Christmas shopping - what, where and how much
Magill's Big List of presents from 35p to £200 to take the headache out of Christmas Shopping. By Gabrielle Williams
EVERY SHOPPING editor knows that there are at least a dozen different ways of doing a Christmas \present feature. Part of the point of it should be to spark off ideas about kinds of presents as well as speciific suggestions. But in the end the choice comes down to what you want, or can afford, to spend. We told Gabrielle Williams to go out and choose a lot of presents, ranging In price from less than SOp to over a hundred pounds, with the proviso that each one should be the nicest possible thing in its price range. If possible, we begged, let some of them be the kind of thing which will inspire the defeated shopper with new ideas. She came back with over a hundred presents for just about every kind of man, woman and child. The area covered is mainly Dublin but many of the things are available all over the country. We think her labours should make this worst job of the shopping year much easier. Good Luck and Good Hunting.
1. Wooden egg cups, brightly stained in yellow, green, red. 35p. Stock, South King Street.
2. Small money purse. in bright-coloured plastic. 35p. Something Different, Gaiety Green.
3. Vine leaves to stuff Greek -g fashion. Flattering to a jaded/ambitious cook. 35p. McCambridge's, Ranelagh.
4. Children's drinking mugs decorated with adorable Kate Greenaway transfers. 40p. Stock, South King Street.
5. Goldfish, for the tenderrhearted child who'll look after it. 45p. Joey's Pet Shop, Gaiety Green.
6. Mock patchwork sewing purse, one of many good stocking fillers. 85p. Concern, Dawson Street (and by post from 1 Upper Camden Street, Dublin 2).
7. 1 lb jar of homemade mincemeat with Guinness. 85p. McCambridge's, Raneelagh.
8. Plain silver rings, several to be worn together. £1.00 each. Marika, Grafton Court.
9. Latest game for catching a small ball in a net - 'Snap Trap'. £ 1.00. Something Different, Gaiety Green.
10. 24 felt-tipped pens for any child, artistically inclined, or not. £ 1.15. Concern, Dawwson Street.
11. Macrame plant holder, even nicer with a flowering plant. £1.20. Turning Point, South King Street.
12. Brightly striped leggwarmers - with toes, very freakish. .£1.25. Clery's, O'Connell Street.
13. Small St Laurent towels on show in the guest room. What's in a name? £1.35. Switzers.
14. Pottery jars for flour and grains. £ 1.40. Green Acres, South King Street.
15. Handblown fruit bowl. £ 1.44. Simon Pearce, Kildare Street.
16. Small stoneware pot of French herbs. £1.45. Mcf.arnnbridge's, Ranelagh.
17. Set of three glass swims which you can watch Thomas Auld spin on Saturdays arid Sundays. £1.50. Glascraft, Gaiety Green.
18. Cherry-wood scoop. From £1.50. Simon Pearce, Kildare Street.
19. Shiny leather belts in all colours. £1.50. Angel Bouutique, Gaiety Green.
20. Tickets for the Pantoomime - Maureen Potter's annual feat of making the children laugh and scream. £1.50 a good seat. Gaiety Theatre, South King Street.
21. Patchwork cushion sewwing kit - gay coloured cotton squares to stitch together over Christmas. Nice for a creative 12 year old. £1.50. Skills, Grafton Court.
22, The Wonderful World of the Wombles, ever popular with small children. Penguin gift set of books, specially boxed. £1.55. APCK, Dawson Street.
23. Fairisle cap, for the Vogue conscious young followers of fashion and for their elders who want warmth. £1.60. (matching gloves £L25). Clery's, O'Connell Street.
24. Decorative leather wristtband, for your backnature friend. £1.60. Skills, Grafton Court.
25. Make-your-own-tray kit, from a selection of marvellous family leisure projects. £1.65. Hobby Crafts, Sackville Place. 26. Fairisle knee socks, to wear with big tweeds, or to tuckjeansinto. £1.75. Tyler's, O'Connell Street.
27. Colourful Mary Quant leg-warmers, among the mad-
dest and most trendy fashion novelties. £ 1. 7 5. Switzers, Grafton Street.
28. Glitter, another curreht craze, in gold and silver belts. £1.85. Look, Gaiety Green. 29. 'Beswick' story-book fig' ures and Beatrix Potter aniimals - chosen, if possible to match a favourite bedtime story. from £1.90. China Showrooms, Lower Abbey Street.
30. Warm, ribbed wool tights in dark colours, very smart worn with high-heeled lace' ups. £ 1. 9 5. Switzers, Grafton Street.
31. More for adults than childdren - Treasures of Florence, complicated jig-saws, mild cultural value, making such a past-time seem quite respecttable. £1.95. Switzers.
32. Portuguese green glass carafe for someone who has, or would like to have, a rustic 'Provencal' type of kittchen. £1.99. Stock, South King Street.
33. Japanese earthstone ovennto-table ware, very fine. £1.99 (cup and saucer). Simon Pearce, Kildare Street.
34. 1 Y2 litre magnums of full bodied plank, reasonably priced, Finstello Sangiovese. £1.99 (£11.55 case of 6). One of a large selection. Findlaters, 149 Upper Rathmines Road. 35. Children are partfcularly interested In stationery, gaddgetry and like all kinds of desk equipment. A stamp album being one. £2.10. Veritas, Lower Abbey Street.
36. Impractical, but pretty and rather. flattering "for a home dressmaker, Royal W orrchester thimble in a box. £2.30. China Showrooms, Lower Abbey Street.
37. Plastic boot trees, boring, but really do preserve boots which, given their price nowwadays could be very welcome. £2.50. Tyler's, O'Connell Street.
38. 4711 Cologne. Always welcome, especially if you don't know what perfume the recipient likes. £2.56. Swittzers, Grafton Street.
recipient likes. £2.56. Swittzers, Grafton Street.
39. Handblown glass milk jug, plain, unadorned and lovely. £2.60. Simon Pearce, Kildare Street.
40. Oil painting set for the enthusiastic amateur. £2.75. Gemcraft, Grafton Court.
41. Handwoven tweed ties, in all colours, some very subtle, such as blackberry (when in doubt about colour, match his eyes - even blackberry ones). £2.95. Cleo's. Dawson Street.
42. Penguin gift set of Roald Dahl's vivid children's stories. For six years up. £2.95. g APCK, Dawson Street.
43. Red 'leather' (synthetic) 8' bag, two outside pockets and adjustable strap, college girl sort of thing. £2.99. Tyler's, O'Connell Street.
44. Christmas cakes, by Gatteaux, available and, having visited the factory, can guarrantee goodness of ingredients. £2.99. Superquinn.
45. Handturned wooden bowl, exceptional value, much more expensive elsewhere. £3.00. Daedalus, Gaiety Green.
46. French lace garters, with rib bon trimming. £3.45. Brown Thomas, Grafton Street.
47. A 10 year-old bottle of Port, gift wrapped from a famous wine merchants. £3.50. Mitchell's, Kildare Street.
48. Canvas and all the materrials for a tapestry, handdsomely packed. £3.50. Skills, Grafton Court.
49. Packs of vintage marmaalades and jams for a greedy Christmas breakfast. £3.50. Switzers, Grafton Street.
50. Attractive narrow leather belts, from Dublin's most chic boutique. £3.50. Pat Crowley, Duke Street.
51. Marquetry kit, for someeone who needs a new hobby. £3.67. Hobby Crafts, Sackkville Place.
52. If you must give socks, make them a filmstar's luxury. Cashmere in soft colours. £3.60 a pair. Brown Thomas, Grafton Street.
53. Collector's toy kits for making soft animals. From £3.65. Hobby Crafts, Sackkville Place.
54. Rustic Hollander baskets, equally good for drifting about picking flowers, or for shopping. £3.75. Stock, South King Street.
55. Glenab bey short, polyyester lawn nighties, sweet rather than sexy. £3.99. Clery 's, O'Connell Street.
56. Galway Crystal bud vase, for that single Christmas rose. £4.20. China Showrooms, Lower Abbey Street.
57. Among many delightful etchings, prin ts and so on are animal and flower paintings, very small and mounted, by various artists. £4.20 (plenty more at higher prices). Setanta Gallery, Molesworth Street. 58. Interesting 19th Century romantic print of Irish scene -choose a place that has some meaning for the recipient. £4.50. Cahir, South King Street.
59. Extremely trendy black or white taffeta petticoat, half-length, with a frill which shows the statutory two inches below a calf-length skirt. £4.99. Clery's, O'Coonnell Street.
60. Small and delicate silver cross on chain for a child or teenager. £4.5 O. Marika, Grafton Court.
61. The Summer of the Spannish Women by Catherine Gaskin (Collins). Good, easy Christmas reading in front of the fire while everyone else is watching TV. £4.95. APCK, Dawson Street.
62. Tough mini-trike for a two-year-old. £4.95. Quinnssworth (all branches).
63. Georgian silver tea spoons to start a collection, from an excellent stock of reasonnable antiques. £5.00. J.I Weldon, South Anne Street.
64. Decorative china - a blue and white oriental vase, for example. £5.00. Rembrandt Antiques, South Anne Street. 65. Silver animal pendants on chains, such· as a tiny eleephant, a sausage dog, a fish. £5.00. Marika,Grafton Court. 66. Candle making kit ècould be a life-saver in a power strike. £5.00. Gemmcraft, GraftonCourt.
67. Handmade wood puppets, difficult to work but fun to watch. Not for the very young. £5.45. Switzers, Graffton Street.
68. Rag dolls to dress and undress. Most important. £5.95. Skills, Grafton Court. 69. Lacy white and pink bed jacket for Grandma or anyyone else who feels the cold. £5.99. Clery's, O'Connell Street.
70. Coloured clogs for the baby. £5.99. (adults a bit more expensive). Cloggies, Gaiety Green.
71. The Other Half, a selffportrait by Kenneth Clark (John Murray) £6.50. APCK, Dawson Street.
72. Administration Yearbook and Diary choc-a-bloc with useful information about those who rule us. £6.50. Institute of Public Adminisstration, 57 Landsdowne Dublin 4.
73. A large wooden construcction set for the ten-year-old master builder. Excellent value. £6.99 Hobby Crafts, Sackville Place.
74. 'Aviance,' latest fashionnable flowery scent. Shows you bothered to find out what's new. £7.00 (Yzoz.), from good chemists.
75. Pocket calculators to help with the homework or VAT. £7.15. Switzers, Grafton Street.
76. Good looking Italian cannvas bags, with bamboo and leather trimming. £7.50. Brown Thomas, Grafton Street.
77. Kitchen devil knife set, for the gourmet or would-be gourmet. £7.50. Switzers, Grafton Street.
78. Pretty silver-necked, cut glass scent bottles, all sizes. £7.50. J.Weldon, South Anne Street.
79. For the vain, a tortoise- shell-type hand mirror. £7.55. Weirs, Grafton Street.
80. Highly decorative Spode, Minton and Wedgewood wall plates. From £8.00. Remmbrandt Antiques, South Anne Street.
81. Japanese prints, a suggesstion of bird in branches, one of a selection. £8.50. Setanta Gallery, Molesworth Street. 1i2. 'Femme' by Rochas, the world's most loved scent. £9.05 for a very small bottle, from good chemists.
83. 100-year-old Madeiras. From £9.50. The Wine Corner, Donnybrook.
84. Royal' Worcester Christtmas plate with a jolly Vicctorian skating scene. £9.60. Weirs, Grafton Street.
85. Pringle lambswool man's jumper in heather colours. £9.95. Brown Thomas, Graffton Street.
86. Singing canary in a cage ˜make sure the recipient wants and can take a bird. £10.00. Joey's Pet Shop, Gaiety Green.
87. Smart little hampers conntaining six bottles of white wine and some cigars. £10.00. Mitchell's, Kildare Street.
88. Gift voucher for a beauttiful cut, shampoo and blow dry from Dublin's best hairrdresser. £10.00 (for a start). David Marshall, Fade Street. 89. Silky, fringed, evening shawls, very fashionable to wear around hips and shoullders. £ 1 0.00. Pat Crowley, Duke Street.
90. The Irish World, beautiifully produced, easy to read. (Thames and Hudson) £10.50. APCK, Dawson Street.
91. Handtooled leather bags in celtic design, made by prisoners. £ 11.5 O. Skills, Grafton Court.
92. Japanese silk kimonos in vivid flower colours for men or women. £12.00. Turning Point, South King Street.
93. Bottle of Old Cognac, with four glasses, gift wrapped. £12.00. Mitchell's, Kildare Street.
94. A bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothchild, la de da. One of a fine selection. 12.25. McGowan's, Blackkrock.
95. Good start for a young photographer, Kodak camera. £12.95. Switzers, Grafton Street.
96. Basic doll's house for a child who likes to do her own doll's interior deecorating. £13.00. Skills, Grafton Court.
97. Delicate sepia and ink sketches by Ruth Brandt. £14.60 (mounted). Setanta Gallery, Molesworth Street. 98. Christmas hampers with predictable festive contents and a surprise element for a greedy recipient. From £15.00. Switzers, Grafton Street.
99. Good value, hard-wearing doll's pram , much more exxpensive elsewhere. £14.99. Quinnsworth (all branches). 100. Case of fine quality, Bishop of Reisling German white wine. £16.99. Quinnssworth (branches).
101. .C.LE. 'Rambler Ticket' for a homebound, holidaying teenager. £17.00. All C.LE. offices.
102. Indian antique silver and turquoise girdle-belt, from an ethnic dresser's paradise of gifts. £17.00. Shree, Grafton Street.
103. Electric stone polisher, turns dull pebbles into shining gems. £17.50. Gemmcraft, Grafton Court.
104. Fold-away director's chair, for the up and comming, in natural wood and black canvas. £19.50. Stock, South King Street.
105. Prestige pressure cooker, unsurpassed for the pressurrised cook. £19.65. Switzers, Grafton Street.
106. Rugs handwoven in Annie Dribble's lush colours. From £18.00. Turning Point, South King Street.
107. Executive's leather briefcase, just the thing for carrying the sandwiches in. £19.95. Liebe, Gaiety Green. 108. Mexican leather westernnstyle boots with a bull-horn design. £25.00. Justin Lord, Gaiety Green.
109. Old Waterford glass decanter, with stopper. A Thing of Beauty. £30.00. Clover Antiques, South King Street.
110. Distinctive Vi~torian gold choker, for a swan-like neck. £30.00. Irene Antiques, Duke Street.
Ill. Cognac in a Baccarat decanter, immediately pleassing gift with lasting value. £35.00. Mitchell's, Kildare Street.
112. Silver bangle, set with rock crystal. Modern, clean lines. £35.00. Marika, Graffton Court.
113. Givenchy chokers of gilt and diamante, with a set of interchangeable pendants and a lifetime of kidding everyone you have more jewelry than is strictly true. £38.50. Brown Thomas, Grafton Street.
114 . Men's distinguished fine silk/wool dressing gown, if you know anyone distinnguished enough to deserve it. £39.50. Brown Thomas, Graffton Street.
115. Beautiful soft Wicklow colours in an Avoca double bed spread (96xl12") £40.50. Kilkenny Design Centre, Nassau Street.
116. Silver chased tea caddy, 1918, £42.00, or a handsome silver inkstand, Birmingham, 1901. £45.00. J. Weldon. South Anne Street.
117. Christmas with all the trimmings at a Great Southhern Hotel, three days from £49.00.
118. Season ticket to the Gate Theatre, any perforrmance throughout the year. £50.00.
119. Sculptured silver choker, set with smokey quartz - for a fine figure of a woman. £64.50. Rionore, Molesworth Street.
120. Cartier lighter - slim, gold, status symbol supreme. £86.00. Weirs, Grafton Street. 121. Slinky, seductive little ocelot lamb jacket. £195.00. Elegance Furs, off Abbey Street.
122. Cartier wrist watch, thin as a penny, gold and croc. Just £238.00. Weirs, Grafton Street.
123 . Year's subscription to Magill, admittedly a rather ingenious idea. Send us the address of the person(s) you want to receive the magazine, and we'll send off a seasonal gift card to them, and the next twelve issues, with your compliments. See special order form, page 84