Toronto offers the best value for Christmas shopping this year, with savings of as much as £83 on five popular presents compared to London prices. But the best bet for the shopaholic might be Dublin - £50 cheaper than London - especially if you can get a cheap fare.

Thomas Cook surveyed the cost of five presents in London and six worldwide cities. Santa's choice was a Robbie Williams CD, a bottle of Calvin Klein Truth perfume, a pair of Levi 501s, a microscooter, and a robotic puppy toy. The prices in New York confirmed anecdotal evidence that the Big Apple is losing its edge as a shopping centre. New York did have the best deal for the jeans and the toy but fell down badly on the CD and the perfume.

The Toronto CD was the best value, £5 cheaper than London, while the microscooter cost less than half the UK price. The Dublin prices can be credited to the weak Euro. The pound buys around £1.30 Irish punts, giving an instant discount of 30 per cent. Singapore was surprisingly expensive for this set of presents with only the CD offering a real bargain.

Rome offered reasonable value though the toy was not available. The only crumb of comfort for Londoners comes from the Paris price, which was just £3 less overall - and this only because of a £20 saving on the microscooter.Paris, Rome, New York and Dublin are among the year-round top ten cities for short breaks Toronto must hope to cash in on its good value for shopping among trans-Atlantic weekenders.