Dustin the Turkey denied Celine Dion the top spot in the Irish album charts last Christmas. The French-Canadian singer may have to settle for second place yet again this year as the singing turkey's latest album seems set to secure the lucrative Number One position in the Christmas charts for the second year in a row.

The Christmas Number One is usually the biggest selling album of the year so competition to secure the top position is keen.

Record stores say that depending on when it is released and what else is available, an album can get to Number One in the Irish charts with sales of 5,000 copies a week.

But at Christmas time, an album needs to sell double or triple that number - generating revenue of more than £200,000 - while a Number One single needs to sell at least 15,000 copies a week.

Dustin's Unplucked topped the album charts for five weeks last Christmas, shifting 100,000 copies to become the biggest selling Irish album of last year.

"We sold more of Unplucked than U2 have done of Pop in Ireland," says Mr Darren Smith, media manager at Dustin's record label EMI Ireland.

Faith of our Feathers, which sees Dustin duet with Joe Dolan, Boyzone's Ronan Keating and Ballykissangel star Dervla Kirwan, looks set to repeat last year's chart-topping performance.

The album sold 30,000 copies in its first week and went to Number One two weeks after its release while the single, Good Looking Woman, which preceded the album, has already sold 20,000 copies, EMI says.

The record stores believe this unique Irish phenomenon could again snatch the top spot from the big-selling overseas artists this Christmas.

"It's very tight between Dustin, Garth Brooks and Celine Dion this year," says Ms Mella Moore, marketing manager at HMV Ireland.

Meanwhile, the BBC appears to be dominating the competition for the top position in the Irish singles charts. In contention this year are the Teletubbies, stars of the BBC children's programme and Perfect Day, the BBC single in aid of its Children in Need charity.

The Lou Reed song, performed by a host of big names such as Bono, David Bowie, Leslie Garrett, Elton John and Tom Jones, was intended as a BBC promotion, but its popularity led to its release as a single and it's selling well in Ireland.

However, the Spice Girls are due to release a new single today and Boyzone's latest single stood at Number Two in the mid-week charts, making the Christmas topper a hard one to call. But current sales suggest Perfect Day could hang on to become the soundtrack to Christmas 1997.

Christmas is a key time for both record companies and record stores and careful planning goes into the timing of releases and their promotion.

The record stores say a large proportion of their annual business is done in the weeks leading up to Christmas and trade is good well into January as people cash in record tokens. For the record companies, it is a crucial time as clinching the top spot means massive sales and exposure. "Christmas is a major time to reactivate your whole catalogue and to introduce new material," says Mr Michael O'Riordan, publishing and promotions manager at Ritz.

Among its artists the Irish record company includes Daniel O'Donnell and Charlie Landsborough, both of whom recently released albums.

Daniel O'Donnell currently occupies 34th position in the Irish album charts with Charlie Landsborough at 24, but Ritz hopes both will occupy higher positions by Christmas.