WITH the festive season well and truly upon us, we have to start planning the drinks for Christmas Day. Quite apart from the wine to go with the meal, you have to think of something fizzy for the morning, a bottle of Croft Original Sherry for Auntie Mary, and (of course) gin. Lots and lots of gin.

Gin is still enjoying its boom, with more and more new expressions being launched (it seems) every week. They can be deluxe and very expensive, although there are a few surprisingly good examples at "house gin" prices. They can be flavoured with herbs and other botanicals both before and after the distillation. Some of them even change colour when you add tonic. You really are spoiled for choice.

The clever folk at Pickering’s Gin have had the most festive idea of producing baubles for your tree filled with gin. They come in a variety of seasonal colours and are boxed in sixes (Inverarity One to One, £28.50 per box) with each bauble containing 5cl of delicious, refreshing spirit. Just make sure you hang them high enough on the tree that the wee ones can’t reach them, but low enough that you can in case of festive gin emergencies.

We are down to our last few cases of the current batch of the 121 Gin (Inverarity One to One, £23.99) which is bottled at 46 per cent ABV and is remarkably good value. This will certainly help to boost your Christmas spirit on December 25.

And so to the fizz. Champagne sales go through the roof at this time of year, and it’s worth shopping around to find the best price on your favourite bottle. The supermarkets will quite often do a special promotion for a week (or even just a few days), so keep an eye out for big discounts. I love Laurent Perrier, Pol Roger and Veuve Clicquot, all three of which are good quality and very consistent. At the time of writing, Waitrose had the Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV on offer at £34.99. Also, you should definitely snap a bottle or two of Veuve Clicquot Brut NV from Majestic at just £29.99 if they have any left.

If the softer fizz and fruitier approachability of Prosecco is more your thing, try the Conte Priuli Prosecco (M&S, £9). The saving you will make on Champagne prices can be clawed back in to the gin budget.

Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow www.inveraritymorton.com