Evening star., 1959-12-27
Christmas Gift EXCHANGES
Keep Weary Clerks Busy
BY GEORGE WILSON
star star Writer

The matronly lady pushed to
the head Of the marching
crowd as the store opened yes
terday and cornered the clerk
in the shoe department.
Look at these things" she
commanded as she pulled a
pair Of pointed high heels out
Of the gift box. Maybe I'm
just q little bit afraid. But
what does my husband think
I ana chorus grip"
The bleary-eyed salesman.
faced with a whole day of the
same type Of thing, somehow
managed a sympathetic smile
before he started the long
search for an exchange gift.
Traffic Heavy
Sales people at nearby
counters looked up YEARLY this
morning after Christmas and
prepared for the inevitable.
They did not have long to wait.
Squads Of shoppers, carrying
wilted Christmas shopping
bags, advanced upon the
counters soon after the stores
opened. Most Of them wanted
different sizes. Some wanted
a variety of different gifts.
Others came in for the sales.
Out on the street, police wore
q "this is where I came in look"
as they directed the post
Christmas traffic of cars and
pedestrians. The pedestrians
themselves looked all business
as they headed for downtown
stores. Few paused to admire
the Christmas windows, which
had stopped traffic just 48
hours earlier. The Christmas
carols splitting the mild, gray
day sounded stale.
The mber atmosphere
downtown at times was light
ened, however, by some of the
actions Of this morning after
crowd.
There was H. H. Goodman of
3701 N. Twenty-Seventh street,
Arlington, for example, who
found himself feeling guilty as
he played with his dog the
morning after Christmas.
II looked around at all the
presents and thought she was
being neglected" Mr.. Goodman
said. So he rushed to a down.
town pet shop and bought the
dog a gift stocking.
Sweater Girl Indignant
Mrs. David S. Thoenen of
1705 Thirtieth street NV. had
a morale problem on her hands
as she searched through toy
stores. A vital part was miss
ing In the electric trains she
had given her 5-year-old son
Stanley on Christmas. He could
not run the trains until she
found the part. And he was
along to make sure the search
was exhaustive.
Raymond Crater of 2809 Fif-
teenth street NV. was even
more frantic as he rushed to-
ward the department store pet
shop like a doctor on a life or
death mission. Under his arm
was Jimmy, gift parakeet who
had broken his leg while being
grabbed out of the Christmas
tree. The pet man sent Mr..
Crater to a veterinarian.
II knew my father was old
fashioned, but I didn't think
my mother was" said a teen
age girl as she demanded a
smaller size sweater. This
thing fits like pajamas."
This complaint was nothing
compared to those of the ladies
exchanging gifts at the lingerie
counters in stores all over town.
How much did my husband
pay for this thing" said one
middle-aged woman as she
held aloft a f1lmy blue negligee.
She exploded when she got the
answer. "Seventy-flve dollars!
Seventy-flve dollars! Why he
must be completely out of his
mind. I never had anything like
this in my life" She wanted
the cash credit, not a different
size.
Males Not Numerous
Mr.. Fleet Hughlett of Edge
water, Md, put three gifts on
the lingerie counter.
These are three slips and
they're all too big, he said.
The manager Of the lingerie
department insisted, however
that men are getting better all
the time.
They are getting educated,
and more of them have nerve
enough to buy lingerie" he
said.
Relatively few men were in
the stores to defend themselves.
Some exchanged loud sports
coats their wives had picked
out for quieter ones. And there
was a scattering of men trying
to get the right-size shirt. But
sales personnel said men US
ually wait longer than the
women to exchange gifts.
There was little evidence of
this Christmas spirit at gift
wrapping counters. Personnel
there reported several women
came in complaining, Nov
that she gave me a present I'll
have to give her one"
Wedding In Mind
One woman brought her un-