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 A Good Wrap Holiday gift giving dates back to the pre-Christian Roman harvest festival Saturnalia. For seven days in the middle of December, business halted, and executions and military operations were postponed. During this week of goodwill, gifts and visits were exchanged, feasts were had, and slaves were temporarily freed; as an indulgence they were served by their masters at the family table. Today, we give gifts during Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa for various reasons: to prove affluence and to ensure that kids won't go without; to perpetuate the myth of Santa Claus; to go along with what everyone else is doing; and, finally, to bestow symbols of caring. In recent years, as crass commercialism has taken over, many people have become cynical about celebrating the holidays. But can you honestly say that you don't get a twinge of anticipation and excitement as you roam aisles stocked with tinsel garlands, purple lights and wrapping paper? Can't you almost smell warm cookies and taste frothy eggnog when you find the right gift for your fussy mother? Seasonal joys aside, we know that shopping for appropriate presents can be frantic and tiresome. So we have put together a gift guide to make the search a little more manageable. Why not give someone a grandfather clock inspired by Dr. Seuss, a bookshelf made of salvaged objects, a super-soft pashmina shawl, a book of pulp-fiction magazine covers or an Apple iMac? You'll find all these items and over a hundred more described in our guide. Everything listed costs $35 or more, but next week (Dec. 9) our guide for gifts under $35 highlights presents on the other side of chichi. Happy hunting.
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