Christmas shopping weekends (Can u afford 'em?)

New York

Why go?
With flurries of snow and a Father Christmas on every corner, New York knows how to exploit its movie star looks to the hilt. And despite the pound's slump against the dollar over the past month, there are still bargains to be had, particularly on those American brands which are so overpriced by the time they reach our high streets. Away from the shops, Manhattan's multi-sensory experience takes in a sing-a-long Messiah at the Lincoln Centre and the smaltzy Rockettes formation dancing at Radio City Hall as well as moonlit ice-skating sessions at the Wollman Rink in Central Park, chestnut sellers and alcoholic glasses of eggnog. The Rockefeller Centre, site of another of the city's skating rinks, also houses the city's largest Christmas tree.

What to buy
New York's shops are still bending over backwards to ensure that tourists keep shopping and most items, iPods apart, are still cheaper in the US. There's no sales tax on clothing and shoes that cost under $110 and moreover, at the moment, Bloomingdale's is offering visitors from the EU 11 per cent off all purchases. Macy's is also liberal with its discounts while Century 21, just off Wall Street, specialises in designer fashion at deeply discounted prices. The racks are full of European designers, with Alberta Ferretti coats currently reduced from $1,485 to $499. Calypso is a highly desirable New York fashion label. At 407 Broome there's an outlet branch, selling everything at between 30-70 per cent off. Currently, gold and brown velvet jackets cost $199, down from $450. The best New York shopping, however, manages to be both cheap and unique to the city. The stalls in SoHo are worth a trawl. Selling T-shirts, hand-knitted hats and jewellery, items usually hover around the $10 mark. For the culturally inclined, the Museum of Modern Art (moma.org) has a particularly fine shop attached to it; buy racing cars powered by balloons for $6.50. For the mini-naturalist, the Evolution Store in Spring Street, SoHo, is a treasure trove of animal skeletons and insects; a scorpion caught in resin costs $9.

How to do it
A quick search on expedia.co.uk turns up fares for mid-November for £275 with Air France, from Heathrow to JFK. Hotel rooms in New York are often scarce at this time of year but this autumn has seen some new hotels open, with steeply discounted soft-opening rates. Thompson Lower East Side (60thompson.com) is the newly opened sibling of the glamorous SoHo hotel 60 Thompson. With stellar views and a sleek modernist design, doubles until the end of November start at $229, rising to $399 in December (compared with $499 for 60 Thompson in November). The Cooper Square Hotel in the East Village, (thecoopersquarehotel.com), another striking glass'n'steel edifice should be open at the end of November and rooms should start at $300 a night.