ARE you sure you've got time to be reading this? This really is your last chance to shop for Christmas. Just in case you really have left it to the last minute - or your nearest and dearest have just decided to come and stay with you after all, here are a few last minute tips.

FOOD AND DRINK

Get out there quickly! Some Sainsburys are open until 6pm; most supermarkets and stores close at 5pm today. Markets will be winding down even earlier.

Supplies of fresh turkeys will be limited - so leaving the shopping until 4.55pm probably isn't a good idea.

BUT all the major supermarkets say they should also have a reasonable selection of festive-type meat plus lots of party food, mince pies, puddings, etc, so yes, you can get yourself an instant last minute Christmas.

PRESENTS

Well, for grown-ups try some festive booze - Morrisons has some pink fizz for £4.99 or Cava at £3.99. At Aldi, they have Champagne at £8.99, Premier Cru at £10.99, or a Glenmarnach, 12-year-old Speyside single malt at £11.99

Aldi has film DVDs for just £7.99 and triple pack movies for £6.99.

Play it safe at Morrisons with Christmas bouquets starting at £4, gift candles at two for £4, or how about a diamante thong for £1.99? Granny might love it.

PETROL

Remember many petrol stations - especially those at supermarkets - will be closing at 5.30 this evening. Get filled up.

BOXING DAY

The MetroCentre opens from 11am-5pm. Sales start - or continue - in some other shops, but most supermarkets will be closed. Some, including Morrisons, are also closed on Monday.

DON'T FORGET

All the boring things - batteries, bread, milk, loo rolls, and a another roll of wrapping paper...

TAKING THINGS BACK

There's always something - the optimistic size ten dress for the size 16 wife, the DVD you've gone on about so much that everyone buys it for you, just about any item of clothing for teenagers, or Mark Darcy's jolly reindeer jumper in Bridget Jones' Diary. Some Christmas presents, however well meant, carefully chosen and wrapped with love, are just no good. Can you take them back?

It all depends... If there's nothing wrong with it - other than that you just don't like it - the answer is NO. Legally, you have absolutely no right to an exchange or a refund.

However, most stores, especially the big ones, will refund or exchange IF YOU HAVE A RECEIPT. Otherwise, they will give you a credit note. Be gracious and say thank you.

Don't leave it too long. You are, after all, relying on their goodwill, so you are pushing your luck to turn up with that reindeer jumper in the middle of summer.

Of course, anything you're taking back should be pristine, still with all its labels on and, where possible, in its original wrapping. The easier you make it for the store to sell it again, the more likely they will be to give you your money.

And if the store advertises its exchange policy: "Money back if not entirely happy for any reason," then they have to stick to it.

FAULTY GOODS

If there's anything wrong with something you've bought, then take it back to where you've bought it. Do this immediately. If this isn't possible, then telephone them. The longer you take over it, the harder it is to prove that it was like that when you bought it.

If you decide to let the retailer repair the goods, you still have not lost your right to a refund if the repair is unsuccessful.

If you've bought the goods using a credit card and they cost more than £100, then the credit card company also has a liability to make sure the goods are satisfactory. Nice to know you've got Barclaycard batting on your side.

SALE ITEMS

Exactly the same conditions apply to sale items. But shops are less likely to give you a refund for something bought in the sale just because you don't like it and often have a big notice up saying so. So if you see one of those notices, remember those unworn shoes, jacket or bright yellow dress in the back of your wardrobe, and think again. A sale item is no bargain if you never wear it.

And you can't return goods as faulty if the fault was pointed out - missing button, scratched television. BUT they still have to be fit for the purpose. So if you buy your walking boots in the sale, you probably can't take them back because there's a dirty mark on one of them but you CAN take them back if they leak.