Gifting the Girls

To earn a glowing reputation as a Santa Sans pareil among his pretty paramours, the gift-wise guy need not emulate that overzealous suitor who inundated his inamorata with 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers, piping. 10 lords a-leaping, and so forth down – or up – to a partridge in a pear tree. If you've ever bedazzled a damsel with bonbons, poetry or flowers you know that munificence is less a measure of successful gifting than the sentiment embodied in your token of esteem.

Whether stole or sonnet, blossom or bijou, the correct Christmas cumshaw is the one that flatters and disarms each object of your affection by seeming to be the product of dedicated planning and searching especially for her; by making her feel that you alone know the real her and that she alone commands your appreciative attention.

The one great secret of staying afloat during the annual Christmastidal wave of gifting is organization. Before you embark on the churning sea of frenzied shoppers, make a list of your lasses, classifying them by their basic traits and tastes.

Each of your female friends will probably fit into one of the following categories: (1) the ultrachic, felinely feminine type; (2) the crisply competent business girl; (3) the lithe-limbed, glowing, healthy outdoor girl; (4) the culture-conscious, aesthetic-intellectual type; or (5) the tantalizingly changeable child-woman. The niche into which each femme falls should give you a hint about what is apt to please her.

Now, with list in hand, you are almost ready to pursue the perfect presents for your fair ladies. But linger in your lounging chair a bit longer to answer these questions about each lass on your list: Should her gift be practical or friv-olous? Intimate or personal? How much does she mean to you and how much do you want her to mean?

In choosing the right gift for the right girl, the length of time you've known her is important. If the ink is barely dry in your address book – but you'd still like to catalyze a rapid chemical reaction – an inexpensive but perceptive gift will do the trick; if you discussed music or literature during your one bright evening together, try the latest album or anthology featuring one of her favorites.

If you are old friends but your times with her are preferably platonic, an impersonal gift is in order. Umbrellas, fountain pens, candy, luggage, handkerchiefs, colognes, traveling clocks, cigarette lighters and costume jewelry, chosen to conform to her tastes and her other possessions all indicate friendship pure and simple.

But if she's the one who phones after midnight – and you anticipate the calls – a lavish and more familiar remembrance is called for to keep her on the line; sable, if you're able, is fine and a black Belgian lace negligee could be perfect – if the rapport is a fait accompli. But don't give her a diamond unless you mean to suggest the permanence that goes with it.

In choosing a really important present for that very special someone, remember that every female is born with a taste for luxury, i.e. for furs, jewels and perfume. But luxury needn't be beyond reasonable reach. If you can't afford a full-length fur, a black velvet stole or jacket trimmed with something undeniable (like chinchilla) will still impress her. In jewelry, you don't have to care for her in carats – just as long as the gem is the real thing. If size does count, give her a whopper of a dinner ring with a high-quality synthetic stone, but make sure it's a kind she admires. By far the easiest of the luxury line, both on purchaser and purse, is perfume. It's a breeze to buy and can usually be found – even at the last minute – in most drug and department stores. If you're going to send her scent, be sure the sweet smell is a success. If she's loyal to one fragrance, buy her the whole set from purse flacon to dressing-table cologne, or add a Swedish-crystal atomizer. If she has a collection of aromas, give her a chance to order a custom-made blend of her very own from a fine cosmetics house.

If she's proud of her pad but hasn't finished furnishing it, send her a functional conversation piece: a small antique chair or desk, an area rug, a box made of polished or inlaid wood, gold bathroom fixtures, a chafing dish, unique bookends or an original by her favorite contemporary artist. Check local galleries: Special holiday collections are usually on display.

In considering a gift of garb, it is best to avoid quickly outmoded high fashions, eccentric shades (except for eccentric girls) and bothersome fabrics that spend most of their lives at the cleaners. Be sure that whatever you get her complements her existing wardrobe in taste, color and size. Cashmere sweaters, silk blouses, scarves, elbow-length gloves, stretch pants, Japanese kimonos, one-of-a-kind belts, and handbags of all sizes are always accepted with open arms. If you give her a purse, enclose an extra surprise: a flacon of her favorite perfume, a monogrammed key ring or a leather cigarette case.

If she's sentimental, a small gold charm that recalls a special event or date will enchant her. If she's a softie she'll also be swayed by a silver cigarette box, lighter or telephone desk pad, engraved with your secret nonsense word or the first letters of a significant message, a line from her favorite poem or the notes of your special song.

Even simple monogramming (which most stores will do in less than a week) adds an only-for-me value to such otherwise ordinary and utilitarian gifts as stationery, cocktail shakers and glasses, silver bookmarks, gold car keys, handkerchiefs, place mats, bathroom and boudoir accessories, hand mirrors, brushes, combs, blouses, photo albums, diaries, passport cases, luggage, leather letter-writing kits, white cowhide manicuring sets, gold checkbooks and silver bottle stoppers or openers.

For repeated remembrance, a continuing gift is the ticket. Enroll her in any one of a dozen good fruit, cheese-, book-, candy-or record-of-the-month clubs. Or, more personal still, buy her an instructional course in anything from Italian to flying, water skiing or skindiving. If it's culture she seeks, she'll be delighted with a two-seat subscription for the opera, symphony, art-film society or lecture series. And she's sure to ask you to keep her company. Another nice reminder is a gift subscription to such prestige and specialty magazines as Gourmet, L'Oeil, Connaissance des Arts, Realités, Punch, Paris Match or Horizon.

Christmas spirits, if well chosen, make fine presents and can be easy on the budget. For a bit of offbeat memorabilia, give your young flame an old bottle of brandy bearing the vintage year of her birth. For an old flame get a great champagne that bears the date of the year you met. In either case include a pair of just-for-the-two-of-us glasses. For pleasant but impersonal gifts, liquor stores oiler last-minute haven with a wide range of special holiday gift bottles. Along more luxurious lines you might consider the jewel-like splendor of a baccarat crystal decanter of Remy-Martin Louis XIV cognac encased in green velvet. If she knows her wines, or wants to, give her an expandable wine rack made of interlocking aluminum sleeves and slip in a sampling of good stock to get her cellar started.

If the girl's a gourmet, spice up her life with a fine French herb rack, or delve into a delicacy shop to select a gift basket of escargots, crepes, smoked game, Beluga caviar, Edam or Gouda cheese and other canned and glazed goodies. Or give her a custom blend of coffee and an espresso maker. But don't, whatever you do, give her the makings of a Christmas dinner as a "gift" and expect her to fix it in your honor.

Whatever the category of your gift, it is always worthwhile to seek the extreme. Buy her a salad bowl, but make it the largest ever seen. If you get her liqueur glasses, get her the ones with the longest and most delicate stems. Find the jewel box with the most secret compartments or a mammoth stuffed toy, or the lightest possible luggage. Also strive for the best-of-breed: The finest leather wallet outrates a just-average purse costing more.

If you want to impress but are under duress, you can bank on the happy fact that most women are extremely label-conscious. A chiffon scarf from Neiman-Marcus, a silk square from Bergdorf-Goodman, a deck of cards from Cartier or a silver bookmark from Tiffany's may have more meaning than a costlier gift from a popular department store.

But remember, whatever you give her, it must seem to be the one and only perfect choice for her, selected after long and careful cogitation. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to do the shopping; almost every good store now provides personal shopping consultants who will be happy to handle the final chore for you or will guide you (and your list) through the maze of merchandise to help you make those perfect choices. Although the store consultant's services are free, you may prefer to seek the more extensive aid of a private shopping firm which, for no more than a dollar or two per gift, will scout local and out-of-town stores for just the right presents and will also provide personalized gift wrapping and delivery.

Gift wrapping, like the gift, should seem to reflect the personality of each pretty miss on your list. But unless paper-folding is your forte, we suggest you let the store's custom-wrapping department take over. If you do the chore yourself, it is wise to wrap each gift on the day you buy it; it is no fun to face a mountain of unadorned presents on Christmas Eve.

Having found and bound just the right presents for your lovelies, it is best to deliver all but that one most special gift on either Christmas Eve or earlier.

Once you've visited all but the final hearth, the time has come to retire for a long winter's nip, toasted, of course, with the chosen one.

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