Gift Guide	Thriftmas Shopping by Buck Quigley

The Santa Claus Piñata—the sort of thing you find only in a secondhand store.

It is estimated that American households typically carry $8,000 in credit card debt. One of the reasons for this is the annual spending spree known as the Christmas shopping season. Many will be paying off their debts well into next year for the momentary rush of obtaining the “perfect gifts” for loved ones on Christmas Day.

To argue against this widespread habit makes you a Grinch, or worse, unpatriotic. Anyone not ready to enter into personal debt to pump up the retail sector at this crucial time is viewed as vaguely un-American. Battling mall traffic and fervid shoppers—who would bite your hand to keep you from grabbing the last 10th Anniversary Tickle Me Elmo doll—is practically seen as a duty.

Online shopping will keep you off the front lines of berserk shoppers, but it’s just as likely to hammer your credit cards.

If you want to balance your urge to spend as well as your checkbook, why not take a little time to shop at one of the area’s more than two dozen local thrift stores? On the positive side, you’ll spend far less, you’ll be giving to a local charity to help those in need and you’re all but assured that your present will be pretty unique. On the down side, you can’t plan your shopping campaign in military fashion by studying catalogs and weekly circulars. And you’ll have to get over the stigma of giving a “pre-owned” gift.

Thrifting will keep you out of the vast, Normandy-like invasions of Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy on the morning after Thanksgiving. But you’ll need to be resourceful, like a lone paratrooper dropped deep behind enemy lines without a map. A clear head and the ability to adapt will serve you well. Indeed, you are likely to be as surprised by the gifts you find as the recipients will be when they open them.

Here are a few gift ideas discovered on a recent afternoon in local thrift stores:

What little girl doesn’t want a pretty little dollhouse? Minor porch and roof repair required. Newly painted. A great way to introduce her to the challenges of home-ownership. $3.

Or a Compact Nativity scene complete with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, shepherd boy with a sheep, cow, donkey and two of the three Magi. $4.99.

Toddlers will love pushing this wooden duck with flapping rubber feet almost as much as I do. Twenty-five cents.

Want a little music to put people in the holiday spirit? Here’s the TIME-LIFE Treasury of Christmas, Volumes One and Two. Six records totalling ninety-eight tracks spanning Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and Jose Feliciano to Renata Tebaldi singing “Ave Maria.” Near-mint condition. $3.50.

What is more classically Christmas than a pair of wooden shoes to leave by the door for St. Nicholas to fill with goodies? $4.

Do you have friends who like to entertain? Or are you planning a holiday party? Assorted punch bowls, glasses, plates and candleholders will run you $20 for all. And when a tipsy guest accidentally breaks a glass, put them at ease by laughing it off and throwing your plate in the fireplace.

And the ace-in-the-hole gift, for all little children young or old who didn’t get just exactly what they wanted, this Santa Claus piñata. Fill with candy and let the cherubs work out some holiday aggression—just like grown-ups!

You probably won’t find everything you’re looking for in a thrift store, but you will have fun. You’ll also be helping in a charitable way. So keep an open mind, leave the credit card at home, and have yourself a merry little Thriftmas.

Selected thrift stores in the city:

AMVETS

1833 Elmwood Avenue

873-7900

Goodwill

2655 Delaware Avenue

447-0566

Salvation Army

2196 Seneca Street

825-9948

St. Vincent DePaul Society Discount Store

1298 Main Street

882-3360 ext. 6