Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-12-18
WHEN A man SEEKS
XMAS GIFTS
Troubles Galore When Hunt.
ing Ladies' Presents.
(BY Barbara RoYd.l

just now a lot of disconSolate-looS-
ing individuals are wandering around
the streets and haunting the shops.
They are the men who do not know
what Christmas presents to get Tor
some certain people. 1t is easy for
men to buy Christmas presents fos
children. They just sail into the stores
and purchase some toys or book. ALI
toys and books for children lock alike
to them. $50 they just buy anything the
salesgirl proposes, unless, as a child,
they have had some preference them
selves for some certain thing. In which
case, they buy that. Presents for chill
dren are easily settled.
They also can get gifts for men
without much trouble Ia pipe, some
cigars they are quite at home here.
But when it comes to getting wom-
mems toggery-well, they are up
against it.
If they have an obliging sister, they
hand a roll of banknotes over to her
and ten her to 'tgo and get the whole
blamed shooting match" Or if this
easy way of sidestepping the job is mot
possible, they get sister to tell them
what mother wants and mother to tell
them what sister wants, and then they
set forth valiantly to the task OF get
ting these things. They probably come
back with a fluffy Paris negligee for
mother instead OF the sensible blanket
wrapper she wanted, if they have fal-
den into the hands of a salesgirl with
initiative. And the muff they intended
to get for sister is transformed into a
fur coat-to which sister, however,
does not object.
But even this sort of Christmas
shopping is not quite so appalling as
getting something for their girl friends.
These gifts are THE stickers. These gifts
it is that cause them to haunt shops
with worried hopeless look, to stand
far off and gaze in perplexity at jewelry
counters amid book shelves the while
they are whirled around by the crush
ing Christmas crowds like straws on
the surface of eddying spring freshets
until their heads are dizzy and their
minds i'm confusion
If The Girl has appeared they know
,,,1,. + to ,oat haT Hhax, hav1a rnada a
first-hand Study of her TASTES. 1T IS
what to get the girls they merely like
that is turning their hair gray.
One such man wandered into "a large
city's most exclusive Jewellery and brio
a-brac shop. An about were exquisite
trinl0ets, silverware, rare pottery, brio
a-brac. About million lovely articles
were there that any normal girl would
go wild with JOY to own. He wandered
about helpless, hopeless. He had nc
more idea of what to send her than II
he were on "a desert island and had TO
find something. Finally he chose a
china dog gecause it looked like a dog
he once owned. A china dog! And he
paid "a good round sum for it, too, a
sum that would have bought any of the
beautiful pottery, the dainty flower
cases, the exquisite little silver things
for afternoon tea that would have gone
straight to the girls heart.
He did what many a man like him
does, choose with his own tastes as
guide, rather than projects himself for
the time being into the girls personal,
ity and sees with her eyes.
Men who find the choosing of Christ
mas gifts difficult matter are apt to
be guided by one of two methods only.
They either pick aimlessly from the
wealth of goods Iffered by the shops
believing that anything for "a woman
VIII please her. Or, aus has been said
something that ticlkles their own fancy
is selected If they would cast their
mind back for little while over what
they know of the girl, cain to memory
her fads, her likes and dislikes, try to
see her life for IA few moments with
her eyes, choosing would be exceed
ingly easy and decidedly satisfactory
to both parties. No china dog would
80 to the girl who loves green potters
or little volumes of verse or some
quaint curio from old Japan.