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Show Page 2 THb DAILY HERALD, Provo, Hah, Sunday, December 3 1995 p Dave Barry's holiday gift guide is out By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tis the season for major toy purchases, when parents have an excuse to the wonderlands of their own childhoods. Here are some of the items they'll be stashing under the tree: Dolls and Stuffed Animals Remember when dolls that were pretty were for children, not collectors? A revival is Baby So Beautiful (Playmates Toys, about $20), an affordable baby doll with This is the first of Christmas gift idea columns presented by humor columnist Dave Barn: The second and third parts will appear in the Dec. 10 and 17 Holiday Gift Guide editions of The Dailx Herald. By DAVE BARRY Knight-Ridde- r Newspapers re-vi- three , -- P hf M J T ors, hair colors, American 6- -. hard-bodie- soft-bodie- 1 clip-cloppi- snow-covere- dren learn balance and fitness skills. Suzie comes in both white and black versions. The upmarket plush animal kingdom from Steiff runs from whales, seals, elephants, chimps, camels, ponies to the familiar combrown-tippe- d forting bear. A is and a bear $215, teddy 17-in- ch charcoal four-inc- h gray teddy named Coal, peering out from a Christmas stocking, is $90. Bears bearing period costumes are Bears from the Past by Russ. including Abigail and Emily, h 16 brown bears ($45 each) in Victorian dresses. Mickey and Minnie Mouse endure for franchised generations, as Disney Babies squeezable plush toys ($7.99 to $8.99) and footed pajamas ($7.99) for infants and toddlers. This collection coordinates with other Disney Babies accidents involving and sleighs occur during the holiday season. We are not being critical here. We think that, except for making a beverage that tastes like carbonated pig drool, Budweiser is a fine organization. We are merely pointing out that the Holiday Season is an extremely com- mercial time, and everybody tries to cash in on it. Virtually every product comes in special holiday packaging. rs 12-inc- Baby So Beautiful Dolls from Playmates come in a variety of dresses and different skin, eye products, such as soft puzzles, activity toys, books. musical V tj. Building Fun Those familiar plastic bricks almost demand creative action. There's a new Lego System FreeSlyle Line for boys and girls from three to 12 that lets them build from imagination. The sets have the basic bricks plus some new shapes and pieces; FreeStyles include the new Aquazone Play Theme package with underwater world sets and the Town, Space, Castle, Pirates, Boats and Trains sets. For youngsters ages seven to 14 interested in how things tick, Lego Technic sets come with gears, pulleys, beams and other special pieces; there are sets for big-tir- e vehicles and a helicopter, pos-ab- among others. And for the youngest builders, six to 24 months, Lego has a new Duplo stacking toys with Baby line animals that make rattle sounds and oversized blocks with rounded coiners. Prices range from $1.49 for the Lego System FreeStyle trial size bag to $169.99 for the Lego System Monorail Transport Base. The classic Erector Set for youngsters eight years to adulthood, revived a few years ago, is still going strong, with basic sets ranginc from 203 to 452 parts ($19.99 to $69.99) and advanced sets with motors ranging from 556 to 640 parts ($86.99 to and hair colors. The maker offers the doll in a variety of models with different ethnic fea- - Tonka's Sky Patrol Rescue Copter ($39.99) responds electronically to a child's commands; he can hear random voice commands and sounds by activating a working winch, spinning the rotor blades, removing or replacing the gurney and pilot figure, and making the copter land or take off. The company also has bet the family farm with the Tonka Farm Playset ($69.99), which has a barn, working grain elevator, silo with drop chute and opening doors, a pickup truck with a figure, four animal figures, eight fence pieces, four oretend bales of hay, and more. Emulating the family outing, the Outbounder Motor Home ($20) from Nylint has detailed interior, sunroof, and all the things to take a canoe, mountain bike, along and of course, the family of four. Nylint also offers some popa ular road models in miniature mobiles, and clothing. le XP($20). The Budgie ($8) from Nylint is based on the helicopter character in the children's stories by the Duchess of York; it has a soft molded face, storage door, and eyes that move when the rotor is turned. The Shining Time Station is by the train experts from Lionel. A Deluxe Electric Train Set Push-A-Lo- ($199.95) includes Thomas the Tank Engine with three interchangeable faces, Annie, Clarabel, Sir Topham Hatt, transformer, playmat and sound system. The company also offers the James & Set Troublesome Trucks ($179.95), with three interchangeable faces for James the Red Engine and each of the Trouble- e 3) vT December I ' 4-1- k k. FKFE Lies ofcu" rew Pie-Ctte ENTIRE month 1132 5 State Orem Ut Drri y r v i Machine n"th ef.Jawv to 226-263- 2 Mon thru Sat 106pm v x y x xrnrr-rwt- k r- -3 , V ".vfJ1 are the Metaloid bikes from Huffy. "Hi T"H 10:00 am -- 6 9:00 am -- December 18-2- 1 9:00 am -- December 22-23- ... 1 10:00 pm 10:00 pm 11:00 pm 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (Christmas Eve) (Store's Option) . P December 25 f: December M 10:00 am - 9:00 pm 26-3- 0 December 31 (New Year's Eve) Closed ) i January (New Year's Day) ....10:00 am - 6:00 pm 10:00 am - 9:00 pm (Regular Hours) 1 January 2 Trim Closed (Christmas Day) v. N o y " ,i ; 2a LA , 4 -- J ' ryy center f : V" j 9:00 am - Midnight r I : but very PC al 15-1- , s at about $4,000. W II THANK YOU! frame-mounte- December h MS N cvs' 135 Pie Shapes ! (See TOYS, Page 3) 4 December 24 H from bars, has been 1955 specifications discovered by Schwinn Bicycles during a recent move. This forerunner of today' mountain bikes has a big sofa seat, big fenders and whitewalls. Models sell for $189 to $275. Schwinn, celebrating its centennial, also has reconstructed the 1949 Black another classic Phantom in gleaming chrome with d integrated headlight and "horn tank." Only 5,000 of these bikes will be made. Originals of the model are now valued ours iy prrrTTi OOPLES of affordable scrapbook supplies, along with a complete line of acid-fre- e products to help bring your memories to life and plenty of creative workshops and ideas to help you along! It's a bike that evokes nostalth(s gia, and it's being Schwrhn season. The 1930s-er- a Excelsior "Paper Boy" Cruiser, with balloon tires, motocycle drum brakes, brake levers and handle- Wheels T LATTJinirY ill pho- some Trucks. ge Paj-- vV tures. Each one comes with a locket and to album. Ford Explorer pulling a bathtub-worth- y Ocean Runner ($20) and Dodge Ram towing the Sea Doo $114.99). Junior Erector Sets include the Tool Center ($29.99) and the Power Hauler with friction motor ($49.99). Toys That Fly and Roll untxy rrrx ing that some of the items really and truly exist. That's why we are hereby reminding you, as we do every year, our GIFT GUIDE AUTHENTICITY POLICY Every gift you see featured on the following pages is an actual product that you can buy (except for the Device, which WAS available when we started writing the Gift Guide, but may not be available now, but which is so wonderful that wc have to o.....l AP Photo reme- of - acces- sories, books, matching clothes for the owners, and a magazine. Baby dolls based on the benign-lookin- g Gerber trademark baby, launched last year, come in new versions, including the Gerber Food Time Baby (Toy Biz, d doll that $19.99), a can be spoon-fed- ; the Newborn d doll Baby ($16.99), a w hich sleeps and sucks her thumb; and the Collector Doll ($39.99), a but unbreakable porcelain-lik- e doll in special dress. Food Time and Newborn models come in either black or white skin colors; the Collector additionally comes in Hispanic colorings. Suzie Stretch (Irwin Toy, $35) already ha.i hit it off in Europe and Canada and arrives in the United States this season. Kids slip their toes into Suzie's feet, wrap her arms around their waist, and tumble, twist and stretch with her. The whimsical doll helps chil- sleigh, along a d counscenic try road at dusk and winding up at a snug and cozy house? Did you ever stop to ask yourself what that sleigh is carrying? Beer, would be our guess, and plenty of it. You don't use animals that size to haul figgy pudding. No, the occupants of that cozy house are definitely going to toss down a major quantity of brewskis, and later that night they're probably going to want to take the Clydesdales out for a joyride, maybe see what those big babies can do on the interstate. FACT: 83 percent of all dies in boxes decorated with pictures of mistletoe. So we are not ashamed of our Gift Guide. We feel, in fact, that it provides a vital shopping resource to those of you who are looking for "something different" to give this year. And when we say "something different," we mean, "something that the typical consumer would probably not think of giving as a gift." And when we say "the typical consumer." we mean "the consumer who does not need to be kept in a restraining device and fed with a special tube." So, if y ou are in any way typical, get ready to have your mind expanded as you examine the gift possibilities that we have selected for you this year. We warn you that you may have trouble believ- sf- Si 4 tie-in- s: holiday-oriente- E, i Girl (Pleasant furnishings, clothes, d you see advertisements everywhere for whiskey, vodka, gin, beer, champagne, paint thinner, etc., all conveying, one way or another, the traditional message: "Happy Holidays! Let's Get Blasted!" Speaking of which: You know the annual Budweiser holiday TV commercial, the sentimental and heartwarming one wherein the famous Budweiser Clydesdales are pulling an DAN w Company, $82 with a paperback story book) is a line of attractive costumed dolls that explores different backgrounds and history. Featured models are Felicity, a colonial girl from 18th century Williamsburg; Kirsten, a Scandinavian immigrant from the 19th century; Addy, a black child whose family escaped slavery in the Civil War period; Samantha, a privileged girl growing up in Victorian times; and Molly, a patriotic youngster from the World War II era. The collection also features a selection of today's children, with a choice of 20 different skin colors, facial features and hair colors. These toys have a variety of sleay excuse to cash in on the spirit of the holidays. To those charges, we answer: "So?" We don't think we're any more cravenly commercial than a lot of other outfits that crawl out of the woodwork and try to make a buck at this special time of year. Take the liquor industry. Every year tractor-traile- y?Zi and clothes. Included with each doll are a locket and photo album. poorly researched, grossly insensitive, inaccurate, crude, sophomoric, stupid, and tasteless flagrantly (See , delicate features and carefully Once again, over the violent objections of the Surgeon General, the Attorney General, General Motors, the Archbishop of Canterbury and every one of the 4,276 attorneys involved in the O.J. Simpson trial, we are proud to present our Holiday Gift Guide. We will be the first to admit that this annual effort now in its sixth year has its critics. There are You see hemorrhoid i detailed clothing. The maker offers the doll in a variety of models w ith different ethnic features, eye col- those who say that the Gift Guide is nothing more than a ., tH li Sa i h a ! i ' j ' :, ': ' J F |