CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 149, 21 December 1936, Page 21

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

TRINKETS AND GAMES

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

SHOPPING IN LONDON

(From "The Post's" Representative.)

LONDON, November 23,

Christmas shopping is an old pastime. The most interesting aspect of it is usually, to find out "what's new." Every year new trinkets are designed, some of them to displace the old, but others to fade away as rapidly as they appear. This year some of the new ideas have been collected, not in departments primarily or wholly intended for women's inquisitive, eyes, J but in a men's clothes store! The directors, who have apparently studied the psychology of- their fellows, decided that numbers of men never take kindly to exposing their sensitive minds in .shops for women to buy presents for their lady friends. So they gave London a lead by setting aside in their business, which caters solely for men, a department where their customers may buy presents for women in surroundings where their sensitiveness may be reduced to a minimum. The result has, apparently, been most gratifying. But women have not been excluded altogether from this sanctuary, since it also houses a section where they may buy presents for husbands, soils, and fiances. Naturally, their attention has been directed also to the presents intended for them,' and they have found these so attractive that they have not waited for the laggard 1 male, shopper, but have invaded the : place for themselves, the chief reason • being that they found "something new." BOOK VANITY BAGS. Vanity bags are near the heart of every woman, and they have found, in this men's store, vanity bags shaped as books and as miniature travelling trunks. The framework of both is of wood, and the covering is either of pigskin or morocco leather. These in < book form contain the usual compartments required for beauty,-prepara- ~ tions, the range and variety of which " are baffling to the mere male. These books have another attribute. If the owner is an authoress she may have stamped, in gilt, the name of her latest novel, and, of course, her name. A woman may also advertise in this manner her favourite, author or her • literary inclinations, and there is, naturally, unlimited scope for the highbrow. The miniature trunks are more , roomy than the, books. They open on either side—the books open in the "middle"—and. in addition to accommodating the never-ending mysterious aids to beauty, may also be used as a bag, since ample room is provided for money, notebooks, and the usual odds and ends. An attractive metal chain takes the place of a strap or handle. Initials of the owner may be stamped on the sides, but so far the supplying of miniature labels to impart a much-travelled air has not been contemplated. WOODEN "FLAPJACKS." ' Other interesting presents—fashion is rapidly decreeing that they shall be called "clever" presents—include "flap- ' jacks" cased in polished wood. Wood also threatens to take the place of clay in the modelling of vases and pots. These pots and vases are severely simple in design, but exquisitely shaped," and painted white. Whisky decanters have also been designed afresh. A complete breakaway from the heavy cut-glass and portly stopper is the decanter shaped as a barrel, resting on a wooden stand. The liquor is extracted by the simple expedient of a silver tap, and the glasses, conforming with the design, are shaped as barrels. The latest clocks may have many a fall but their faces will not break. They are made of. leather. Other clocks may be given as an appreciation of a friend's sporting inclinations. If your friend is a golf enthusiast the 'clock itself is designed as a golf ball, and a bag of clubs is added to complete the atmosphere. For Soccer players the ball is painted brown, and stands in front of a small goal. Another attractive design is the clock with its face painted to represent a starry sky. On the hour hand is placed a crescent moon, and at the end of the minute hand is a five-pointed star. These are protected by thick, curved glass very much like a magnifying glass, and the hours are indicated in light metal on a wooden rim. A NEW LIGHTER. There is also something new for the jfi woman, or man, who wishes to make L some addition to a smoking cabinet, r Pipes are still pipes and cigarettes ti change only in the blend of tobacco, p but lighters promise to vary toivever. _ The latest do not rely on the unreliable h flint for a spark to light the wick. They ti are worked by an electric battery. All a that is required is that the user- should t< press a button; a deep red glow ap- y pears, and the wick bursts into flame, b The designs which incorporate these batteries are singularly pleasing. Your lighter may now take the shape of a c metal aeroplane, a racing car, or an g| Aladdin's lamp. . p Of new indoor games there is a c spate. - For those who demand action and a degree of skill there is the new a game of duck shooting. Cardboard j birds slide down a string and "double barrelled" guns are used to fire rubber n bands at them with a high degree of 1{ accuracy. Five birds are supplied to w each set, and the "gun" may be loaded X with six to ten rubber bands. A simi- v lar game may be played with revolvers, g] which are designed to bowl over the tj most nefarious gangster, fortunately, no more harmless than a cardboard Q] model. tl INDOOR GAMES. c] The übiquitous Mickey Mouse has it made an appearance in a pin table game. A metal ball, rolling into a \ VI hole, causes Master Mickey, Donald to Duck, or friend Pluto to pop up and re register a comfortable score of 100 or v more. Tiddleywinks now has a younger cbrother.- Large green counters may j n be thrown at a green faced target, ap- 0 \ propriately sub-divided, and the cover- C£ ing film on the board is of an adhesive character (which may be readily re- ( r newed by the application of a damp y< sponge). The counter sticks, lightly, 3 | as soon as it strikes the target, and la the resultant score may be easily as- hi sessed. Just as the "omnibus" book C c has become popular, so it is anticipated that the omnibus box of games, con- in taining -50 varieties, from draughts to to ludo, will also find a ready sale. w An interesting gambling game -'is a£ "Cardette." Six players sit at a table Jr and take it in turns to press a button; ai one is provided for each player. This action works a dynamo which shuffles a pack of", cards. ' The odds are 48 to 1 that any of the players will back the correct .result of the shuffle. A suit, of course, is easier to gamble on,' but . nevertheless the odds are slightly in' P] favour of the bank, all the time. cJ . FOR THE FINANCIALLY-MINDED. te For the financially-minded there is pi the new game of "Monopoly." The ca idea is to buy, rent, or sell "properties" "I so profitably that one becomes the la wealthiest player and so "monopolist." pc Starting from "go," tokens move ar

around a board to the throw of dice. When a player's token lands on a space not already occupied he may buy it from the bank; otherwise it is auctioned off to the highest bidder. The object of owning property is to collect rents from opponents whose tokens stop..on the squares occupied. Rentals are greatly increased by the erection :of houses and hotels, to "build" which money has to be paid into the bank. Building sites may be mortgaged, and players may, if they are not careful, land in gaol. New Zealand dairy farmers may be interested to know that the .surface of the latest dart boards is made entirely of pigs' bristles. These have the advantage over . ordinary dart boards (and darts is an extremely popular game in England, numbering such deVotees as Miss Ishbel Mac Donald) in that they do not need soaking periodically to allow the easy extraction of I the darts. A new game that has evolved I from darts is dart golf.