Six top destinations

Sydney: £579

Qantas/British Airways from Manchester or Birmingham via Frankfurt and Singapore. Must be booked by December 15. Valid for departures April 12-June 15. No minimum stay, maximum one year. Quest Travel (0870 4423513, questtravel.com).

Los Angeles: £265

Delta Airlines from Gatwick via Atlanta. Must be booked by December 19. Valid for departures December 25-March 31. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Travelbag (0870 8901459, travelbag.co.uk).

New York: £186

Kuwait Airlines from Heathrow. Valid for departures January 1-March 31. No minimum stay, maximum six months. Thomas Cook Flights Direct (0870 7520066, thomascook.com).

Hong Kong: £407

Emirates from Gatwick or Birmingham via Dubai. Valid for departures until December 9, then December 25-April 3 and April 12-July 15. Minimum stay seven days, maximum two months. Quest Travel (0870 4423513, questtravel.com).

Amsterdam: £59.40

BMI British Midland from Heathrow. Must be booked online (£5 extra if booked by phone 0870 6070555). Valid for departures indefinitely. No minimum stay, maximum one year. BMI British Midland (flybmi.com).

Paris: £69

British Airways from Manchester. Must be booked online (£10 extra by phone 0870 8509850) and at least 30 days before travel. Valid for departures indefinitely. British Airways (ba.com).

The pick of the rest

Bonaire: £419

KLM from Birmingham, London City, Heathrow and Manchester via Amsterdam. Must be booked by December 15. Valid for departures January 10-June 14. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Airline Warehouse (0870 7707339, airlinewarehouse.com).

Tenerife South: £49

Monarch Airlines charter from Birmingham. Departs December 9 for seven nights. Avro (0870 4582847, avro.co.uk).

Tokyo: £396

Lufthansa from Heathrow via Munich. Must be booked by December 31. Valid for departures January 10-March 31. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Trailfinders (020-7938 3939, trailfinders.com).

Alicante: £69

Britannia charter from Birmingham. Departs December 11 for seven nights. Thomson Flights (0800 000747, thomsonflights.co.uk).

And the rail alternative

Paris/Brussels: £59
Lille: £55

Eurostar from Waterloo or Ashford. Valid for same-day returns December 15-January 2. No advanced booking needed but tickets may not be available at last minute. Eurostar (08705 186186, eurostar.com).

· NB Fares can change rapidly. These were available in reasonable quantities at the time of writing, but they can sell out in a sudden rush.