The largest set of voters in our poll - 31.8 percent - reported that they didn't plan to do any Christmas shopping online at all.

Atmosphere was one advantage of high-street shopping that people cited.

"There's no Christmas atmosphere without the Christmassy sights and smells of roasting chestnuts, mistletoe, tangerines, nuts, barefoot street urchins and Xboxes as you stroll through the mall..." insisted forum member .

Our agreed. "I go to Notting Hill, and wander up and down Portobello Road, lots of interesting shops, lots of places to get good coffee and snacks, and bags of atmosphere. I can drive there in 45 minutes, and I come back with presents for my wife - she's done all the rest. It puts me in the right frame of mind for Christmas Day, and I look forward to it enormously."

Some readers were sceptical about the reliability or punctuality of web firms' delivery partners.