1. Antwerp, Belgium
Christmas list: Diamonds and hip designer items
Since three-quarters of the world's diamond trade passes through Antwerp, it makes sense to go there to buy them. The diamond district is served by a tram station called Diamant and boasts 2,500 diamond companies and shops with names such as Diamonds Are Forever and Midas. Diamondland in Appelmansstraat claims prices are 10-15 per cent cheaper in Antwerp than in the UK. The city is also bursting with hip designers including Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten and Walter's. In the small winding streets near the cathedral, one-off boutiques sell cashmere-mix sweaters for £70 and a set of designer spoons in pewter for £15. You'll also find the glove shop Huis A. Boon here, with 10,000 pairs of traditional gloves to choose from at prices from £50 to £95, all filed away according to colour and size. Finally, save room in your luggage for some Belgian chocolates.
How to get there: Eurostar (08705 186186) has tickets to Brussels with 40-minute transfer to Antwerp from £59 return (either including a Saturday night away or booked 21 days in advance). The journey to Brussels takes two hours 20 minutes. Stay in the converted eighteenth-century Sandt Hotel (00 32 3232 9390) which has rooms at the weekend for €145 (£100) for two.
2. Dubai
Christmas list: Gold, watches, electrical items
Gold is sold by weight in the souk here - you can get a heavy, 18 carat bracelet for £120, about half the price in the UK. As you wander the narrow lanes of the market, stock up on cheap saffron, look out for Persian rugs and don't forget to haggle. For bargain electrical goods head for Baniyas Square on the Al Sabkha road. Elsewhere there are plenty of gifts for your family. Dad might like golf balls and a shirt from the world-renowned Emirates Golf Club. CDs are usually a hit with siblings, and if you go to the Karama district (full of fake designer watches), you can pick up the new Dido album for £7, about half what you'd pay here. Mum might like a pashmina for about £20, and At the Wafi Shopping Complex you can buy designer wear such as Versace and Fendi for three-quarters of the UK price.
How to get there: Just Dubai (020 8515 4888) has five nights' B&B at the Grand Hyatt Dubai, on the edge of Bur Dubai and adjacent to the Wafi Shopping Complex, for £620 including direct flights, for travel completed by 24 November.
3. Sorrento, Italy
Christmas list:Lacy lingerie, leather
This is more manageable than some of the better known Italian cities. You can walk around town in an hour, shopping in smaller, specialist boutiques rather than large department stores. A weekend here also gives you the chance to enjoy the Amalfi coast. Head to the main shopping drag of the Corso Italia to bag silk negligees for £15 and lace G-strings for £7. Also on this street are Benetton, Sisley and Max Mara. Leading off the Corso Italia is the cobbled, narrow Vico San Cesareo where you'll find quality leather items including handbags and satchels from as little as £10 and ladies shoes from £15. For festive goodies, get Perug ina's Baci chocolates for £3 a box of 20 (£8 and above at Selfridges and Harvey Nicks), Pannetone cakes and litre bottles of Gordon's gin for £8.
How to get there: Easyjet flies from Stansted to Naples from £55, including tax, with 40-minute boat transfers to Sorrento. Stay at the five-star Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria (0800 969 765) perched on the clifftop with views across the Amalfi coast to Vesuvius and Capri, for £195pp for two nights' B&B and one gourmet dinner.
4. Madrid, Spain
Christmas list: Your outfit for New Year's Eve, including leather shoes, Zara and Mango clothes
Madrid is shoe heaven, especially at Calle Augusto Figueroa in trendy Chueca, the Soho of the Spanish capital, where shop after shop is filled with fabulous shoes at great prices. You can find black calf-length cowboy boots for £40 - less than half the cost in London. Chueca is also great for clubbing wear and has 'alternative' designer shops on Calle Almirante. In Madrid there seems to be a Zara on every corner and you can expect to pay 25 per cent less than in the UK. The same goes for Mango. The sprawling El Rastro flea market, in La Latina neighbourhood, is a good place to pick up a belt or bag on a Sunday.
How to get there: Easyjet flies to Madrid from Luton, Gatwick and Liverpool for £50 return including tax. Stay at the three-star Hotel Principe Pio in the city centre near the Plaza España from £24pp per night with www.hotels.com.
5. New York, US
Christmas list: Levi's 501s and other clothes
At about £25, Levi's are half the UK price. In fact, all clothes are cheaper here. For easy shopping under one roof, head for Macy's (151 West 35 St) and Bloomingdale's (59th Street and Lexington). Canal Street is the place for cheap backpacks and leather belts,and Century 21, opposite Ground Zero, is a treasure trove for designer bargains such as DKNY sunglasses for a fiver. Fashion junkies can take a Sex and the City tour (£20 for a three-hour circuit, www.sceneontv.com, which takes you to the Jimmy Choo boutique, where Carrie buys her shoes.
How to get there: Jetsave (0870 060 0230) has two nights' room-only at the Thirty Thirty Hotel from £319pp and gives you a Macy's card offering 11 per cent off purchases.
6. Paris, France
Christmas list: Beauty products, perfume
The Printemps department store on Boulevard Haussmann offers the perfect excuse for a Christmas dash to Paris; this month it opens a 4,000 square metre section devoted to beauty. Most products are cheaper than in England. A 50ml bottle of Chanel No. 5 costs £35 in Printemps, compared with £39 in Selfridges. Caudalie moisturiser is £10.30, against £16 in England. For the Christmas table, fill up your shopping baskets with glazed chestnuts and other French gastronomic treats.
How to get there: Eurostar (08705 186186) has return fares to Paris from £59, which must either include a Saturday night away or be booked 21 days in advance. The fastest journey time is now two hours 35 minutes. Treat yourself and stay at La Tremoille (00 33 156 521400), a stone's throw from the shops of the Champs Elyseés (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste and Naf Naf). Special pre-Christmas rates at the hotel start at £205 a room B&B for two, down from £270 room only.
7. Zurich, Switzerland
Christmas list: Swiss army knives, watches, chocolates
Sharp prices mean you'll pay up to half the price for a Swiss army knife here as in the UK - a standard model costs about £13. Be sure to pack it in your hold baggage, though, because of security measures at the airport. Zurich is also the place to stock up on Christmas chocolate - think bars of Toblerone, chocolate money and the hand-made chocolates of Sprungli at Bahnhofstrasse 67, with its mouthwatering displays of truffles, pralines and chocolate almonds. A 250g box of Lindt and Sprungli chocolates costs £6.50. Stroll up Bahnhofstrasse, the main shopping artery, to buy knives and watches.
How to get there: Travelscene (020 8424 9648) has two nights' B&B at the three-star Hotel Bristol, a short walk from the old town, from £222pp including flights with BA from Heathrow.
8. Cologne, Germany
Christmas list: Dr Hauschka beauty products, Christmas ornaments
In Germany, Dr Hauschka has the same kind of following as Aveda back home. Madonna is reported to be a fan of the products, which are organic and conform to 'fair trade' rules. Pick them up in Cologne for half the UK price - £6.85 for a 30ml day moisturiser (£16 in London) and £6.35 for the facial wash (£12 here). While you're there, pop into the department store Kaufhof for their star-shaped Christmas cookies, marzipan balls and candles, which the Germans use to light up their Christmas trees. You can also get everything from wooden nutcrackers to decorative angels and crib scenes at one of six different Christmas markets, held from 24 November to 23 December.
How to get there: German Wings (020 8321 7255) has one-way fares from Stansted to Cologne for £13. Stay at the five-star Dom Hotel which overlooks the cathedral, from £54pp per night with www.hotels.com.
9. Gibraltar
Christmas list: Perfume, spirits, cameras
A walk down Gibraltar's pedestrianised Main Street will take you back to Britain in the Seventies: there are bobbies on the beat and red telephone boxes. And prices seem to have stood still, too. Because Gibraltar is free of VAT, despite its centuries-old links with the UK, the pound stretches much further and you can buy a litre of Gordon's gin or Teacher's whisky for a fiver. Perfume shop Seruya, which has six shops on Main Street, claims its products are up to 25 per cent off UK high street prices. For instance, it has 50ml bottles of Glow J.Lo eau de toilette spray for £18.40, compared with £26 at Boots. Or head into electrical shop The Red House for cameras - the shop says its prices are on average 20 per cent lower than in the UK.
How to get there: British Airways (0870 850 9850) has twice -daily service from Gatwick to Gibraltar with return fares from £109, including taxes. Book online at The Rock Hotel (00 350 73000) and get a 20 per cent discount on the normal price of £165 a night for a room for two.
10. Moirans, France
Christmas list: Wooden toys
There are more toys in Moirans than the 2,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by toy factories and boasting a toy museum, this small town calls itself France's capital of toy making. Traditional puppets in a box are sold at Charliluce, on Rue Roussin. The museum gives children a chance to both play with toys and buy them - one of the favourites is the dolls' houses from £10-£40, and in December, children can make their own toys in Santa's workshop.
How to get there Seafranceholidays.com (0870 200 0929) has three nights' B&B at the Chalet les Crozats in the Uxelles Lake region, about half an hour from Moirans, for £181 per person including ferry crossing. The drive from Calais takes about six hours.
