Last night I had the first dinner party at my new flat. It is flat number 21 in 18 years in Budapest, but this one is MINE (and the bank's for the next 27 years ;-) I made some nice pumpkin soup, new potatoes with sage and garlic, and a big salad. When my Dutch friends arrived, I expected them to bring some wine for the house warming, but instead, I got a bit of my own back. Lennard and Jeroen brought me two excellent gifts - an energy efficient lightbulb, and an extension cord with a master switch. Maybe you have not noticed, but in the last 10 years or so, appliance and IT gear makers have begun omitting off-switches from their products. For example, I have never seen<!-- pagebreak --> an ADSL modem with an off-switch, the credit card machine in my shop does not have one either. Even if the electric goods have off-switches, there are still the stand-by lights to contend with, as well as the fact that when plugged in and off, they still draw power. Imagine, the stand-by lights just on tvs, just in the US, annually consume as much energy as one nuclear power plant! Add to that computer monitors, videos, stereos, dvd players...globally... Extension cords with master switches and energy efficient lightbulbs are some of the best gifts you can give for the holidays, or even for a birthday or wedding. It saves the receiver lots of money as well as saving the environment. Energy efficient bulbs (make sure the rating on the side of the box is A-A+! or it does not matter) cost a bit more, but use 80% less energy and last 10-times longer than normal incandescent bulbs. Halogen bulbs are only slightly better than normal incandescents. Check out the light it gives off before buying. Hungarian shops that sell electrictronic goods are very cool because they test your lightbulbs first before they hand them over and you can see that they work and the quality of light. I would avoid the Chinese ones (bad light), Phillips are perhaps the best, but also the most expensive, Osram and Seimens are also good, but expensive and the company (Osram, Boch, Seimens all the same company) builds nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. I have been buying mine at the Szarvas light shop around the corner from me on Andrassy Ut. "MiniMax" or something, but I find they burn out more quickly than I am used to (maybe the quality, maybe because I have them on in the shop for 12 hours a day.... Another excellent gift is a hot-water bottle. I am not home most of the day and it is pointless to leave the heat on the whole time, so I went low-tech to solve the problem. I have seen hot water bottles ("agymellegito"/bed warmer) available at a couple medical supply (knee braces, etc.) shops on Bajcsy Zs. Ut for about 1000 huf. Throw it in your bed when you leave the house, refill it when you come home, and you will be toasty all night long. Besides saving energy and money, it all helps to avoid your partner warming his/her feet on you! For advice on how to save energy and heat, and maybe an energy audit of your home, contact the Energy Club.