Arizona republican., 1910-12-17
WISE PHOEN|CIANS
 ARE SHOPPING EARLY
The Work of Years at Last Bearing
 Fruit in This City.

phoenicidnS have evidently aken the advice to do your Christmas shopping carly to heart. All the merchants Of
 the city say that SD far the holiday trade has been much heavier than is usual at the beginning Of the season.
 It is so much heavier that 1t can he only partially accounted for bv the in-
 creased population and prosperity of
 the city Some of it is undoubtedly due to early shopping and the eleventh hour rush will not be nearly so great as formerly.
 For years the early Christmas shop ping idea has been urged upon the pub- lie. through newspapers. in advertise ments Of stores and in every way pos sible And there is evidence that the ceaseiess campaign is bringing results at least in Phoenix.
 EVerybody is Christmas shopper these days It make no difference if he has no more than fifteen cents in his pocket: he is thinking Of buying q Christmas present for someone. It l may be for father. mother. sister. l brother. cousin. aunt. uncle. some oth-
 CT relative. sweetheart or mere friend. The Christmas gift custom shows no sign of waning, despite the ridicule of
 newspaper paragraphers and other funny men.
 To watch Christmas shoppers in
 some big store is a pastime that never
 flags in interest. one knows right away the parents of a family nho have
 slipped away to buy gifts for the chiI-
 dren. The father is inclined to hurry
 through the task. buying something for Jennie. any old thing for Johnny and
 something else for baby. But mother . k more particular. She has better
 idea Of what the children want and she
 intends that they shall have it. pro
 vded it doesn't eat too far into the family bank account.
 Then, after father and mother fin ally get through, they go away. And sometime within the next day or two they come back-SepaTately-t buy presents for each other.
 There's many a young man wonder ing what in the-weli. what under the sun he'll buy his sweetheart for Christ mas. Young men as a rule don't hang around stores much and hunt through the stock for what they want They'll look at the windows but they won't go inside until they know just what they want. Then they buy it and get it as rapidly as possible.
 Such young men can be divided into two classes. There is the fellow who is SO bashful about it that he'll go to some store where he is sure he isn't known. others prefer to go tO some close friend in a store. whisper what is wanted. have it wrapped mp in many thicknesses of paper and sent to his address
 But the girls who buy gifts for their sweethearts don't know what they want when they go into store tO GO their Christmas shopping. They'll look at everything in the ladies' department. wandering aimlessly about half an hour or more before gathering courage enough to slip over where gents fur hishing goods and the like are sold ! One will take the clerk into her cOnfi- i dence, asking his opinion as to what | a real nice young man would like for | Christmas. while the next will brazen- ! ly declare that she wants something | for her brother. But she will be mighty ] particular in buying that gift. con- siderins that it is for q member of the I family. It is really surprising how i many girls who never had a brother ! are buying Christmas presents for | brothers these days
 The fashion in gifts-wen. !: hasn't 1 changed. Toilet sets are still a biz . favorite for the ladies while rdndker- . chiefs and neckties are in greater de- I mand than ever. It is noticeable that . more clothes are being bought as pres ents.