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6 present-buying days to go ...

This hand-warmer from the oh-so-stylish Conran Shop (now with two London outlets) is one of those inventions that's both admirably lo-tech but also a shade dramatic anywhere but halfway up a snow-whipped mountain.

I mean, it's not as though a perfectly ordinary pair of gloves couldn't do the trick while you're waiting for the bus, or even rubbing your hands together. Furthermore, the Hand Warmer's instructions tell you to "vigorously manipulate it back and forth", the exertion of which, I suspect, does as much as the pack itself to defrost your digits.

But, still, there's something magical about generating heat from a bit of bendy plastic even if you're never quite going to make that solo assault on the South Pole.

pounds 6.95 from The Conran Shop 0171-589 7401