Chapter 2 - Gifts

The Happy Art Of Christmas Giving By Dorothy Wilson

Give yourself at Christmas; there really is no more wonderful gift, Out of the pretty box you give can fly all sorts of rare intangibles, once the ribbon is off and the lid is lifted. Affection, nostalgia, laughter, shared memories all these can crackle in the tissue paper along with grace and generosity. I was watching, a gift can say: last summer I could see you needed a better tennis racket. I was listening, a gift can tell: I heard you say you liked old cars ... or Beethoven ... or adventure stories. A gift can remember something delicious that once happened, and a gift can speculate: I am aware, it can imply, that you wear simple dresses, but here's one astounding ruffled nightgown; I think you have a bit of ruffle hidden in you somewhere. A gift can make promises for the future: the first five books for a boy's library, with a thousand bookplates; the first silver spoon for a teen-ager's hope chest.

Perhaps the art lies in the word itself. To "exchange gifts" at Christmas is an expression we might well drop into the sea. Exchange smacks of barter; giving smacks of love. Give usefully and generously, yes, but give hyacinths as well as biscuits. Give fun: laughter is beyond price. Open up a door on the world, for a child. Polish up the existing landscape a little, for an adult. Give courage, or leisure; give intimately. A gift can show that you honor someone's achievements, or his heart's desire. Stimulation is far better than a box of socks.

The art is to put into every package more than the gift itself. We should think to ourselves that any gift will rattle around in any box unless the box is stuffed with human values, with joy and smiles and loving-kindness. Put yourself in every Christmas package.

Christmas Comes But Half The Year

Stretch your Christmas shopping out a bit: if you see something in September that's just right for somebody, buy it or order it; Christmas will always come along, every year.

Keep your eyes open all during the year, during sales, off-seasons, general shopping, for the odd, delightful, pertinent gifts that are so meaningful at Christmas; buy them, tag them, and store them away.

When you travel during the year, anywhere, buy for Christmas gifts as well as for souvenirs.

Think well in advance of the gifts that take a whole year to accomplish: a year's collection of the college newspaper for a son at an Army camp; pictures taken the same day of every month of the new baby, for grandparents tar away, to be given in an album.

Have a notebook or card index to jot down hints during the year of things that other people would like; be alert to the wishes expressed idly by your family and friends.

Well ahead of the holiday make whatever discreet inquiries are necessary about size or taste, etc.

Mark a calendar for the days when materials for fruitcake, etc. need to be purchased; have some foolproof reminder for whatever takes many weeks before Christmas to do.

Investigate Christmas Clubs, and decide whether they suit your family's buying and spending habits.

Giving To Children

Consciously take notes during the year; many a real desire is forgotten or overlooked by the child in the dazzle of Christmas stores.

Take the children with you, once, early in the shopping season, to the biggest store in your city; say that it is not a trip to buy, and stick to it. Let it be just for looking, and allow time for the children to see and think about everything they see.

For very young children, do not buy for Christmas a gift that is out of season; a fishing rod he longed for at the beach last August will have little meaning for the very small boy when he sees it under the tree at Christmastime.

Avoid at all costs the gift a child is not yet ready for; a stamp album given half a year too soon may set up boredom where a little later a lasting interest might have developed.

Wrap everything. Wrap lots of little presents, too, and disguise packages that might be obvious. Under no circumstances tease the child by withholding the one present he has counted most on, if you have bought it for him.
If there is not time to set up a complicated toy on Christmas morning, put it away somewhere safely until that can be done; many a fine gift does not survive the early hours, and pieces are stepped on or thrown away accidentally, and directions are lost.

If there are children of different ages, take pains to protect all their gifts from each other's ravages, and to protect the younger children from harm.

Try to include in every child's Christmas a gift for the day itself, such as a Christmas book to be read or a record to be played.

Give A Child A Collection Of Related Gifts

Turn a child into a magician. Find an inexpensive folding tray (or paint one that you already own) to serve as the magician's table; add a big scarf, to confound his audience; and then get as many little tricks and jokes from the novelty store as you can. If you include a top hat (from the party hat counter), the illusion will be complete and the child will be delighted.

Let a little girl become a model. Starting with a paper or plastic hatbox, fill it as full as you can with feminine nonsense for dressing up. It will not matter whether things are old or new, but include if you can feathers, flowers, veils, scarves, and big pins, a fake chignon (made of inexpensive fiber), red candy lipstick, a pretty fan, strings of beads anything you have or can think of to dress a little girl up as ornately as her heart desires. Even the little girl who lives in dungarees will surprise you with her delight.

Set a little boy on the track of pirate treasure. If the weather at Christmas is anything short of deep snow, bury the treasure; otherwise, hide it above ground somewhere. Make as detailed a map as you can and present it at Christmas; have an actual treasure buried or hidden where the map shows it will be. Start with a metal candy or cookie box (or anything that will suggest a chest) and inside the box have gold-wrapped candy coins, or a hundred shiny pennies, or bunches of glass jewels and pearls and rhinestones pried out from broken jewelry or all of these.

Save, for a little girl, every bit of glitter, sequins, and unset stones and pearls that you can accumulate; dazzle her with the possibilities of making beautiful fashions at home. Take the trim from dresses, hats, and bags before you discard them; save one-of-a-kind earrings; and add as much as you can find of gilt and decoration from notion counters (fringe and tassels are wonderful). Include all these, plus the right glue and big needle and thread, with a bright red apron for the little girl to decorate, or a doll's evening coat, or a square of felt for a banner that will sparkle on her wall at night.
Pick up, during the summer, all the sea shells you can find. Give them at Christmas to a boy or girl, along with several empty, partitioned boxes (from candy, for instance) into which the child can place the shells when they are identified; include a book describing shells. Send along the right glue, and, if the child is quite young, include the typewritten tags he will need to paste under each shell. Be sure to give him more spaces in the boxes than there are shells, to make it clear that he is just at the beginning of a collection that he can continue himself.

Collect stones in much the same way, or buy a beginner's collection in a hobby store. Include a book, some unidentified stones, and spare boxes, glue, and tags.

Give a child an entire assortment of letter writing materials; paper and envelopes with his name imprinted, stick-on tags with his name imprinted, ball-point pens in different colors, a booklet of stamps and a small address book. Include a book on letter-writing and, for the older child, perhaps a sealing-wax kit with a seal.

Make a boy a private detective, with many disguises. Almost anything that suits your fancy and would serve as a disguise will do. Start with the standard fake mustaches and beards in novelty stores and add things from party counters silly noses, rubber masks, funny hats, crazy glasses with the eyes painted on the lenses, caps and hats with hair attached, masks for the eyes. Add to all this whatever you might have in the house, such as empty eyeglass frames, slouchy caps, old raincoats, gloves, an inexpensive magnifying glass, an old fedora.

Give a city child a "green thumb" collection. There are all sorts of things in the stores today that grow almost magically fast: little pieces of log that sprout quickly, beans that grow beanstalks inches in days, flowers that bloom overnight in water, "stones" that unfurl in glass jars in all the prettiest colors. For the city child especially (but also for any child in the very middle of winter) all this sprouting and blooming is the greatest fun, and happens quickly enough to suit the most impatient little gardener. It would be nice, too, to include some narcissus bulbs in stones in a bowl. This will convince him there are ordinary flowers that grow too, as well as chemical miracles. With whatever you select, however, include a metal watering can, the proper pots and jars, and perhaps some gardener's gloves.

If a child you know has started some disordered collection of any of the odd things children seem to like to gather, give him a dignified apparatus for it. Beginning with an album or notebook of sufficient size and durability, arrange a way for him to keep his baseball cards, or bottle tops, or matchbook covers. Give him supply tags, glue, an impressive title or introduction, an inexpensive magnifying glass if it seems suitable to the collection and, of course, if you can, add a batch of objects for the collection itself.

If you know the child has his first camera, give him all the paraphernalia for making and keeping a photographic album. (It seems surprising how seldom this is included at the time the camera is given.) A very inexpensive album can be made handsome if covered with wallpaper and shellacked. Present the album, extra sheets of black paper or pliofilm, all the necessary tags and corners and hinges and, by all means, the proper glue, since the wrong kind can seep through the picture itself. A beginning book on photography included with this album would start the child off well on what might be a joyous, lifelong hobby.

Make A Child Feel Very Grown Up

Give a very little boy his first wallet, stuffed with a million dollars' worth of play money. If you fill out the identification card in the glass window with his own particulars, and even enclose a picture of his mother and father, he will feel practically old enough to vote, even if he's only three.

A little girl will love her first real package of bubble baths; these come in brilliant, colored, jewel-like discs, very attractively packaged and very grown-up for a girl just big enough to take a bath by herself.

A strongbox in which a little boy or girl can keep all sorts of desperately private objects is a wonderful gift. Paint the child's name on it with nail polish perhaps with the warning KEEP OUT: PRIVATE and deliver the key that comes with it on a long chain or string. (Note: these boxes generally come with two keys; better give the second key to the child's mother for safekeeping, since even on a long string keys somehow get lost now and then.)

A small girl would love her first manicure set. These sets come in little kits with colorless polish and with all the necessary gadgets. You might also include cotton squares and a form for holding her hand steady as she dabs.

A child's first address book is a novel idea to him, usually. Fill it out as completely as you can beforehand with the names of all his relatives and friends, his school address, his doctor's telephone number, his church and pastor, his dentist. Most children are wonderfully impressed to see that they have such a wide and complicated social life. (Note: a set of two such books, one for the child's desk at home and a small one for his pocket or her pocket-book, will make a child feel more than ever like an individual of affairs.)
Both boys and girls like rubber stamps made with their name and address, or their name and their school address and room number. A red ink pad as well as a black one, and perhaps ten or twenty little scratch pads in assorted colors, make a bulky, welcome package. (Note: stationers and office supply houses take orders for rubber stamps, and any kind of legend can be made up nicknames, jokes, or straightforward information.)

As flashy a flashlight as you can manage is always a particularly welcome gift for a boy; the more switches, gadgets, hooks, etc., the better. (Note: of course fill it with batteries, and perhaps include the first refills.)

For the child who has learned to tell time, an inexpensive alarm clock for his own room is a gift he receives with grown-up pleasure. Even if he doesn't always set it (and doesn't always want to get up when it rings) he nevertheless considers it a great forward step in his life and will wind it and be proud of it. (Note: it seems that few children, even though they might have a wristwatch, have a clock in their bedrooms.)

For the child advancing into the years when he has homework, a fine gift is an efficient, workmanlike pencil sharpener for his own room. A child accepts it as a token of confidence in the importance of his work, and it is truly handy; most children by this age have experienced all the frustrations of the tiny, plastic sharpeners that sell for a nickel or so and are rather messy and only moderately good at the job. A good solid sharpener that screws to the wall or the desk is a joy.

For the boy at an age when he suddenly decides life is a busy matter, give a kit that will make him feel as important as the foreman of an engineering gang. A clip board, a ream of paper, carbon paper (which children love to use), two dozen pencils, a box of clips, an inexpensive stapler and a box of staples, a paper punch, calipers anything, in short, which will allow a little boy to emulate his Daddy and carry on the world's work.

Although toy carpentry kits have their usefulness for very young children, you will make a man of the boy to whom you give his own real tool chest. Give a big, empty chest, and just start to fill in the contents for him; a folding rule, boxes of nails and screws, a screw driver, sandpaper, a C-clamp, bolts and nuts, and a couple of wrenches that fit them. These should not be toys, but standard hardware tools (although perhaps small and light versions of them if the boy is small), which can be the beginning of a respect for, and interest in, tools that will carry through the years.

Right Toys, Wrong Toys

Everyone loves to give toys to children, and children certainly love to receive them. The Christmas tree looks rather sedate, and not so magical, when everyone in the family has grown up enough to have presents only in neat boxes. Toys can be wonderful; nevertheless, thought should be given to their selection.

Giving the biggest teddy bear you could find, or the fanciest doll you could afford, is not the whole story. A wagon, for instance, that's too big, may spell absolute frustration for a boy who wants to dominate and manage it. One that's too small will show him that you think he's still a baby. Try to determine his current need; does he want to carry blocks in it? or his sister? Does he perhaps want only to be pulled in it? Is he old enough to scoot down the street, steering, and pumping with one leg? Serve his present interests, and perhaps those he will very soon grow into. If, in the interest of practicality, everything is bought too large (to last for years ahead), a child may well get discouraged in grappling with toys that tax him and thwart him.

Of course, be conscious of safety. Check for smooth edges, on wood as well as metal. Any toy that must bear weight should be sturdily constructed; on the other hand, watch out for toys so substantial that, in tipping or falling, they might hurt a child. The lid of a toy chest, for example, should not be made of wood unless there is some safeguard to prevent smashed fingers. All toys should be painted with non-toxic paint, even things that are larger than bite-size, and therefore might seem unsuitable for chewing. Use discretion in buying toys with small pieces if there's a baby in the house who might swallow them. If you give an electrical gadget, check to see if the wiring is approved, and be very certain that the child is old enough to recognize the power of electricity and behave accordingly.

By all means get together with relatives and friends about what toys to give to children. It's more than all right to suggest the very thing your child would like. This will stop the flow of similar games and oddments, which mean very little, and will save the hurt Grandma will feel if her tiny, china tea set (which she herself loved), goes untouched and unappreciated.

Let it be known if you feel strongly about certain kinds of toys. If you would rather your three-year-old did not receive six-shooters, say so. Guns and other weapons for small fry cause uneasiness among many parents; if you yourself give them, be sure that they will be welcome in the family's scheme of things. Some gifts for little girls, also, are thought to be rather worldly, so be certain you're right if you decide to give your five-year-old niece an imitation mink stole.

Give toys that a child can handle by himself, or with another child. Any toy so expensive or complicated that it requires an adult to sit down with it is unsuitably advanced for the child. In a busy household it's not fair to demand that mother or father supervise a game at beck and call. The only exception might be a gift that relates to an abiding hobby of their own, such as a fine rod and reel for a boy who trots along on his father's fishing trips.

A child measures himself in play, to an extent we do not always realize. Although gifts may be stimulating and even reasonably challenging, it is not a kindness to give a toy so far above the child's capacities, either in mental skills or in physical coordination, that he must give up, privately deciding that he is either stupid or weak.

Be patient, when the gifts have been given, for the youngster to settle with his favorites. One always despairs a bit to watch a child on Christmas morning, sitting in the middle of all his many, shiny presents and playing only with the ten-cent whistle from his stocking. If there are fond grandparents about, we feel embarrassed, and if we've given him precisely what he said was his heart's desire, we're exasperated. But the right toy, after all, is the toy that occupies and pleases him, and (in all the hustle-bustle), it may be right that the piping of a whistle will most absorb him and lift his spirits.
 
Could anything be nicer and funnier? This crazy wolf will bring hours of laughter, and stimulate inventive play; it's inexpensive and can be made in a jiffy. It's the perfect thing if you have many children on your list.

Directions: Use a brilliant cotton sock in boys' sizes. Make a center cut, up the foot; line the opening with red felt for the mouth. Add four white felt teeth, and a wicked red felt tongue. For the eyes, glue on an eye-shaped piece of white felt, and on top of this sew on a smooth black button. Nose and ears are of felt, too, and he's ready to scare three little pigs anywhere.

A lunch box for a little girl

Here's an idea for a little girl on your list.

A wicked wolf from a cotton sock

Directions: Start with a lunch box without decoration. If you can't find one, paint over the one you have with a pleasing color. Cut out pretty pictures from toy catalogs, gardening catalogs, or magazines.- Glue them on the box in an all-over design. When dry, cover with a coat of clear shellac. Wind the lunch box handle tightly with heavy twine.
 
There's probably a very special baby on your list, and if you had the time for quilting, a very special present would be an old-fashioned baby quilt. If, however, you start with an ordinary crib mattress pad of quilted cotton as a base, you can simulate such a quilt in a very charming way.
Directions: Buy 1/2 yard of nursery rhyme chintz and cut out the prettiest figures for appliques. Sew and re-embroider them, by hand, to give dimension. The binding is pink-and-white gingham or blue-and-white, if that's the story!

There surely can't be a little girl in the whole world who wouldn't love this cuddly pillow, to play with or curl up and sleep on.

Directions: Make the adorable sleepy-head from two 13-inch circles of Dynel and Orion fleece. Braid a skein of jumbo Orion yarn for the hair, and attach, pigtail fashion. Save a few strands of unbraided yarn to cut into short lengths and attach as ruffly bangs. The features are made from scraps of felt, glued on; the eyelashes are simply a curve of black felt with the fringe standing free so that a little girl can tickle herself with it. Tie perky bows at the bottom of the braids. Or you might start with any round, plump pillow in a suitable shade for a face, and proceed as above. Or make your own pillow from foam rubber scraps and the palest pink or cream-colored cotton, for the face. But be sure to make it big, and make its face almost beatific.

Token Gifts

Sometimes the urge to give is simply overpowering. We feel that we must do something about the season, however small; must send along some tangible object to our friends, along with our greetings; or have a wrapped-up parcel with a ribbon on it to pass by hand with an affectionate smile.

Yet even though we're tempted we can't throw our budgets over the Christmas tree. With a fairly large family the list can be mighty long, if you count all the kissin' cousins and the children's best friends at high school.

Dozens! What can we do? Token presents may be the answer. Here, as elsewhere, the general principles apply. Something that you've made yourself has value that's unrelated to its cost. If you've cooked it, it goes out with a bit of your heart in it. If it's wrapped with a dash of spirit and attentiveness, it states happily what it is: a token of your need to give a present at Christmas.

Remember that it can be trifling: one large, large, sugar cookie with a child's name written on it, and wrapped up with a jingle bell in the bow, for instance.

Or choose a gift that tucks into an envelope with a Christmas card. A fat little card is always fun to receive: it takes on the aspect of something that's more-than-a-card rather than less-than-a-gift. It seems, as we open it, to be bursting its envelope with the affection that comes with it. (Take care, of course, to see that the envelope is really large enough, and that there is adequate first-class postage on it. Postal authorities suggest that all such envelopes be marked PLEASE CANCEL BY HAND. Otherwise the gift may be damaged or the envelope torn by the cancellation machine.)

A sleepy-head pillow

The kinds of things that go along well with a card are: a handkerchief, sachet, a veil, a packet of seeds for the garden, neck ribbon. And for children: a baby bib, a batch of bright balloons, a hair ribbon, a bow tie.

Tuck a gift in with a Christmas card

Matchboxes, sporting the finery of the season, make good, little token gifts. They add a bit of useful decoration to every table in the house all through the season. If you know someone who smokes a pipe or cigar, chances are he uses kitchen matches, and a big box, covered appropriately, would be appreciated.

Directions: Cut felt the correct size to wrap around three sides of the matchbox, whether large or small. Leave exposed, of course, the functional, abrasive side. Pinking shears may be used, or not. Glue in place with fabric glue. For the man-size box, glue on simple shapes of felt in bold colors, such as stripes, diamonds, or triangles. Trimming the tiny ones can be pure invention; use sequins, pieces of lace paper doily, bits of greenery, ribbon, floral or metallic tape, just anything pretty.

Decorated matchboxes

Personalizing Your Gifts

Ordering commercial monograms takes time; allow for it.

Remember that a lesser gift, when personalized, seems greater and brings greater pleasure, since the recipient knows that more time and forethought went into the gift.

Give a whole stationery outfit: letter paper, envelopes, postal cards, informal, calling cards, labels, and, perhaps, the copper plate if you have had the gift engraved.

Towels and linens, when monogrammed during summer sales, are far less expensive and greater variety is offered.

Many objects are made with a whole name already woven or printed: towels for children, shirts, aprons, handkerchiefs, scarves. Dozens of the most commonly used names are available, but stocks deplete early.

Do the personalizing yourself: a simple gift, such as a child's pair of mittens, is more fun to receive when there are big fat embroidered initials on it.

Put the name of the person on the package itself, in big or fancy letters: spell it out in sequins, or ribbon, or tape, or nail polish. It makes the gift more intimate and warm even before it is opened.

Places Where You Can Buy Initials for Monogramming

Initials made of all kinds of materials, to dress up either the gift itself or the package, can be found in the following places: Hardware store 1. plastic 2. wooden 3. brass 4. luminous 5. nickel. Variety store 1. candy 2. felt 3. gilt 4. silver finish 5. stamped-out shiny paper.

And you can make initials from many, many kinds of material, of which these are only a few: 1. sequins 2. fake fur 3. strings of dime store pearls 4. ribbon and adhesive tape 5. tiny artificial flowers.

Gifts From Children

Take care to explain to a child how much a gift he made himself means to the person who receives it. Young children don't by any means automatically realize that Grandma would rather have one of their finger paintings than anything else she'll receive.

Decide early if the child shall spend his own money or not. If so, help him to save enough ahead of time; if not, make it clear that he will be giving a gift that Daddy buys, for instance.

If a child is to give anything to anyone, be certain that he has seen it and knows what it is, and if possible, has had a hand in the wrapping, selecting, etc. It is confusing to the child's sense of Christmas if he "gives" what he has not ever seen before.

If a child wants to give something wonderful to his mother, father, or best friend, help him buy some large, durable, tangible object and decorate it. A big wastebasket, painted for Daddy, or a tray with stars pasted on it for Mommy, will be a far more satisfying gift for the child to give than something of more real value, and less size and "importance."

Encourage the child to give something that lasts for some time and is worn or displayed in the open; it is discouraging for him to give what is only another bottle of cologne, or another pair of socks.

Let the child do his own wrapping, no matter how much better you could do it yourself; and make no patronizing apologies when the gift is presented. However he has overdone it, with whatever horrible color scheme, every sticker was pasted on with the real feeling for what Christmas is.

As far as is possible, keep from the child the swapping principle; do not let him hear you say, for instance, "I don't think he'll give to you." Let him make as generous a list as he wishes, and work it out for him in some practical way.

Give A Gift That Reflects An Interest Or A Hobby

If someone you know is from another town or state, but still has family ties with it, a subscription to his home town newspaper would be a delightful batch of nostalgia for him every week for a year.

A person with fond memories of his home town would enjoy a map of it mounted, framed, and shellacked especially if you decorate the map with signs and notations of his home address, birthplace, school, and anything else you know about him.

Someone recently graduated from a school or college or even not so recently, if he has a continuing interest in it would love a subscription to his school paper or magazine.

If you know that there is a certain place close to the heart of someone you know a building, a city, a monument, a landscape precious because, for instance, of a honeymoon spent there an enlarged, framed photograph of it or the reproduction of a print, matted, would be a tender gift. (Art shops, chambers of commerce, bookstores, and travel agencies can help you find just the right thing.)

Try to find a baby picture of someone you'd like to give a gift to or such a picture of someone dear to him. Have the picture enlarged, if necessary, and framed; it will become a priceless memento. (Relatives will have such a picture; or go to grade school annuals for pictures of an older child.)

Make a small album of pictures that you know will mean something to someone; we all have unsorted pictures of family members and friends that could make a sentimental record if enclosed in an appealing way. Give to Grandfather, for instance, a little album with a legend that says "Here are six pictures in which the children remind me of you," or, to Grandmother, "All these pictures of the girls show them wearing the pretty dresses you made them."

If someone you know is a collector, or has an avid interest in such things as pewter, or old ships, or dolls, a framed print of such an object will be as rewarding as an addition to the collection. (Try art shops, libraries, bookshops, and second-hand bookstores for such prints ).

For a person you know who has a deep interest in some special field archaeology, or pearl-diving, or flying saucers make a scrapbook for six months or a year of every clipping that you see in your daily reading of newspapers and magazines. It will make fascinating reading for the person you give it to, and will also show your abiding, attentive affection.

People who have professions or hobbies that have a written history from long ago will love to look through, and own, old books on the subject. Wander through old bookstores, go to auctions and rummage sales and bazaars. With care and a little time you are sure to discover some old work on boating, or home medicine, or law, or many another subject, as a particularly personal gift for someone you know.

Add to someone's collection; many people collect things of little intrinsic worth, such as trivets, or old pipes. By keeping your eyes open, you might easily find such a thing at very little cost yet saving it for Christmas can make it a fine gift.

Gather recipes for someone who has a cooking specialty; sometimes the woman at home doesn't realize the fascinating variety of cookbooks that exist from other countries and other times. Go to the library and copy from rare or old or expensive cookbooks those particular recipes your friend would be most interested to try; write them neatly on cards and present them in a decorated recipe file.

Little Gifts For Dad

Little gifts for the man of the house are always difficult, it seems. Aside from major, important gifts, there seem to be few little extras, such as there are for women and children. Dad seldom gets lots of little packages unless they're all ties or socks.

But there is always his car, and lots of interesting and useful odds and ends exist which would be perfect for a little mound of presents on Christmas morning. Some are particularly nice if there's a family joke involved. Many of these are inexpensive enough for a child to pay for out of his own allowance.
And, for anyone with a new car, or a first car, or a better car or anyone you know who's about to take a long trip by automobile here's a list of gadgets that make nice and appropriate remembrances. Think of them for neighbors, or as under-the-tree presents for people who drop in during the holidays, or for the children to give as tokens to older cousins and uncles and aunts.

The list:

A backing light.

An upholstery brush and spot cleaner.

A raincoat that folds into a pocket.

Cotton gloves with plastic palms (practical and most inexpensive).

A magnetized metal box to hold an extra set of keys. This goes under the fender for use if one set is lost.

Half a dozen railroad flares, to be placed in the road in case of car trouble after dark.

An eyeglass case that clings to the dashboard by means of suction cups or with the aid of a magnet.

An armrest.

An outside rear view mirror.

Travel books, especially those listing places to stay and sights to see.

A cooler.

A book of maps.

A steering-wheel cover (pleasant in very hot or cold weather; helps driver to keep a firm grip)-A luggage-holder for the roof of the car.

Snack trays (one type fits over a lowered window; another is permanently attached and swings under the dashboard when not in use).

A "trouble" light.
A book in which to record trip itineraries, expenses, mileage, etc.

A vacuum bottle.
A nighttime rear view mirror, which cuts down the glare from car lights behind.

A gas-tank lock.

A utility tray for the dashboard, to hold pencils, loose coins, cigarettes, matches.

A coin-holder that clings to the dashboard by means of a magnet or suction cup.

A silicon-treated dust cloth.

An extra-large rear view mirror.

Curb-finders (little gadgets that send out a warning when the car is close to the curb and thus prevent scraping tires).

An anti-fog cloth (as it is wiped over the windshield, it deposits a chemical to keep the glass clear).

A license-holder that fastens to the steering-wheel column.
 
Safety locks for car doors.

A tobacco pipe with a special top to keep it from blowing out (for owners of convertibles).

Car-washing and polishing materials.

A monogrammed key-holder.

An extra ash tray (attachable).

A spinner, for easy wheel-turning.

An auto compass.

A first-aid kit.

An altimeter (it attaches to the windshield molding, shows the height of hills, the depth of valleys).
A wind silencer (it snaps on the front-door lip, cuts down wind roar).

Sun visors.

A map-holder.

Gifts To Make

Scrapbooks can be used for many different collections postcards, matchbook covers, baseball cards; any likely (or unlikely) thing that someone collects. (See illustration, page 26.)

Directions: Use heavy cardboard for the covers. So that the finished scrapbook will open easily, score the covers l¾ inches from the edge with a scissors blade, holding it against a ruler (Fig. A). Bend cardboard on the scored lines. Cover with gummed crepe paper. Glue an appropriate design on the cover; this can be cut from a magazine or can be made up of several pictures of the items to be collected. Letters can be bought already punched out; or they can be painted on with attractive bold color.

Use construction paper for the inside. This should be cut ½ inch smaller than the covers on three sides only. When the scrapbook is assembled, the sides of the pages with the holes should be flush or very nearly flush with the back edges of the covers (Fig. B).

Use a paper punch to make the holes.

Punch two holes along the scored and bent side of each cover, about ¾-inch in from the edge, and tie covers and pages together with ribbon, leather thongs, twine, golf shoelaces, or braided holiday string.

Start the scrapbook with a few samples. To hold photographs or cards of any kind, use photo corners. To hold matchbook covers, cut slits in the pages and slip the covers into place (Fig. C).
 
To make loose-leaf scrapbooks, proceed in the same way, but do not score the covers.

Practically everybody has a telephone and almost nobody has a cover for the telephone book, so it's highly safe to give this unusual, practical gift, One made of felt can be turned out in minutes, and will delight the person who has it whenever she looks up a number.

Directions: Three pieces of felt make this cover in the correct dimensions of the telephone book for your friend's community (Fig. A). If it's a different

size from your own, be sure to check it.

A collector's scrapbook

A felt cover for the telephone book
Sew around edges.

Cut out letters and design in a contrasting color and glue on. Trim in any fashion that suits you: perhaps with sequins on the letters, or with pasted-on gold twine for the cord (Fig. B).

You'll be blessed by any book-lover for this felt book jacket and doubly blessed if he's the kind of person who's always misplacing his reading glasses. (And that means nearly everybody.^

A felt book jacket

You'll be blessed by the whole family if you make this cover, with a pocket for a magnifying glass, for a family book, which has small print, such as a dictionary, atlas, or again, the telephone book. Looking things up becomes a pleasure, even if the light is poor, or you're in a hurry, or you can't find your glasses.

Directions: Make a jacket from felt, as in making the jacket for the telephone book.

Sew on the front a piece of felt, in a contrasting color, big enough to hold a magnifying glass. (Include a glass, if you can, and if the family hasn't one.)

Pink around the edges, for trim. If you've included a glass, attach a tassel to its handle, for a pleasing effect.

A felt eyeglass case

Trim the case to suit the person who will receive it. You might make a lavish one for a grown-up young lady, covered with beads, sequins, jewels, and golden rickrack. Make funny ones for the high school set; glue on two white eye-shaped pieces of felt and sew a button (preferably the color of her eyes) in the corner of each. Top with an extravagant fringe of black felt, for eyelashes. Or make a roguish wink, with one button eye open and the other closed, with the eyelash-fringe glued down instead of up.

Here's a lovely apron that will take only fifteen minutes or so to make, and airy and fancy as it is it will really wash just like a hanky, since that's just what it is.

Directions: Find four beautiful large-sized handkerchiefs, all the same pattern and colors. Stitch them together so that they make a large square; shirr and sew at the top to a length of nylon velvet ribbon.

An apron from four handkerchiefs 

Easy-to-make picnic tablecloth

With so many people eating out-of-doors, surely you know someone who'd love this tablecloth that won't blow off a picnic table, no matter what.

Directions: With a pinking shears, cut out a large piece of colored plastic or oilcloth, square, circle, or oblong. Decorate with Contact paper, in cut-out shapes or objects such as houses, cars, anchors, or boats. For a barbecue family, try cutting out everybody's name from Contact paper, in big letters, to serve as a happy seating arrangement.

On the underside of the cloth, sew two-ounce weights at intervals, enough to hold down the sides of the cloth in a pretty strong wind.

Mittens made of toweling are easy to make and fun to use. They substitute in the shower or bath for washcloths, and a pretty one, trimmed with nylon lace at the cuff and a big glass bead sewed at the ring finger, will delight any girl.

For the man of the house, make a pocket in the palm for a cake of soap, and use a bold color, such as bronze, navy, or dark green. Boys may not even fight off the use of soap, if it's in the pocket where they don't have to look at it.

Terry cloth bath mitts

Directions: On paper draw an outline of your hand, allowing a half inch all around for the seam, keeping your thumb away from your fingers as you do. (For a child's mitt, of course, allow for the difference in size.) Use three or four thicknesses of terry cloth for the palms, one for the back of the hand. Open a pocket in the top layer of cloth, and sew down to palm, leaving room for a cake of soap. Buttonhole-stitch or crochet around seams and at pocket edge. Add elastic at the wrist, and trim.
 
Here's an apron that is made in a jiffy and put on and off in a jiffy, too. Clip-on aprons are quick to sew up and a novel little present to give.

Directions: Buy one curved plastic ring (most notion counters and sewing centers have them). Use ¾ yard of fabric for each apron you make. If you use seersucker or any of the new drip-dry cottons, there'll be no ironing involved. One ring and several aprons both plain and fancy make a very nice gift, especially for the young homemaker.

An apron on a plastic ring
A sewing k it

Gifts For Children To Make

Everyone feels the pleasure of giving to a loved one something he has made himself; this is particularly true of children who have little to give in the material sense.

From the time a child first comes home with a grubby bookmark from kindergarten, his eyes alight with joy, he loves to give what he has made. It may be hard for a young child to start a gift from scratch without considerable help from a grownup, but it's easy to improve on something inexpensive that he can buy out of his allowance.

Variety store gifts (a watering can, a tobacco pouch, a plain pot of ivy) can be painted or decorated with things that are glued on, so that the child will feel both the pride of workmanship in his gift and the sweet, sensible idea that he has given something of usefulness and durability otherwise beyond his power to create.

Supply the children with ideas, basic gifts perhaps, and the magic extras that enhance the offering in his own eyes and make it seem worthy for Mother or Dad.

Very small children can make a creditable stamp container; however odd-looking, it will be an endearing and sentimental attraction on any loved one's desk.

Decorated stamp containers

Directions: Paint the metal containers that have held cellophane tape or typewriter ribbons.

Decorate with seals, gummed dots, stamped-out letters all sorts of things.

Finish with clear spray-on lacquer.

Starting with an inexpensive snap-on iron holder, a child can make a fine and useful cookbook holder.

Directions: First paint it in a cheerful kitchen color; then, when dry, decorate with gummed tape, colored nail polish, or even so happy a legend as "For Grandma."

The wire clips of the holder will keep the pages of the book open while in use, and fold flat later.

A tissue box can find a place in almost every room in the house; the children can settle down to making them more personal and pretty. Use the kind that has a lid that comes off, so young fingers can work from underneath, for neatness. Matching oilcloth to cover a box for the kitchen is one idea, and a lovely brocade for an aunt's bedroom is a project for a slightly older girl.

Directions: Cut cloth larger than necessary, smooth out over fabric glue, and turn up over all edges. From kindergarten on, kids learn to make good squared corners. A little help with the slit may be needed, but if the job isn't perfect, glue down rickrack to conceal untidy edges. Gummed tape and gummed paper are also possibilities, and a name can be spelled out in variety-store gilt initials.

A handy cookbook holder

Here's a fine job for a boy, and a great gift for him to give his mother. He'll be proud of it and its substantial size; he may even keep on being proud as he carries it out as his chore, during the year.
Directions: Paint a covered outside garbage pail some bright, unusual color. Paint on a name, address, or monogram in a contrasting color. The child will need help with this part; stencils will make it easier.

Even very young children like to draw houses; this house, cut out of felt, opens up into a pretty little sewing kit.

Directions: After the youngster has drawn the house on paper, cut the shape from a double thickness of felt, taking care not to cut through the fold, since you want the kit to open like a book. A door and windows may be cut from another color of felt, and glued on the inside. Pin little, gold safety pins, crosswise, on one window, regular safety pins crosswise on another, and needles on the third. Secure two large needles vertically on the door, and wind a length of black thread around one, white around the other.

A decorated garbage pail

Finish with straight pins, points up, along the bottom edge, like tall grass against the house. A thimble may be added, held in place by a sewed-on curtain ring of the right size.

A youngster still too young to manage a real hammer and nails can make a spool holder that's so ingenious and useful that any woman who sews will be pleased by it.

Directions: Start with a piece of pegboard; 10 x 10 inches is a good size, but it could be larger. With a strong wood glue, attach four, small, empty spools to the underside (not the shiny side) to serve as legs. Paint an attractive color; two coats are best.

Have a supply of round-head bolts, with nuts, on hand, ⅛ x1½ inches in size. Push the bolts up through the holes from underneath, and spin the nuts down from the top to hold the bolts securely. Spools of thread will slip down on the bolts neatly and easily.

An ingenious spool holder, made without nails

Kitchen salt and pepper shakers are a fine gift from the boy who has learned how to hammer a nail.

Directions: Using two bouillon-cube cans, the first job is to punch holes in the lid one in the center and six more around it. The lid should be removed from the can for this, and a dowel of proper size held under the lid to prevent it from denting. Be sure that the cans are clean and dry; then paint them with two coats of enamel. They should be bright contrasting colors, so that it is easy to see at a glance which is salt and which is pepper.

Sleek salt and pepper shakers for the kitchen

House numbers for the front lawn make a proud and welcome gift, and it's another good job for a manly boy who can work a bit with tools.

Directions: Start with the numerals that are needed; hardware stores have luminous and light-reflecting letters as well as metal ones. The wood to which they will be tacked should be 3/4 inch thick, and long and high enough to accommodate the numerals. For the post, cut an 18-inch-long piece of 2 x 2 inch lumber. From a point five inches up from one end of the post, saw the post and file to a point, so that the sign may later be driven into the earth. Patient whittling will do the trick, also. Sand well, then nail sign to post with two large nails. Shellac and paint; now tack on the numerals.

A house number sign for the front lawn

Add Your Own Touch

Add the touch of your own handiwork to a gift, and you increase its value far beyond anything that is tangible. If you're too busy to make a gift from scratch, or if your money is too limited to buy lavish things for everybody, buy a starter gift and tinker with it, making it uniquely your own, and spiced with your own particular friendliness.

Trays and lamp bases and wastebaskets can be made far more beautiful with decorations cut from wallpaper. This is easy to do and you can decorate several objects from one roll of paper.

Directions: Start with a plain object, without decoration or paint over existing colors. Choose a wallpaper with a self-contained design, rather than an all-over pattern. You'll find many to choose from in modern wallpapers. Here is a perfect opportunity to recognize a person's hobby: birds, flowers, old cars, ships, dogs, etc. Cut out decorations and arrange on object pleasingly; glue on; let dry. Finish with several coats of clear spray-on lacquer.

Or, for the book-lover, why not a large waste-basket decorated with glued-on book jackets? Use only the front cover design and the lettered backbone.

Too, to decorate small individual cocktail trays, a surplus of colorful foreign postage stamps might be used, arranged helter-skelter or in a simple pattern. They show up brilliantly against a black background.

Decorate a wastebasket or a tray

A perfect small gift for the mother of a young baby is a big practical apron for all the wet jobs there are to do and there seem to be many of them.
Directions: Start with a big bath towel. A front fold forms three pockets for working supplies. To fold the towel first measure 21 inches from the top and fold right sides together. Bring up the short edge to form a 9½ inch pocket strip. Pin across the width of towel at that point. Stitch in the pockets with the point of the V exactly centered, then sew across the width of the towel 1 inch below the top, forming a slot for a rope-cord tie to be run through.

An apron, made from a bath towel

Sequined hair clips

For the pretty teen-age girl who has just started putting up her hair two or three times a day (or so it seems), make up a set of these glittery hair clips. They'll be much better to look at than bobby-pins.

Directions: Start with a suitable number of metal clips, bought at any variety store counter. Spray with gold or silver paint, or use as they are. Let them dry, and glue on star sequins (the tiny size).

A planter, made from a bread tin

A bread tin, costing only pennies, becomes an attractive planter when sprayed with gold. Give it with greens already planted, and given a head start tinder your care. It will make a thoughtful gift that's beyond the consideration of price.

These holiday hairpins will be a tender little gift for anyone you know who has long hair and pins it up in a bun or chignon.

Directions: Buy several large amber-colored hairpins, or those of the tortoise-shell type. Glue tiny star sequins, of an harmonious color, around the head of each. (If you buy these hairpins in plastic, be sure you use a glue meant for plastics. Some standard glues have no holding power when applied to plastic;

Sequined hairpins

For a high school or college girl, or any girl with a beau away in the Armed Forces, make a treasure box with sentimental decorations. (Especially if she has a rambunctious little brother!)

Directions: Paint an ordinary strongbox (the kind found in hardware and dime stores), and choose for this a feminine color in a pastel shade. Glue on red hearts, a golden arrow, a key, the words LOVE LETTERS in gold, and other decorations from lace doilies or shiny foil fringe. Tie a red ribbon on the actual key.

If the girl lives in a family really full of curious younger brothers, better get the kind of strongbox for which you buy a combination lock.

Have you ever watched the brilliant colors in a driftwood fire the yellows, blues, violets, greens, and reds? You remember, then, how compelling and enchanting a thing they are to see. One of the most exciting and unusual presents you can give your friends at Christmas is a big bag of pine cones, or a Yule log, treated to burn in many colors. Anyone you know who has a fireplace will bless you all through the holidays for this unique gift.

A treasure box for a girl

And surely it is one of the most inexpensive gifts in the world. If you live in the country, there are pine cones close by; if in the city, head some week end in the car for the nearest pine grove. Children will love to help gather the cones, and this can be a happy family outing. Take several large baskets or corrugated paper boxes for bringing the cones home. You can sort them out as you find them.
Directions: All you need in addition to the cones are ordinary chemicals which could be bought at any drugstore. (You may find some difficulty in finding them all at a single drug store, but you'll surely find some of them; if possible try several sources.) Some are even simple kitchen staples, like salt and borax. The following substances produce flames of the specified colors; choose your favorites.

Strontium nitrate red Borax vivid green Calcium chloride orange Copper sulphate blue Copper nitrate emerald Lithium chloride purple Potassium nitrate yellow Barium nitrate apple-green Common table salt yellow These chemicals are safe to use as directed, but like many household items they should be kept out of reach of small children or pets who might taste them. Another note of warning: Don't mix them in your metal utensils; use crockery containers or a wooden bucket because many of these chemicals are corrosive to metals. Also, when treating the pine cones, protect your hands with a pair of household rubber gloves.

Pick the color you want and mix the particular chemical in water about a half-pound of chemical to half a gallon of water. Don't mix the various chemicals together.

Chemicals for a colorful hearth fire

Put a few cones in cheesecloth bags, dip them into the liquid, and soak them thoroughly. Drain them well and spread them out to dry on thick newspapers. Sometimes it takes them three or four days to dry thoroughly.

Package the cones for giving in strong bags which are tied with ribbons. The bright red mesh bags that apples and onions and potatoes are often packaged in also make just-right containers.

For the Yule log, paint a small apartment-sized log with a chemical solution made of two parts chemical to five of shellac, or soak the log in a solution of one pound chemical to one gallon of water. Let the log dry for at least forty-eight hours.

The Yule log could be tied round with a big red-ribbon bow, with a couple of treated pine cones tucked in.

If the idea appeals to you but you haven't the cones or the log or must send gifts quite far there's another way to produce the same effect.

Mix the chemicals and salt, one at a time, with sawdust as a filler, to be sprinkled directly on the fire for a burst of color.

Pack this mixture in cellophane bags and tie each with a ribbon to show the color that the mixture will produce in the fire.

Nobody is too busy to add this touch of thoughtful hand-made trim. It would take only five or ten minutes. The result is a glamorous and different tablecloth, or apron, or scarf.

Directions: Start with a simply designed object, made of material which is not a print. Buy, too, in a suitable color, magical plastic mending tape; it come in strips. Then cut out large coin dots and merely iron them on. Use your own artistic sense: blue and green dots on a white organdy scarf would be highly chic, for instance (Fig,. A); and red and black dots would dress up an apron (Fig. B), or a luncheon set (Fig. C). Have fun with it; it's a device that's quick, imaginative, inexpensive, and personal.

Sometimes the difference between the look of an inexpensive stole and an expensive one is merely the difference between a skimpy fringe and a lavish one.

Use plastic mending tape for decorationf

Directions: Starting with a scarf or stole, add a thick and handsome fringe, in a striking, contrasting color. Investigate jumbo Orion yarns, metallic yarns, and those with a high nap or rich gloss.

The woman of the house will wonder how she ever got along without this practical apron idea and you can make it as short or as long a job as you like.

Add a rich fringe to any stole

The ingredients are a fingertip terry towel and an apron; you can make them both, or buy them both, or make one and buy the other. The idea is to sew, permanently, into the waistband of an apron, a terry towel of a harmonizing color. This simple innovation is just wonderful: how many times in the course of making dinner or tending the baby or washing up the dishes we have occasion to wipe our hands. No more searching for a towel, just think, and not ever again a wet apron! The towel's also handy as a built-in hot pad, and fine for mopping up small spills the minute they happen.

This could be an excellent project for a class of girls making gifts for their mothers, since the sewing job can be tailored to fit the sewing skills of various ages.

The basic materials here just handkerchiefs are transformed into a feminine nosegay that pays a compliment to any woman, and speaks of thoughtfulness beyond the mere purchase of a gift.

An apron and a towel, joined for keeps

A nosegay, made of handkerchiefs

Directions: Use one pink hanky, two red ones, and two green ones. Knot loosely the corners of the pink one; knot tightly the corners of the reds. Gather with the green ones, for leaves, into a nosegay. Circle the whole with a paper doily and wrap the "stem" in foil.

Giving To The People Who Have Everything

Get something brand-new, something you have never seen before in your life, if it is being talked about.

Give the biggest of anything: the biggest paper clip, the biggest straw bag or straw hat, the biggest decanter, the biggest scarf, the biggest apron.

Be funny: fill an apothecary jar with a thousand aspirin tablets for the harried businessman; or do some other pertinent thing that will make comment on what you know of him.

Give the most expensive of anything: one cake of fabulous soap, a gold house key, or some such thing.

Give something of nostalgic value: an old book, an old poster for a play, penny candy in a jar, or a similar thing.

Package whatever it is with wit and imagination.

Search the small advertisements in the back of magazines and newspaper supplements for unusual or funny gifts; one such item, sold for a trifling sum, is $1,000,000 worth of actual Confederate money.

Tipping At Christmas

It may be the custom in your community to give remembrances at Christmas to those people who serve you in one way or another. If you're new in town, ask a neighbor what the practice is. Generally it is more in cities than in towns that small gifts of money are given some people at the holiday season. If it is customary where you live, what should be given? And to whom?

As regards such people as the mailman, who may be someone you never see at all or on the other hand may be someone who's a cheery friend waited for each day, little helpful advice can be given. Each of us knows best what place the mailman plays in his life. If you receive fifteen heavy magazines a week in the course of your work at home, for instance, you'll want to give a generous thank-you gift of money to the mailman. If you've been exchanging flower bulbs with your mailman, and the children run down to the gate to meet him, you will give something based on a friendly relationship like any other.

But always give money, rather than something else. It can always be assumed, with someone who is of service to you but whom you do not know in a social way, that he is a far better judge of what would please him than you could possibly be, and so you give him the opportunity to spend your gift as he sees fit. For many persons who do not receive a bonus from their employer at Christmas, the accumulation of Christmas tips constitutes such a bonus.

If you live in an apartment building, there'll be a staff to remember. In some buildings there is a fund set up by the management, to which tenants contribute a sum. The management then distributes the money to everyone; this is probably the only way the people you seldom see, such as the furnace man, would get as fair a share as the doorman whose daily smile you know so well. If, however, you have really received unusual service from these people you see every day, their share of the fund should be supplemented by you with a gift of money commensurate with their value to your well-being.

If there is no such fund, your gifts will depend very generally upon the rent you pay and the service you receive. Take care to remember everybody. Distribute the money as justly as possible; if the shares are small, get crisp new bills from the bank and enclose them in a tasteful Christmas card.

If you're in the dark about how much, a rule you might use is this: settle on a figure which is about 2 or 2½ per cent of your annual rent, and distribute this among the staff. Whether or not you do this will depend on your being able to afford it, but this is the general rule.

As far as delivery men are concerned, try to determine whether your milkman or diaper-service man is an owner-driver or an employee. Owner-drivers do not expect tips. Employees should receive a nominal amount, based largely on the degree of service or friendly contact that exists.

Other people you tip regularly, such as the barber, beauty-shop employee, and shoeshine boy, can receive a larger tip on the occasion nearest Christmas that you see them, but not necessarily a separate gift of money with a card.

By and large, give in keeping with your actual ability to be generous. Try not to be parsimonious, but on the other hand don't feel any need to be flashy. Do as you do in other Christmas situations: give in friendliness and good will.

How To Give Books

Books have advantages at Christmastime that few other gifts can equal. Books first of all bring pleasure, in what is the most joyous season of the year. They pay a certain compliment to both the recipient and the giver, in implying that both are aware of the delights to the eye and the stimulation to the mind to be found in books as in nothing else. They are a gift of permanence: a book that is loved never need disappear from a person's life. Books are not consumed in use. They are never out-of-date: when the world changes enough to pass beyond a book, the book becomes history, and is valued in a different way. Books can bring pleasure to more than one person; they do not go into a closet but remain in the family rooms, to be enjoyed by the whole family. Long after the season is past they can offer laughter, hope, or challenge to a widening group of family members and friends.

In addition, books have purely practical qualities as well. They are extremely easy to wrap attractively, and they pack and mail easily and inexpensively. They do not damage if given reasonable care, and they are not perishable. There are interesting books available at almost any price you wish to spend, and books on every topic and subject on earth.

When you know a specific book you want to buy for someone, your shopping is most simple. As long before you need it as possible, go to your bookstore, or the book section of a department store. You might need this extra time because the bookseller may not have an unusual book in stock; or he may be temporarily out of a popular title. He can order it for you, however, and will be glad to do so. If you don't know the name of a local bookstore, write to The American Booksellers Association at 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. Ask for a list of booksellers near you. Any one of them will be happy to welcome you in person or fill your mail-order requests. Many stores have fine book catalogs, so that a wide range of good books is as near at hand as your mailbox.

If you don't know a particular book that you want, go to a bookstore and look around, or go through a catalog at your leisure. If you have little to go on in choosing a title, buy something that is good to look at. Every Christmas season there are new and attractive books in the stores that have been produced specifically for the gift market, for both adults and children. Choose books that more than one member of the family will enjoy, such as the various readers and books of cartoons that are new each year.

In general, women like books with a nostalgic element; those that evoke a far-off time are always popular. A sprightly cookbook that is different is always welcome; even if it is not used often as a cookbook, it makes pleasant browsing.

For men there are many handsome, interesting books on sports, science, travel, and history which have been written and illustrated for the general reader rather than for the expert or scholar. Stay away from controversial subjects unless you are absolutely sure that the person to whom you are giving the book will appreciate the subject you choose.

Just about the only other rule in giving books to adults is to stay away from books in the expert's field when giving to an expert. Otherwise, you may run into unknown hazards: you may give a book to the expert that he has already read or, on the other hand, a book he already knows but does not care to read. There are different schools of thought in each scholastic or technical field, and it is safer not to give the physician a book on medicine, or the teacher one on pedagogy.

Books for children have never been better than now. There are more titles than ever before, and they are beautifully illustrated and well written. Children love to get books; and if you write a child's name and the date on the flyleaf he will regard his book with extra pride.

For children who are quite young say, up to eight or nine years old it is better to give several books of lesser value than to try to settle on just one more expensive one. If you are going to spend five dollars, for instance, it would usually be better to give two two-dollar books and one one-dollar book than one five-dollar book. The young child would appreciate the variety of books more than he would a single de luxe volume. If your budget is larger, include beautiful reference books, such as dictionaries, or encyclopedias. Children of all ages value them, delight in them, and find them exceptionally useful.

Shop early for books, then; give yourself enough time to enjoy dallying in a bookstore or perusing a catalog; wrap books with imagination (see page 48 for ideas); and mail them early. In giving books, you give treasure.

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