It’s official – Christmas Day is just five weeks away! For those of you who still believe, that means Santa will be shimmying down your NZ Christmas chimney in only 35 sleeps – but fret not if you’re feeling a little disorganised.

Whether you’ve had your Christmas shopping sorted for months or you’re still deciding who in your family will be hosting the typical NZ Christmas dinner this year, NZS.com has you covered with a whole host of great Christmas ideas and tips to help you save money at Christmas and make the most of the holiday season.

The Christmas holidays may still be some weeks away, but office Christmas parties are already in full swing, which may mean participating in a little “secret Santa” shopping at the last minute.

If hitting the mall and finding some great Christmas gifts and the best toys for Christmas is your next priority, consider doing some of your shopping online to reduce your stress and help you avoid impulse purchases.

As for the silly season and Christmas Day traditions, why not get in to the spirit of things by sending out real Christmas cards (not emails), or by baking up a storm with some delicious Christmas recipes? And if you’ll be celebrating a Christian Christmas with the family this year, you could even get together with members of your church to sing some traditional Christmas carols at a local rest home to spread some holiday cheer.

Of course, the Twelve Days of Christmas doesn’t start for another couple of weeks so you’ve still got a little time up your sleeve to hang your Christmas pictures and sort your Christmas trees and decorations.

Good luck with your NZ Christmas planning! Be sure to keep checking NZS.com as more Christmas articles, hints and planning ideas are added over the following weeks.

Looking to book NZ accommodation while planning your New Zealand travel and summer holiday?

Whether you’re looking for a holiday house or bach to spend a couple of weeks relaxing with the family, or a luxury retreat to indulge in the upcoming New Year’s festivities in style, the list of NZ accommodation options is huge for NZ travel buffs.

Make the most of the excellent online travel resources while researching your holiday, and book your NZ accommodation online now to grab some great travel deals.

And while you’re searching, why not check out the fantastic selection of NZ attractions available at your holiday destination? With so many great places to stay, sights to see and adventures to be had, your next holiday is bound to be a great one.

Christchurch will celebrate spring this Friday as country comes to town for the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Show.

The Show will showcase the very best of rural life, allowing Cantabrians to experience the unique sights, sounds and smells of the country along with plenty of retail therapy.

The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association has held the annual Canterbury A&P Show every year since 1862. Livestock and machinery exhibits featured from the outset.

The Canterbury A&P Show has a proud history of promoting Canterbury agricultural and pastoral interests and is New Zealand’s largest A&P Show. The Show is the jewel in Canterbury’s agricultural and entertainment crown and continues to build on a long and successful reputation for bringing the country to town.

Tickets are available in advance through Ticketek, and gates sales will be $25 for adults, $8 for children, and $12 for students and seniors. Children under five years will be able to attend free of charge.

For racing fans the long awaited and much celebrated Melbourne Cup got underway at 5pm today with five New Zealand trained horses in this year’s field, including Daffodil, Capecover, Harris Tweed, Gallions Reach and Spin Around.

While 2008 Melbourne Cup winner Viewed shared the favourite’s tag along with Alcopop, the results were these:

Shocking took the win, paying $9.90, while Crime Scene took second place paying $10.80 and Mourilyan took third, paying $8.20.

No New Zealand trained horse has won the Cup since the Shiela Laxon trained Etheral won in 2001.

Labour weekend is right around the corner, so if you’re looking to make the most of the long weekend make sure you jump online with House of Travel to book some great New Zealand travel deals.

It’s now easier than ever to compare the best prices and book NZ airfares online, especially with quick web tutorials to help you through the planning and payment steps if you need a little extra help with your New Zealand travel deals purchase.

And if you’re thinking of travelling locally this Labour weekend, check out our top selection of New Zealand destinations before booking your domestic flights NZ and New Zealand travel deals.

Craving high definition audio visual to complement your home theatre system?

Audio visual and entertainment technologies have come along way – particularly with the development of HDMI cables which reduce consumer confusion with their standardised connections.

Forget the once-common nightmare of hundreds of cords connecting your audio visual and home theatre. With HDMI you can easily connect televisions, audio visual, Blu-ray disc players, multimedia PCs, gaming systems, digital camcorders, and more.

To find out if your audio visual equipment is HDMI compatible or if you have any questions be sure to get in touch with your local home theatre distributor.

Kiwi kids are in the thick of school holidays before the final term for 2009, but it’s not too late for parents to plan a quick family holiday or weekend trip away before the kids go back to school.

Term Four will begin October 12 for primary, intermediate and secondary school students, so if you’re considering a spontaneous trip with the family, contact a local holiday planner to sort things out for you.

Whether you need the skinny on cheap flights and hotel deals or car rentals and travel deals, doing your own research and getting some industry expert advice is the quickest and easiest way to get your holiday started.

You may even be able to nab some last minute deals, so be in quick before school starts back.

The New Zealand newspaper industry has come a long way since the first primitive printers introduced to the country cut their teeth on our flagship publications.

While the style, tone, content and context of newspaper in New Zealand continues to change to keep up with the evolution of society and technological advancements, daily newspapers in NZ still retain a loyal readership, both regionally and nationally.

While the advent of online newspaper has brought news into the digital age, most New Zealand news sources have kept up, offering readers both print and online options for their preferred news consumption.

It’s the must-have home theatre appliance for any home entertainment guru, but choosing the right flat screen can be a whopper of a decision with so many options available in LCD and Plasma screens.

Ask any expert and they can wax lyrical about the advantages of Plasma vs LCD for hours, but in finding the right big screen for your entertainment and living situation you’ll need to do a little research.

Plasma TV has been declared one of the most important developments in consumer electronics technologies of the past decade, thanks to the edge it has traditionally had in display quality of contrast.

LCD TV displays however have been fast catching up with this technology, and are said to offer a lighter and les power-hungry alternative for space and eco-conscious consumers.

The death of 80s heartthrob Patrick Swayze has inspired an outpouring of Internet messages and tributes from fans and fellow actors, while a darker side of the web tries to cash in.

Hackers are renowned for jumping on the search bandwagon and targeting popular search terms to sell fake anti-virus software and to infect people with malware.

Just as scamsters have exploited public interest in the deaths of Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett and Natasha Richardson to lead people to virus-laced websites, Swayze’s death has led to a flood of similar sham web pages

These cyber criminals use search engine optimisation techniques to get these websites to rank high in search engines such as Google.

While the websites appear legitimate, upon visiting them targets are advised their computers need anti-virus scans. When these scans are complete targets are advised their computers have been infected with Trojans, offering to sell them fake anti-virus software to remove them.

Many of the sites also infect users with viruses designed to steal personal details such as passwords and credit-card numbers.