Christmas Shoppers Converge on Square

There are 23 shopping days until Christmas and already the lights are lit, the wreaths hung, and the stores packed with frantic shoppers.

The Christmas shopping season officially started last weekend, and Harvard Square proprietors are trying to stock up against the hordes of holiday shoppers who will crowd their stores in the weeks ahead.

Store managers are predicting that Christmas ties decorated with little Christmas trees or Santa Clauses and reindeer will be big items this season.

Stone Streets clothing manager Jim A. Consoli said yesterday the store has already sold 10 of the red and green ties.

Stone Streets also sells seasonal musical ties, which sport Christmas logos and play "Dashing Through The Snow" when the wearer presses a small button on the reverse of the tie.

"It's not the kind of tie you'd be ashamed to wear," Consoli said. "The tie is made of 100 percent silk."

Merchants said that the Wall Street crash will probably not effect their Christmas profits. "In the 61 years that people have been keeping records, each Christmas has always been better than the previous years," said Coop President James A. Argeros.

"Christmas is such a tradition that we sacrifice other things for it," Argeros said.

But the Coop is having other problems preparing its Christmas traditions. Argeros said the store is still missing some of its holiday decorations.

"Our wreaths are stuck somewhere between here and Nova Scotia," Argeros said. He added that he hoped his ship would come in within the next few days.

Paul J. Macdonald, manager of Leavitt & Peirce Tobacconist, said that his sales had been slower this year than last. But he attributed this declineto "anti-smoking sentiment" in the nation ratherthan the Wall Street crash.

While the stores may seem bursting with toysand treats, not every would-be Santa is havingsuccess finding the perfect gift. Charles D.MacDonald, a buyer for the Coop's stationarydepartment, spent this weekend searchingunsuccessfully for a radio-controlled toy car tobuy his grand son. "All four major toy stores inthe area were already sold out," he said.

But store managers said that shoppers who can'tfind radio-controlled cars or who avoid holidayshopping for the next 22 days converge on thestores on December 24