husband-and-wife directors Lina and Slava Chaplin; all have English subtitles. Screenings begin at 11:30 a.m. Tribeca Film Center, 375 Greenwich Street, TriBeCa, (646) 831-0554; russianamericanculture.com; $15; $25 for an all-day pass; $100 for screenings and an reception.

New York Studio School Exhibition (through Jan. 13) The works of more than 20 graduates of this art school will be on view daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. New York Studio School, 8 West Eighth Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 673-6466, nyss.org; free.

Screening and Gospel Concert (Thursday) The journey to freedom in the mid-1800s by John W. Jones and four fellow slaves from Virginia is told in the documentary “300 Miles to Freedom,” by Richard Breyer and Anand Kamalakar. A screening of the film is part of a program beginning at 7 p.m. at the First Corinthian Baptist Church, 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, 300milestofreedom.com; the evening will also feature a discussion with the filmmakers and a gospel performance. Admission is $10, or $5 for students, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit church programs.

St. George ‘Wonderland’ Ball (Saturday) Day de Dada Performance Art Collective presents an interactive holiday party evoking the childhood classic “Alice in Wonderland.” Guests are invited to dress in keeping with the theme. Over 21 only. At 7 p.m., Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Place, at Wall Street, St. George, (718) 727-1135, statenislandmuseum.org; $5, or free for members.

2011 Video Art and Experimental Film Festival (Friday) A two-day festival featuring 25 contemporary international short films and videos. Program C, the last program, screens 14 of the works and will be followed by a panel discussion on art, technology, globalization and community, moderated by Brittany Stanley, editor in chief of videoart.net. A reception begins immediately after the discussion. At 7:30 p.m.; discussion, 8:30 p.m.; reception, 9:30 p.m., Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, at Canal Street, TriBeCa, (212) 941-2001, videoart.net; $35, includes screening, discussion and reception.

Spoken Word

‘The Lion in Winter’ Reading (Thursday) James Goldman’s script about King Henry II of England takes place during the Christmas of 1183. It is presented by the Hive Theater company as the first of its chamber reading series. At 8 p.m., the Cell, 338 West 23rd Street, thehivetheatre.com; free, with cash bar.

National Arts Club: David Ferry (Tuesday) The poet David Ferry will read from “Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and “Of No Country I Know: Selected Poems and Translations” (University Of Chicago Press). At 8 p.m., 15 Gramercy Park South, at Irving Plaza, Manhattan, (212) 475-3424, nationalartsclub.org; free.

92nd Street Y: Annie Leibovitz (Thursday) Ms. Leibovitz will discuss her new book of photography, “Pilgrimage” (Random House, 2011). At 8 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, (212) 415-5500, 92y.org; $35.

The Stieglitz-O’Keeffe Letters (Sunday) The Met Salon Series presents a lecture in conjunction with the exhibition “Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O’Keeffe,” on view through Jan. 2. Sarah Greenough, senior curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and author of “My Faraway One: Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz, Vol. 1, 1915-1933” (Yale University Press, 2011), shares her insights. At 6 p.m., Metropolitan Museum of Art, (212) 535-7710, metmuseum.org; $25.

Walking Tours

Big Onion Walking Tours: Dumbo and Vinegar Hill (Sunday) These Brooklyn neighborhoods, which were once industrial centers and now house vibrant arts scenes, will be covered on a tour meeting at 11 a.m. on the northeast corner of Jay and York Streets, (888) 606-9255, bigonion.com; $18, or $15 for 63+ and students.

Dyker Heights Holiday Lights (Wednesday) Take a bus to see this Brooklyn holiday destination and eat Italian pastry. Tour leaves at 7 p.m. from Union Square; for meeting place and reservation, contact (212) 601-1000 or 92ytribeca.org; $55, with bus and snack included.

Grand Central Terminal Walking Tour (Wednesday) The historic terminal, which dates to 1913, is the subject of weekly tours on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. led by the Municipal Art Society, meeting at the information booth in the main concourse. Photo IDs are required: (212) 935-2075, mas.org/tours; $10.

In Depth Walking Tours: ‘How New Yorkers Invented Christmas’ (Saturday and Sunday) This tour unveils the Lower Manhattan roots of holiday celebrations in the city, meeting on the northeast corner of Broadway and Wall Street. (917) 607-9019, indepthwalkingtours.com; $20, or $15 for 65+.

Mural Walk (Wednesday and Thursday) A tour of Midtown murals and a discussion of the artists who created them will be led by Glenn Palmer-Smith, a mural painter, meeting at noon in the lobby of the AXA Equitable Building, 787 Seventh Avenue, at 51st Street, Manhattan, (917) 385-5462; $20.

Newspaper Row (Saturday) A historical tour of the 19th-century buildings that housed newspapers such as The Herald, The Sun, The Tribune and The Times on what was once termed Newspaper Row, across from City Hall. Meet outside St. Paul’s Church on Broadway, between Fulton Street and Ann Street. At 1 p.m., (917) 515-1380, terrysnewyorktours.com; $20, or $15 for students and 62+.

‘Union Square: Crossroads of New York’ (Saturday) A tour focusing on the area’s political history meets at 2 p.m. by the statue of Lincoln in Union Square Park, near the 16th Street transverse. Sponsored by the Union Square Partnership, (212) 517-1826, unionsquarenyc.org; free.

Lighting Science Group Designs Led Winter Wonderland For The Atlanta Botanical Garden - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

Dec. 15, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Lighting Science Group (OTCBB: LSCG), one of the world's leading LED lighting manufacturers, announced today the completion of an Atlanta Botanical Garden's seasonal light exhibit, 'Garden Lights, Holiday Nights,' which features green both as a primary festival color and as an operating energy principle. Nearly one million lights have transformed the garden grounds into a veritable winter wonderland, but Lighting Science Group's computer-animated LED installation on the Great Lawn serves as the display's undisputed flagship finale. Dazzling topiary forms of differentiating sizes and changing hues dance in-time to timeless christmas flowers netherlands carols awing visitors, designers, and artists alike—who are impressed to discover that the displays are ultra-efficient and entirely recyclable LED light fixtures.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111215/NY23408 )

"As a non-profit dedicated to cultivating and sharing organic beauty with the community, we were resolute that our holiday exhibition be a joyful expression of the season, but not at the expense of our mission to further environmental sustainability efforts and awareness," said Cathleen Hunt, the Atlanta Botanical Garden's exhibition manager. "Lighting Science Group's brilliant LED fixtures have transformed the Gardens into a breath-taking christmas flowers netherlands blogs landscape that will delight thousands this time of year, all while preserving the sort of environmental integrity that does justice to the natural magnificence of the Garden's living collections."

Designed in collaboration with CD+M Lighting and Design Group of Atlanta, each of the LED fixtures incorporated on the Great Lawn uses a mere 10 watts of energy while boasting the capacity to cast 16.7 million distinctive color shades. The LED fixtures also include integrated sound sensitivity capabilities which sync the bulbs' color alterations with the viewers' musical experiences to create a sensation of "choreographed" dance routines.

"This holiday season, Lighting Science Group is delighted to offer the gift of inspiration by providing the technology behind the Atlanta Botanical Garden's interactive lighting exhibition," said Jim Haworth, chairman and chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group. "By fusing LED technology and an unmatched eye for design, Lighting Science Group's Advanced Projects Group has turned architectural and artistic dreams into a brilliant winter wonderland reality."

About Lighting Science Group

Lighting Science Group Corporation (OTCBB: LSCG) designs, develops, manufactures and markets LED lighting solutions that are environmentally friendlier and more energy efficient than traditional lighting products.  Lighting Science Group offers retrofit LED lamps in form factors that match those of traditional lamps or bulbs and LED luminaires designed for a range of applications including public and private infrastructure for both indoor and outdoor use.  Lighting Science Group's Advanced Projects Group business unit designs, develops and manufactures custom LED lighting solutions for architectural and artistic projects.  Lighting Science Group is headquartered in Satellite Beach, Florida; the Company's European operations are based in Middelburg, The Netherlands; and, the Company has a sales office in Sydney, Australia.  Lighting Science Group employs approximately 1000 workers building lighting products from domestic and imported parts. Lighting Science Group is a Pegasus Capital Advisors portfolio company. More information about Lighting Science Group is available at www.lsgc.com.

Forward Looking Statement. Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the performance of Lighting Science Group and its products and/or use terminology such as "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "plan," "project," "seek," "target," "soon," "will," "first of many" and variations of such words and similar expressions.  Such statements reflect the current view of Lighting Science Group with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions.   Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements.  In evaluating these statements, you should carefully review the risk factors detailed under "Risk Factors" in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.



SOURCE Lighting Science Group Corporation.

FTSE live: market report - as it happened December 14, 2011 - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

London's blue-chips retreated after the Federal Reserve refrained from offering new initiatives to help a slowly recovering US economy.

Photo: AFP

By Rachel Cooper, and agencies5:56AM GMT 15 Dec 2011 Comment

This christmas flowers netherlands could prove to be anything but a cracker for the nation’s embattled retailers, analysts warned, as grim unemployment figures cast a pall over the high street.

Publishing their Christmas trading preview, JP Morgan Cazenove analysts said that typically, they would be “relatively positive going into christmas flowers netherlands blogs , as December tends each year to mark the peak of pessimism [regarding] prospects for the sector.”

“However, this year the combination of a weakening consumer, unseasonal weather, heavy promotional activity, weak footfall and what we view as still too high estimates is causing us more concern,” they added.

“As ever, there will be winners and losers, but on balance we expect to see more of the latter than the former,” said the broker.

ING was not feeling overly optimistic, either, as it warned investors to “brace for impact” .

Given the recent profit warning from German retailer, Metro, and a “light” Tesco trading update, analysts thought this could “signify a pattern of several retailers reporting soft fourth-quarter sales and profits”.

With that in mind, they cut Tesco to “sell” from “buy” and Marks & Spencer to “sell” from “hold”. Britain was the main concern for Tesco, where analysts were worried that food retail will experience margin pressure. The broker also thought growth in key Asian markets, such as Korea, could be “lower for longer”.

For M&S, general merchandise was the reason for ING to turn bearish, with analysts arguing that the chain’s exposure to this market makes it “vulnerable to consumers spending less on big ticket items”.

But, the broker turned buyer of Wm Morrison. Analysts described the supermarket chain as a “safe haven”, given factors such as its international opportunities – including a 10pc stake in US online food retailer, FreshDirect – and share buybacks.

Morrisons edged up 0.8 to 316.9p, making it the only blue-chip to end the day above water. Tesco dropped 3.15 to 386.35p and M&S eased 7.2 to 308p.

With a raft of retailers on the wane, the market retreated into the red. Traders had been keeping their fingers crossed that Ben Bernanke, head of the US Federal Reserve, might hint at new policy measures to stimulate the American economy, but no such moves were forthcoming when he spoke on Tuesday.

As well as that American disappointment, dealers were also keeping a wary eye on the eurozone again as German chancellor, Angela Merkel, warned there is no easy and fast solution to the debt crisis. That helped send the FTSE 100 down 123.35 points to 5366.8 and the FTSE 250 sank 216.81 points to 9744.23.

3.30pm: Resurgent eurozone woes weigh on Wall Street

Wall Street is heading lower this afternoon after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there’s no easy and fast solution to the euro-region debt crisis. Adding to investor woes were record high borrowing costs for Italy, which paid a euorozone record 6.47pc on new five-year bonds sold at auction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 76 points to 11879 and the FTSE 100 sank 98 points to 5391.

Defensives such as British American Tobacco were amongst the few stocks to make any advance, with the cigarette manufacturer ticking up 0.8pc.

Lloyds Banking Group made tentative gains - creeping up 0.01 to 24.7p - as the the bank announced that chief executive, Antonio Horta Osorio, will be holding the reins of the Black Horse again from 9 January after two months off with exhaustion.

12.30: Prospect of job losses and lower growth weighs on Logica

Shares in Logica have tumbled 12.7 - 17pc - to 61.45p as the IT company announced it is to slash more than 1,300 jobs.

Logica, which provides IT consulting and outsourcing to businesses and governments, downgraded its full-year revenue growth forecast to about 3pc, from above 3pc last month and 5 pc earlier in the year.

Andy Green, Logica's chief executive, said:

We do see, pretty widespread now, clients taking decisions to pull in their horns and waiting to see what is happening with the euro crisis and the global economy.

Between 450 and 550 jobs would be cut in the Netherlands and Belgium, with more than half of its offices closing after negotiations with the workforce, Mr Green added.

Logica has struggled in the region since the downturn in 2008, where its focus on systems integration and consulting suffered as companies cut spending on major IT upgrades.

Some 450 jobs would also go in Sweden and the UK, Logica said, as it moved more work to cheaper locations outside Europe, and a further 200 consulting and systems integration jobs would go in Sweden.

The redundancies will cost about £80m this year.

11am: ITV slips as analysts highlight drop in X Factor ratings

Disappointing ratings for ITV's X Factor, with Saturday's leg of the final luring in just 10.4m viewers - its lowest viewing figure since 2006, have prompted critics to ask whether the singing contest can survive without a major shake-up.

Although analysts at Panmure Gordon remain bullish on ITV, the broker acknowledged that the X Factor franchise "may be getting tired now" and weaker ratings for the show "may be interpreted by the bears as an indication of X Factor fatigue amongst the viewing public".

Highlighting the X Factor's importance to ITV, they added.

X Factor, and much improved content across the suite of ITV channels, has been a feature in maintaining a high share of commercial impacts at ITV. In context, X Factor is in now eight years in duration, which makes it an ageing franchise. However, we have never found it easy to isolate X Factor in terms of its revenue importance to ITV. For the weekend shows this year, the advertising ratecard was said to be £8000 per second, which illustrates the sort of premium it can command.

Panmure Gordon said that lower X Factor ratings had no impact whatsoever on its ITV earnings forecasts and given that the stock is looking cheap, the broker is keeping its "buy" stance.

But as the wider market beat a retreat, ITV slipped 1.4pc to 62.15p.

10.25 SuperGroup rebounds despite slip in first-half profits

SuperGroup is soaring this morning, with the streetwear retailer jumping 10.35pc to 554.5p, after telling the market that the problems with its warehouse IT system that left stores short of stock in the autumn had now been resolved.

Back in October, the group warned that profits would be hit by the warehouse troubles and today, SuperGroup reported that profits had fallen 4pc to £13m in the first half of the year. Sales of its trademark hoodies, t-shirts, check shirts and jogging bottoms leapt 51pc to £136.1m.

Analysts at Seymour Pierce were bullish, saying:

We are keeping our Buy recommendation with a price target of £10. The key drivers behind our recommendation are the following. 1) International remains the main priority of the group. 50 franchised stores should be opened in FY12 and two European owned outlets in the next eighteen months. 2) The impact of the Regent Street store should not be underestimated. It will most importantly enable management to further develop the assortment and the brand, which remains very much in vogue. 3) The company will, in our view, rightly take a more measured approach to expansion over the medium term

But, analysts at Peel Hunt kept their "hold" rating, arguing "the shares offer value if forecasts can be met, but visibility remains low and investors are unlikely to give management the benefit of the doubt".

While SuperGroup accelerated, the wider market was on the wane with the FTSE 100 slipping 30 points to 5459 and the FTSE 250 falling 47.5 points to 9913. Investors were somewhat disappointed by the US Federal Reserve yesterday refraining from announcing any additional measures to boost the country's economy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4pc to 8,519.13, South Korea's Kospi lost 0.3pc, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2pc and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1pc.

US stocks gave up gains on Tuesday after the Fed released a policy statement that made clear it was not offering any new steps to help the economy.

The Fed said that the US economy, while improving, is still weak. Unemployment remains high, and it remains vulnerable to the European debt crisis, which could push the continent into a recession and slow U.S. growth.

Analysts said markets were disappointed that the Fed refrained from a third round of large-scale purchases of Treasury securities, dubbed quantitative easing III or QE3.

Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong, said:

I think QE3 would be a welcome change to the status quo. I think the market was disappointed

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.6pc to close at 11,954.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.9pc and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.3pc.

The Dow dropped more than 70 points in the last hour of trading and had risen as high as 126 points earlier Tuesday after two strong auctions of European debt. The Spanish government was able to sell short-term debt at much lower interest rates compared with a month ago, a signal that markets are becoming less fearful about the government's ability to repay its debt.

And in its first sale of short-term bills, the European Financial Stability Fund raised 1.9 billion euros ($2.6 billion).

Still, investor sentiment remained fragile amid threats by Standard & Poor's to downgrade the credit ratings of 15 countries that use the euro because of the region's debt crisis.

Chinese property shares dropped after the government signaled that it would maintain price curbs on real estate.

Australia's Westpac Banking slipped after the bank warned that net interest margins, and revenues in its markets business, were being impacted by Europe's debt crisis.

Tuesday's market report

Slicker oil prices fuel FTSE comeback

FTSE live: market report - as it happened December 13, 2011

Monday's market report

Glaxo recovers on drug hopes as FTSE wilts

FTSE live: market report - as it happened December 12, 2011

Friday's market report

Traders pick bank stocks on hopes there will be no tax

FTSE live: market report - as it happened December 9, 2011

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Five Dead In Liège Attack, Including Gun Freak - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

A convicted gun fanatic threw hand grenades and opened fire on a square bustling with christmas flowers netherlands blogs shoppers in the centre of the Belgian city of Liège, killing five people, including himself, and wounding at least 122, some critically.

Hours after failing to show up for police questions about his preoccupation with guns, the 33-year-old unleashed a lunchtime attack on Place Saint Lambert, which was hosting a christmas flowers netherlands market that attracts 1.5 million visitors a year.

Last night, King Albert II and Queen Paola visited Liège, a tough, post-industrial city in the east of the country, which was in a state of shock after the attack. Initial fears that a trio of terrorists could be responsible were ruled out by police and prosecutors, as was any speculation that Belgium could be contending with a Norway-copycat killing spree. "It was an isolated act which has sown sorrow in the heart of the city," said Willy Demeyer, the mayor of Liège, the main city of Belgium's francophone smaller half, Wallonia.

Police said there were no indications that the dead assailant, a local man, had been involved with terrorism. Nor was there evidence of any ideological motivation. He threw three hand grenades while on the busy square, one at a bus shelter, killing two teenage students instantly.

An elderly woman died later of her injuries, as did a 23-month infant.

The Liège prosecutor's office said 122 people were injured in the shootings and explosions, with many of them reported to be in a grave condition in local hospitals and in the Netherlands nearby.

The gunman was named as Nordine Amrani, a 33-year-old Liègeois who was known to be a "gun freak", according to the police. He was given a jail term of almost five years after police officers raided his metal workshop three years ago and found a dozen firearms, including an AK-47 machine-gun, and 9,500 gun parts. He was also found guilty of drug dealing after cultivating 2,800 marijuana plants.

Amrani arrived on the square with hand grenades, a rifle and a revolver.

He mounted a platform on the square and lobbed three grenades, opened fire with the rifle, and then shot himself with the handgun, according to police.

With local bloggers and Twitter networks going into overdrive, there were detailed "reports" on the alleged trio who had supposedly carried out the attack, with one said to have been arrested and the other allegedly fleeing through a bus tunnel after spraying the square with Kalashnikov fire.

Police said these reports were entirely inaccurate.

Place Saint Lambert is the city centre's busiest traffic hub and the location of the bus station as well as the Palais de Justice, which houses the main court and prison compound. Witnesses spoke of panic and blood-spattered streets as mayhem erupted at about 12.30.

Hervé Taverne, a middle-aged man working in the district, told Belgian radio: "We were just coming out of the justice building and we saw someone throwing a hand grenade. It all happened so quickly that we ran for our lives. I grabbed a youngster inside, back into the building.

"After that various wounded were brought in. We heard gunshots outside. Meanwhile we heard that there were several perpetrators, but we only saw one. We were also told that this was a [prison] escape operation."

A delivery man, Dimitri Degryse, was driving past when the gunman opened fire. "I heard an explosion and I thought there was something wrong with my car. Then a second grenade went off, I saw smoke and heard several shots.

"People were lying bleeding on the ground. I stopped to help them. We tried to get the wounded off the street as quickly as possible."

Gaspard Grosjean, a reporter for a Liège newspaper, arrived on the scene moments after the attack. "We saw people with bullet wounds in their shoulders, their hands," he told Reuters. "I see people completely scared, people are crying, everyone is on their phones."

Belgian mobile operators reported a surge in calls at lunchtime in the city centre, causing disruption to the networks.

The royal couple joined the country's new prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, and other senior government figures gathering in Liège.

For Di Rupo, a Socialist of Italian extraction who is from Wallonia and became Belgium's first native French-speaking prime minister in more than 30 years, the tragedy is his first test. He was sworn in as prime minister only last week following Belgium's world record in being unable to form a government – 589 days.

While police, prosecutors and politicians all emphasised that the Liège tragedy was no terrorist or politically-inspired assault – "he has no history of terrorist acts," the Liège prosecutor, Daniele Reynders, told journalists – there was no persuasive motive given to explain the rampage.

• This story was amended on 14 December 2011. The original reported that six people had been killed. This has been corrected

Filipino feast for Christmas - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

By Tara Duggan – When Jun Belen was preparing to leave for graduate school at Stanford, he warned his mother not to expect him back home in Manila for at least two years. He planned to save his money. But it was hard adjusting to life in Palo Alto, and after a few frugal months he couldn’t face the thought of spending christmas flowers netherlands away from home.

“When you’re uprooted and don’t have family or friends, it’s so difficult. In November I called my mom and said, ‘I think I’m coming for Christmas,’ ” recalls Belen, who now lives in Oakland and blogs about Filipino food.

Besides missing friends and family, Belen was homesick for christmas flowers netherlands blogs  traditions in the Philippines, which celebrates the holiday on an epic scale.

As a teen, he would meet friends for the 4 a.m. Masses called Misa de Gallo or simbang gabi, held for the nine days before Christmas. Afterward, they’d eat traditional rice cakes and hot ginger tea sold by vendors in the churchyard. On Christmas Eve, he would go to midnight Mass with his parents and five older sisters; that would be followed by dinner, a celebration called Noche Buena. Christmas Day was spent visiting extended family for more eating and gift giving.

Noche Buena

“The Americans have their Thanksgiving turkey, and the Filipinos have their Noche Buena,” says MC Canlas, cultural specialist and co-founder of the Bayanihan Community Center in San Francisco.

“Sometimes you are being judged for the food you provide. But Christmas is also a symbol of blessing and is about serving and sharing. That’s why food is so very important.”

The Bay Area’s Filipino community holds on to many Christmas traditions from the Philippines, where the population is more than 80 percent Catholic. Daily Misa de Gallo Masses at St. Patrick Church in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood are followed by Philippine foods served in the church basement. On Saturday night, the Bayanihan Community Center was scheduled to hold its annual parol parade, where community groups carry traditional star-shaped lanterns, called parols, that hang outside of Philippine homes during Christmas. And many Filipinos go to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, though it’s sometimes held earlier here.

Party all night

“We get together at midnight on Dec. 24,” says Michelle Malang of Daly City. “We have the party until the early morning of the 25th. Usually on the 25th we’re sleeping.”

Christmas foods usually include ham, queso de bola – a round Edam cheese from the Netherlands – and pan de sal (bread rolls), but the menu can go on elaborately from there. Families often order lechon (roast suckling pig) from a restaurant to complement the spread of homemade dishes.

While many holiday foods are also a part of other celebrations, rice-based dishes are particular to Christmastime, a part of pre-Christian harvest celebrations. “The month of December in the Philippines is the harvest season for rice,” Canlas says.

Almost as important as the early morning Masses are the street foods that follow: bibingka, a rice and coconut cake topped with salted egg; and putobumbong, a sweet cake made with purple sticky rice.

“December and January are the coolest months in the Philippines, so you bundle up with your jacket and your sweater when you go to Mass. It’s always nice to have that cup of hot tea with your bibingka after,” says Belen, demonstrating how to prepare a home cook’s version of the cake in his Oakland kitchen.

He describes how bibingka vendors set up clay ovens with coals lit up inside.

“When someone orders bibingka, she lines a pan with the banana leaves, then pours the batter,” he says. The vendor covers the cake with another pan loaded with hot coals for a makeshift oven.

Let holiday greeting be ‘Peace be with all - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

Holidays, birthdays, as well as Christmas, and New Year's Day are all causes for celebration. They are celebrations that focus on life expressed in history and time. When we use words like past and future, and express them in terms of quality, rather than a historic timeline, they help us understand, as well as focus on, the meaning of what we are in fact celebrating.

When I was growing up, during the post-war period in the Netherlands, we celebrated Christmas with friends and family and the focus was on the birth of Jesus. It was the time of year we would go to church, and I would receive a small gift of an orange and some candy. At that time for me an orange was a novelty, and the only orange I would get to eat during the year.

My father was not a religious person, yet he would not allow a christmas flowers netherlands tree in the house. He viewed Christmas trees as pagan symbols that had no place in our celebration.

We grew rabbits during the year, and the fattest rabbit would be killed for Christmas dinner. The major event was a feast with the family, and shortly after we began to look forward to the new year and the future.

Now that I have lived in Canada for nearly 50 years my life has become a mixture of cultures, where Santa clashes with St. Nicholas and Jesus. Sometimes I'm not sure - and even troubled about - how to celebrate Christmas. Moreover, when I speak with other clergy, they often express they do not look forward to Christmas and view the christmas flowers netherlands blogs holidays as one of the most difficult times of the year.

On reflection, I believe this is so because, in the age and culture that is now emerging, we have difficulty learning to live with a secular and a religious Christmas.

In a USA Today article with the headline "Balancing religion and the public square,'' Randy Singer reflected on the commercialization of Christmas and wrote, "We hear the word 'Christmas' more often, but celebrate its meaning less; Christmas becomes associated with a shopping mall more than with faith and a manger."

It seems this year there is a bit of a war on Christmas. According to some, political correctness not withstanding, the greetings we receive in stores and elsewhere, should once again be "merry Christmas," rather than "happy holidays." So much for "peace on Earth and goodwill to all."

As a clergy person, my struggle is with the meaning behind the greeting. It seems to me if, during this season of celebration, we want to tag everything we do with the title Christmas, we are actually inflating the meaning of the word. Just like all inflation, the inadvertent result will be devaluation.

Perhaps peace on Earth has something to do with having equal respect for all. With those thoughts in mind, it is a pleasure to respectfully wish those who like to celebrate this season without religion a happy holiday and those who like to celebrate Christmas in a religious way, merry Christmas. Perhaps more important my wish is that, "Peace be with all."

The last of the big spenders - Christmas Flowers Netherlands

IT HAS BEEN another tough week for Irish consumers. A two-day hair-shirt budget, fears of a double-dip global recession, and growing uncertainty about the future of the euro have left consumer sentiment on the floor and cast a black cloud over what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.

But despite the gloom, restaurants and shops are busy as people go about having themselves a merry little Christmas, whatever the cost. And for most people that cost will be substantial, with few households likely to have much change from €1,000 once the bells ring in the new year, according to a study by Deloitte. But why do people spend so much, particularly when so many have so little?

A sickly boy from Victorian England is at least partly to blame. From the end of the 17th century, a mix of puritanical zeal and the Industrial Revolution had all but killed christmas flowers netherlands . Then, in October 1843, Charles Dickens sat down to write A Christmas Carol. It took him just six weeks, but his book set the template for Christmas and created the great expectations of today’s children. It gave us the phrase “merry Christmas”, made presents the norm and even ensured that an outsized bird would become the centrepiece of festive dinners in the West for the next 170 years.

Dickens, in a noble effort to highlight the role of education in counteracting poverty, made Christmas a festival of generosity and moved it away from the unpopular religious festival it had been. December 25th became “a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time . . . when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

Dickens would no doubt be turning in his grave at the sight of Christmas in Ireland, with its plastic toys, games consoles, calorific food – and, for many, mountains of debt.

For at least 10 years Ireland was top of the European league of seasonal spenders. In 2008, the high-water mark, Irish households spent an average of about €1,300 on christmas flowers netherlands blogs , compared with a European norm of half that, according to Deloitte, which surveys spending expectations in September every year.

Each year since, that sum has fallen but the average Irish household will spend close to €1,000 on Christmas this year – still top of the euro spending pile. The most recent Deloitte survey reported that each household expects to spend an average of about €943, down from €1,020 in 2010 and a reduction of €411 since 2008. The Dutch will spend closer to €250, making them the most frugal folk in Europe.

Irish households plan to spend an average of €520 on presents, €258 on food and €165 on socialising. “Through the last number of years, it has been abundantly clear that despite the fiscal pressures they face, the desire to embrace Christmas and enjoy the festivities has remained strong,” says Richard Howard of Deloitte. Or, to put it another way, we may have nothing, but we’re still spending like we had everything. This profligacy comes at a cost. The Irish League of Credit Unions says Christmas will leave 38 per cent of us in debt, and some people will take seven months to pay it off.

WHAT MADNESS IS this? And what drives people to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need in the name of good cheer?

Dr Mark Harold, a behavioural psychologist who has worked in both Ireland and the US, believes a key reason people overspend is that they see giving gifts as “a way of expressing affection. Like it or not, people measure levels of affection by how much they spend. The reality is that, culturally, we are not a very expressive people,” he says. “We also buy and cook so much food as an expression of affection for our families. All you have to do is think of the traditional Irish mammy feeding up her sons or putting on a big spread when she has nothing. It is an expression of pride – and, to some degree, love.”

Dr Harold says that most often it is those who can afford it the least who spend the most over Christmas, and in his experience it is people in working-class communities who push themselves to the brink to ensure their children have everything. This leads to a depressing reality in which people borrow from loan sharks and accumulate unsustainable credit-card bills.

“People should remember that it is not the money that is spent or the size of the gifts that people remember. When people get older and look back on their Christmases they remember the dinner, pulling crackers and dressing the tree. The myth is that you can buy the perfect Christmas, but you can’t. No one can, and people certainly won’t make Christmas better by overextending themselves.”.

The myth of buying the perfect Christmas is something the psychologist Prof Tim Kasser of Knox University, in Illinois, has tried to debunk. Kasser is the co-author of a paper, What Makes for a Merry Christmas? , that asks whether Christmas happiness is down to religious and family experiences – historically central to the celebration – or to materialism.

He sent questionnaires to 400 randomly selected people on December 26th, asking them to rate emotions they felt on Christmas Day. He found that “neither spending a relatively large percentage of one’s income or going into substantial debt related to having a merrier Christmas”. In fact the study found the opposite. Speaking to The Irish Times this week, Kasser pointed out that at this time of year, advertising is both ramped up and attached to the “idea that the purchase of gifts is the best way to show your love for someone. Everyone has a basic need to love and be loved, and we live in a culture which tries to connect love to purchase, so that businesses make a profit.”

In effect, Kasser says, we have been conned by ads “showing happy children opening their presents on Christmas morning, or families joyously gathering around the various types of food that has been purchased.” People want these feelings, “and advertisers and the culture as a whole connect those feelings with purchase. But our study on Christmas showed that a focus on the materialistic aspect of Christmas was negatively associated with happiness at Christmas.”

Kasser’s study resonates with Meindert Postma, who comes from the most Scrooge-like country in Europe – at least according to Deloitte. He grew up in the Netherlands but now lives in Monkstown, Co Dublin, with his wife and two young children. He will end up spending four times more than his peers at home.

He says that his countrymen are not mean, “although my wife may disagree”, and that Irish people spend too much, although he accepts that some of his disapproval stems from the Calvinist tradition in which he grew up.

When he came to Ireland he was bemused by the shutdown on December 24th and is still amazed that the airport and most restaurants close on Christmas Day. In the Netherlands, Christmas is a simple two-day event. “We get Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day off, but if they fall on a weekend it is just tough luck. We go back to work on Monday as normal. We don’t get an extra two days off.”

As well as the extended holiday, Santa is new to Postma. He discovered Santa lived in a grotto only two years ago when he took his twins, then aged two, for a visit. “We don’t have the cult of Santa Claus, and I think that limits spending in the run-up to Christmas.” He points out, however, that the Dutch celebrate the feast of St Nicholas on December 6th with presents and a meal.

Mark Harold believes people “need to take on board the fact that going the extra mile and spending money they don’t have will not make Christmas better. For most of us, it doesn’t matter what we get: we get more enjoyment out of what we give and a thoughtful present.”

He does have one caveat. The aggressive marketing of toys aimed at children in the run-up to the day “can get a child set on something, and then if they don’t get it that can be very upsetting for them”. And although he might be dispassionate about spending, and even suggests that a little bit of disappointment or adversity builds character in young people accustomed to getting whatever they want, he admits that in practice he too will do all he can to avoid that upset for his own children.

THIS FEAR OF disappointing children is felt by many parents. Bettina MacCarvill, a partner at the Dublin-based consumer insight agency Jump!, says many of the parents she has spoken to are anxious to protect their children from the recession. “Parents will be trying to meet the expectations of their children, and some of those I have spoken to feel absolutely wretched that that will have to say no, they feel as if they have failed.”

But MacCarvill is upbeat about the weeks ahead and believes that people “will try and make Christmas special and forget about the doom and gloom that has hung over them for so long. They will have a bit of a splurge if they can afford it and forget the penny-pinching for a few days. And where’s the harm in that?”

'I will definitely overspend'. Shoppers on Henry Street this week

LEANNE FINNERTY

We came to Dublin from Mayo last night, so we’re proper culchies. Christmas costs a lot, but I think it is costing much less now than it was a few years ago, and we are all more sensible now than we used to be, not out of choice but out of necessity. There are only three of us, and I think we will spend around €500 this year. We are quite careful, and we will be reusing things such as decorations. I will spend on my credit card, but I will be able to clear it in the new year.

ORLA O’DEA

I’m at college in Dublin. I’d say I will probably spend only around €60 on presents and maybe another €100 on going out. I like Christmas, but I liked it a whole lot more when Santa used to come. My parents [in Tipperary] are very good with money, and they have passed that on to me. I don’t think I will be spending money I don’t have.

LIZ BELL

We lived in Australia for many years and came back to Ireland only five years ago. When we came back, I thought the level of spending was obscene. You’d almost have been killed in a stampede doing your shopping in Smyths. In Australia, everything is much more understated, and Christmas lasts a single day. Do I miss it? I miss the weather.

EAMON BYRNE

I don’t think Christmas is a particularly big deal, and it is definitely overrated. Even so, it is very expensive when you go out a lot, and I will overspend. Come January I will be looking at my bank balance and thinking, Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I will probably get through €1,000-€1,500. It is an expensive time of year.

TONY BREEN

My wife, Rita, and I live in Portugal, and it is much less busy there. Here it seems that things are very busy and people are spending a few quid, which is a good thing. They are not spending in Portugal right now. It is good to see the activity here. For a family with a couple of children, I don’t think €1,000 is unreasonable. Things are dearer here, though, that’s for sure. We’ve just been for a cup of coffee, and I nearly had a heart attack.

Low expectations: Preparing the children for a modest Christmas

Paul and Edel Maher,

who live in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, have 11 children under 13. They have helped the children understand that Santa will give each child a big present and a small one. Sometimes the big present is shared; last year, seven of the siblings received a PlayStation3 between them.

“For other families a big present might be something huge, but a big present to our children would be a lot smaller than what it would be to other families,” saysPaul. “We explain there are 11 children and Santa has to go to other families too . . . The children don’t ask for a whole lot, either; they are not the wanting type.”

Paul and Edel’s children also participate in a Christkindl with aunts and cousins. He is keen to point out that the children still use and play with last year’s gifts. “I think people become overwhelmed by Christmas . . . There is as much or as little pressure in the Christmas period as parents allow themselves fall into . . . If a child has everything they ever wanted, what are they going to hope for as they grow up?”

In Clarecastle, Co Clare, Angie Parry, a married mother of two, says “My children get two things and a surprise, and they have to prioritise. I know some kids get lots of things but I say to mine, if Santa gave some children lots of things there wouldn’t be enough to go around . . . The main thing I think is that, recession or no recession, even though it is a magical time, you need to keep it real.”

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) advises families to make a Christmas budget and stick to it. It also asks people to be sensitive around those who might not be able to afford glitzy presents.

“We are advising that a conversation should take place around the family table, particularly with older children. For families who say no to their children for the previous 11 months, they make a huge effort to make Christmas memorable, so it can be hard to strike a balance.” - BRIAN O'CONNELL

� A b i �L �E roke-width: 0px; ">THIS FEAR OF disappointing children is felt by many parents. Bettina MacCarvill, a partner at the Dublin-based consumer insight agency Jump!, says many of the parents she has spoken to are anxious to protect their children from the recession. “Parents will be trying to meet the expectations of their children, and some of those I have spoken to feel absolutely wretched that that will have to say no, they feel as if they have failed.”

But MacCarvill is upbeat about the weeks ahead and believes that people “will try and make Christmas special and forget about the doom and gloom that has hung over them for so long. They will have a bit of a splurge if they can afford it and forget the penny-pinching for a few days. And where’s the harm in that?”

'I will definitely overspend'. Shoppers on Henry Street this week 

LEANNE FINNERTY 

We came to Dublin from Mayo last night, so we’re proper culchies. Christmas costs a lot, but I think it is costing much less now than it was a few years ago, and we are all more sensible now than we used to be, not out of choice but out of necessity. There are only three of us, and I think we will spend around €500 this year. We are quite careful, and we will be reusing things such as decorations. I will spend on my credit card, but I will be able to clear it in the new year.

ORLA O’DEA 

I’m at college in Dublin. I’d say I will probably spend only around €60 on presents and maybe another €100 on going out. I like Christmas, but I liked it a whole lot more when Santa used to come. My parents [in Tipperary] are very good with money, and they have passed that on to me. I don’t think I will be spending money I don’t have.

LIZ BELL 

We lived in Australia for many years and came back to Ireland only five years ago. When we came back, I thought the level of spending was obscene. You’d almost have been killed in a stampede doing your shopping in Smyths. In Australia, everything is much more understated, and Christmas lasts a single day. Do I miss it? I miss the weather.

EAMON BYRNE 

I don’t think Christmas is a particularly big deal, and it is definitely overrated. Even so, it is very expensive when you go out a lot, and I will overspend. Come January I will be looking at my bank balance and thinking, Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I will probably get through €1,000-€1,500. It is an expensive time of year.

TONY BREEN 

My wife, Rita, and I live in Portugal, and it is much less busy there. Here it seems that things are very busy and people are spending a few quid, which is a good thing. They are not spending in Portugal right now. It is good to see the activity here. For a family with a couple of children, I don’t think €1,000 is unreasonable. Things are dearer here, though, that’s for sure. We’ve just been for a cup of coffee, and I nearly had a heart attack.

Low expectations: Preparing the children for a modest Christmas 

Paul and Edel Maher,

who live in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, have 11 children under 13. They have helped the children understand that Santa will give each child a big present and a small one. Sometimes the big present is shared; last year, seven of the siblings received a PlayStation3 between them.

“For other families a big present might be something huge, but a big present to our children would be a lot smaller than what it would be to other families,” saysPaul. “We explain there are 11 children and Santa has to go to other families too . . . The children don’t ask for a whole lot, either; they are not the wanting type.”

Paul and Edel’s children also participate in a Christkindl with aunts and cousins. He is keen to point out that the children still use and play with last year’s gifts. “I think people become overwhelmed by Christmas . . . There is as much or as little pressure in the Christmas period as parents allow themselves fall into . . . If a child has everything they ever wanted, what are they going to hope for as they grow up?”

In Clarecastle, Co Clare, Angie Parry, a married mother of two, says “My children get two things and a surprise, and they have to prioritise. I know some kids get lots of things but I say to mine, if Santa gave some children lots of things there wouldn’t be enough to go around . . . The main thing I think is that, recession or no recession, even though it is a magical time, you need to keep it real.”

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) advises families to make a Christmas budget and stick to it. It also asks people to be sensitive around those who might not be able to afford glitzy presents.

“We are advising that a conversation should take place around the family table, particularly with older children. For families who say no to their children for the previous 11 months, they make a huge effort to make Christmas memorable, so it can be hard to strike a balance.” - BRIAN O'CONNELL