Many years ago, our family decided that giving the older generations Christmas presents was really not a practical idea as most of us had everything that we would ever need, and we all could afford to buy any modestly priced items that we may desire. It was also a complete and utter pain in the arse having a rack one's brain to try and work out what to buy everyone else.

The solution was simple. A draw would be held and each person would anonymously have to buy someone else a gift "from Santa" to the value of approximately $25. The rest of the money that we would have spent on gifts is then donated to the individual's favourite charity.

The plan has worked well for years. My father always wines up with an Einstein calendar; one brother-in-law always gets alcohol of some description, my other brother-in-law always getting a bottle of musket or tokay, and so it goes on. For obvious reasons, no one is going to buy a bottle of wine for me, and considering the size of my cellar, it would be counterproductive, so some of the gifts I have received in the past have been a bit esoteric, but this year Santa was very kind to me.

 Anyone who owns Riedel or similar sized glasses or users wine decanters, knows how difficult they are to wash, and how much space they take up when drying. From a personal perspective, I like rinsing them with very hot water and then letting them drip dry. Experience has shown that if the water is hot enough, the glasses don't streak and don't need to be dried by hand. The only problem is that if you have guests there tends to be a lot of washing-up, and drying space is at a premium.

And when you have finished with it, it folds flat.

The device is available in Australia from Peters of Kensington. (It is the "Rack It Wine Glass and Decanter Drainer" and is not listed on their web site. There is a  "Rack It Wine Glass Drainer" listed but that is not it. The devise is probably a recent addition to the product line as it is not listed on the importers web site either.

There are more wine gadgets on the market that you can poke a stick at, and whilst some of them are useful, some are about as useful as tits on a bull. This one is an absolute necessity in any wine lovers paraphernalia.