Penelope Goes Shopping

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 22 December 1938, Page 8

Penelope Goes Shopping

Well, if you’re like me, and have left most of your Christmas shopping till the last minute, you’ll be vowing, as I am at this moment, never to do so again. Such a lot of the delightful little novelties I remarked upon at the beginning of December have vanished, and it is so difficult to make up your mind what you want when you leave it as late as this. You try to decide between a box of soap and a bottle of scent, while someone breathes heavily down the back of your neck, another shopper reaches across you in a desperate effort to be served next, and close behind you somebody stares balefully because you’re dithering and taking up counter space. It’s all very trying and tiring, but still, I managed to make a few fresh discoveries. ** * * Saw a smart silk dressing gown for a man, yesterday. It was printed in a Paisley pattern, surprisingly enough, but with its black silk collar and girdle, it certainly looked sufficiently masculine to please any mere male. Here’s a novelty idea—a shirt with tie to tone boxed together attractively. There’s a touch of thoughtfulness about that which should make a strong appeal to the receiver. Of course, if you’i-e looking for a suitable gift for the “grandest person in the world” you’ll be above shirts, and probably a travelling set in a leather case would seem more suitable. You know the kind of thing I mean? A pair of hair brushes, shaving soap and brush, and all that a man would require when travelling. A gift of this kind has years of life and I’ve seen some very smart sets about town. y ¥ Here are two novelties I thought vei*y cute. The first was a kettle holder in felt, with a cameo-like silhouette in black. Just a tiny gift, but a vei'y use-

ful one, for a neighbour you like. The other was a packet of tie-on tags for the traveller. They were coloured and in felt holders with an applique ship to finish them off. Little items like these may not see much to the giver, but often they are just what was wanted and are vei'y much appreciated. * * * * When I go Christmas shopping, I can never resist buying one or two boxes of chocolates. I don’t know if it is because I have a weakness for chocolates myself, or because they box them so beautifully nowadays. Why, my goodness, the boxes are becoming works of art, aren’t they? The most outstanding gift box of the year is one made to represent a book, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, opened as it were, at a central page, and complete with tasselled bookmarker. I looked at this box for a long time before I could realise that it really was a box of chocolates. But what a splendid gift it would make for a girl with literary or artistic taste! * * * * It’s a good idea, when you have several friends in one family, to buy them one of the large family boxes of chocolates. They contain, I think, about 51bs of chocolates, and the design I liked best portrayed a bridge In Bruges, Belgium, although I thought the box showing an English cottage and garden scene very pretty. These boxes are just the right size for workbaskets —when they are empty, so a pretty lid is quite important from that point of view. * * * * One of the best presents I ever had given me was three new novels and a large box of chocolates to eat while I read them. As one who knows, I can tell you there isn’t anything more acceptable. If you’d like to use this idea, I saw the very box of chocolates you’d want to get. It was quite a large box (because you eat a lot of chocolates while reading three books!) with gorgeous purple orchids embossed on a gold-coloured background. The books, of course, would depend on your friend’s taste, so I can’t advise you there, but you must admit, there’s an enormous variety to choose from, Including all the latest novels and travel books. * * * * Aren’t calendars interesting this year? They’ve come a long way from the stodgy, uninteresting things they used to be years ago, and some of them are definitely ornamental. You can get them with Biblical quotations for every day of the year; with a lovely thought for each day; with garden scenes and striking studies of animals; with jokes and slogans—all kinds, in fact, and all of them worth remembering if you’re in doubt about a gift at the last moment * K * * For the ardent philatelist, what better than a stamp album? You know how a collector is always moaning about his book being full, so a new album would be most welcome. I’ve seen some very good ones in the shop windows this week. * * * * Don’t forget boxed stationery or a compendium if you’ve a friend who actually writes regularly. And if she doesn’t, well, a gift of stationery makes a gentle and subtle reminder, doesn’ it? A compendium more elaborate than most was in zipped leather and contained as well as notepaper and envelopes, a tiny notebook and a calendar for 1939. * * * * What an enormous range of handkerchiefs are on view at the moment! Don’t you find it awfully difficult to choose between the many designs? Sometimes, in desperation, I buy several different hankies in each shop, and then make up assorted parcels of threes and sixes. Personally, I like a good mixtui'e of hankies, and 1 find my girl friends approve of the idea. They always enthuse about it, anyway! Y* ¥ ¥ ¥ Have you seen the little models of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? What a thrill for a kiddie to get one of these in the Christmas stocking—especially as youngsters seem to be so enthusiastic about Walt Disney’s idea of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale. * * * * Here’s what any small boy would love to have;—a black and red tip truck, about eighteen inches long, with the truck holding six wooden crates. I don’t know if the crates were empty or full, but they looked very realistic, and

realism is what children want all the time. *# * * Toilet sets this year have made a definite departure from the usual xylonite variety, and aim to be much more elaborate, so milady will be hoping for something new for her dressing table on Christmas Day. Gilt handles and ornamentation are all the vogue, and designs for the backs are quite varied, some showing reallooking pansies, others colourful anemones, while another dainty set featured a cross-stitch design on a pale , green background.