CHRISTMAS is a great time of the year. But how do you avoid yet another round of socks and hankie sets? Or even worse, a novelty tie that plays Jingle Bells.

Why not settle back for a moment and have a look at some of Gadgetman's Christmas 2000 recommendations:

Best Computer peripheral for less than £50:

The Logitech iFeel Mouseman isn't just another mouse for your computer. It's the ultimate PC rodent. Logitech has taken the optical technology pioneered by Microsoft in its range of mice and added a spicy new ingredient: force feedback.

When you're surfing the net, an iFeel Mouseman actually responds to your touch as it scrolls over icons, buttons and web links. The sleek shape fits your hand like a glove and the optical trackball means it doesn't need a pristine mousemat to function accurately.

Best PC gaming accessory:

If you dismiss the usual games peripherals such as pads, steering wheels and joysticks there really is only one gadget that can really improve a PC's gaming machine credentials. A graphics card like the Creative GeForce 2 GTS is a very expensive Christmas pressie at nearly £250 but it transforms a flagging system into something that's more than a match for PlayStation 2. The GeForce card is the piece of silicon to have this year but ATi and Voodoo alternatives are available for similar money.

Best hand-held PC:

The Palm operating system may be popular in America but that doesn't mean it's the best pocket-sized PC available. Anyone who feels the need for a clamshell device with a keyboard can't go wrong with a Psion. The Series 5 may be getting a bit long in the tooth but it's still a superb little machine. The downside is the lack of a built in modem but Psion has just released a tasty infra red add-on. For a truly pocket device, however, you must take a look at the new Microsoft Pocket PC devices as sold by Hewlett Packard and Compaq. Small, stylish and very powerful, they look the absolute business with their colour screens. What's more they even double as MP3 players.

Best Portable Audio Device:

This has been the year of MP3 a new music format that allows you to download music from the Internet without a mass of huge files clogging your PC hard disk. The down side of MP3 is the quality (it isn't that good when you select hefty compression) and the cost of memory. A typical portable player has around 64MB of memory - enough for one album. Additional memory cards cost around £100 - compare that to tapes for your Sony Walkman. Next we will see MP3 players fitted with hard disks capable of holding hours of music so it's better to wait for this before diving in.

Mini disc offers better sound than MP3 with the added convenience created by small storage media. This technology also works by compressing digital sounds to fit on a small disc. Usually you can't tell the difference between MD and CD but, at times, the music can suffer.

So the best sound is still good old fashion CD. And the best player has to be the jog proof Sony range (starting at about £70) which finally nails the problem of music skipping when you move around.

Best video camera:

Forget VHS and 8mm tapes. Everyone has gone digital. With a digi-cam you can shoot your home movie then edit the results on your PC. The quality is near broadcast standard too. Take a look at the £700 JVC DVL 100.

Best games console:

A controversial choice this one. Although PlayStation 2 is the name on everyone's lips if you haven't got one by now you can forget it. The machine has completely sold out. It's near legendary status has been fed by a media ignorant about games consoles. At the moment PlayStation 2 isn't the best console on the market. It has too few games and those it does have are expensive.

No, the games machine to buy this year is the Sega Dreamcast. It costs half as much as the Sony beast (£149) and you may even get some games thrown in gratis. The software looks just as good and there are some cracking titles available. What's more, because everyone has forgotten the DC in the stampede to buy a PS2 many of the earlier games are available at bargain prices.

l Of course the best gift is probably good old fashioned cash. Then you can venture forth into the January sales and buy what you want.