ANNAPOLIS – With the holiday season’s approach comes some serious work for shopaholics.
The American Express Retail Index predicts shoppers will spend $915 on average this season. Here’s a look at what a mother of a pre-schooler and a teen-ager might purchase for that total for family and friends.
At the Annapolis Toys “R” Us are must-haves for a young daughter:
* Bounce Around Tigger, a talking stuffed animal, offered for $29.99;
* Blue’s Clue’s Sing Along Blue, a stuffed dog that sings when you touch its paw, for $19.99;
* a set of four Teletubbies dolls, for $24.99;
* Barbie’s Folding Pretty House, for $49.99; and
* a Rugrats video, for $9.99.
Furby, the gremlin-like creature that is considered the toy to have this Christmas, isn’t on the shelves. When Toys “R” Us has it in stock, it sells for $29.99, a sales clerk said.
For a 13-year-old son, there are Sony PlayStation games: Metal Gear Solid, offered for $49.99; and WWF War Zone, for $44.99.
Hecht’s department store at Annapolis Mall has another gift the teen-ager might like: a pair of Tommy Hilfiger baggy jeans for $64.
Hecht’s offers gifts for other family members, including:
* a Guess? T-shirt a niece might like, for $24;
* 14-karat gold hoop earrings for the mother-in-law, for $34.99;
* a Fossil sterling silver-linked watch for the father-in- law, for $60.
A quick run through the rest of the mall turns up gifts for the rest of the bunch:
* A 12-inch crystal vase from The Bombay Co. for the buyer’s mother, for $59;
* a tie from Structure for dad, for $29.50;
* a women’s knit hat, for $19.50, and a women’s solid-color heavy ribbed crew neck, for $25, from the Gap for friends.
* a Ravens T-shirt from Champs for a nephew, for $19.99.
For her husband, the shopper stops at Montgomery Ward and finds a Franklin Ultima IV chaise rocker recliner on sale for $299.99. The grand total, with Maryland’s 5 percent sales tax, comes to $909.20 – a smidgen under the average. -30-