Sales in the two weeks before Christmas centred not so much around gifts as on items for the home including drills, curtain poles and door bells, according to Homebase.
Online searches at homebase.co.uk in the run-up to the holidays suggested that people were looking for last-minute items to make their homes welcoming for guests.

Even the outside of the home was getting a makeover ahead of friends and relatives arriving, with a new garden shed on the list of top wanted items. And Homebase says even pressure washers for sprucing up the driveway and car saw searches rise.

The most searched-for items before Christmas at Homebase were:

1. Toilet roll holder
2. Door bell
3. Dining table
4. Cushion
5. Shelves
6. Curtain pole
7. Wardrobe
8. Laminate flooring
9. Radiator
10. Duvet
11. Folding chairs
12. Shower screen
13. Axe
14. Skirting board
15. Bath panel
16. Tablecloth
17. Drill
18. Chainsaw
19. Shed
20. Rug