Crimson Offers Tips to Shoppers Puzzled What To Give (Him, Her)

Every year during the pre-Christmas period between December 1 and 24, a brief, Noel Cowardish dialogue takes place in approximately 1,258,435 buildings all over the country.

It goes like this:

He: "What do you want for Christmas?"

She: "I really don't want anything at all."

The last line is usually accompanied by giggles and gestures of pawing the floor with one foot. The entire performance, which may be repeated at intervals until 5 p.m. on the 24th, has been known to drive stout-hearted men mad.

Make It a Surprise

Actually, when it comes to giving a girl a Christmas gift your guess is as good as hers. An informal poll of local womens' colleges showed that, to a girl, they prefer their presents to be secrets until Christmas morning. That decision bolsters any Yuletime sentimentality which might be slipping, and tosses the problem right back into the means hands. You could always give up without a fight and ask her roommate or best friend--who probably has inside information about what she wants anyway--to do the job of shopping for you. That's the 97-pound-weakling approach.

Three Kinds

Presents for girls fall into three areas: gifts that are clothes; gifts that aren't clothes; and gifts that are gadgets.

The first section is definitely no man's land, and you may find it steep going unless you're briefed with the right sizes. According to what you're buying, you should know her foot size--for stockings; finger length--for gloves; dress size--for sweaters; and various other lengths and widths for gifts in the more personal line.

Department store executives in the know have issued one caution this Christmas. If possible, don't guess her size. They've found from experience that men who persuade salesgirls to model their purchase "Because she's just your size" are apt to underestimate their lady's weight by a healthy five or ten pounds.

There's Always Scarves

Men who prefer to shrug off the whole problem can fall back on scarves--either silk or nylon squares or heavy wool plaid mufflers; leather belts, or gold and silver evening belts; or a ski socks-and-mittens set, or fur earmuffs.

Food tops the list of presents that aren't clothes. Girls, especially those who live in local dormitories, picked candy, fruit cake or fruit packages--one fruit company puts out a special Christmas supplement of boxes of apples, pears, dried and candied fruit peels; dates and nuts--and boxes of assorted chunks of cheese.

Records ran a close second, and girls want the semi-classics, like Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata,--"That's my favorite because it was the background music of a movie I liked," testified one young miss.

Good Jazz

Musical comedy albums, and jazz--"but it's got to be good jazz"--will be welcome under the Christmas tree, too, and a small but strong clique cast their votes for the latest, unsmashable Ivy League Album.

The gadget-gift field is by far the biggest--and easiest to shop. Any store contains enough perfume, of various and assorted smells, to drown in, and the salesgirls will be happy to spray you with drams of it. But unless you know your girls taste in scents, stay away from heavy, dramatic perfumes and pick light brands--or she may trade it to her roommate for a chocolate bar without nuts.

In a pinch, there are always lipsticks, compacts, or combinations of both, nail polish and all the tools that go with it, wallets, pocketbooks, and endless types of jewelry.

In the end, it's up to you. Good luck.