Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, November 20, 2000

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Nov. 20, 2000 | 10:22 a.m.

Holiday hubbub

So you've invited a houseful of people over for Thanksgiving dinner. But you haven't the foggiest idea of how to play host or hostess.

Not a problem. It's Land's End to the rescue. What, you may wonder, does a company that sells, for the most part, overpriced clothing know about entertaining the masses? Well, it apparently learned a lot from the results of the "Coming Home" survey that it recently co-sponsored. Here are the highlights:

oIf you're throwing a party, you've cleared the first hurdle, since 42 percent of respondents said cleaning up after guests was reason enough to deter them from entertaining. Sixteen percent named the expense, and 18 percent said making the house presentable was why they wouldn't want to have a gathering.

Nearly 43 percent of women regularly host holiday parties for family members and friends -- and 17 percent of those feel stressed out, though 25 percent reported they stay calm, cool and collected. (We'll just bet they do.)

For future reference, Land's End also suggests some tips for keeping holiday parties simple: "Know your limits." Don't plan your party alone; ask family members for help, or hire a professional party planner or caterer. "Scale down" the guest list, as smaller gatherings take less time to plan and prepare.

Stop toying with them

Planning to brave the mall crowds on Friday, the proclaimed biggest shopping day of the year? Well, battery maker Duracell thought it would lend a little direction to parents by providing a list of the toys kids most want, as determined through its 13th Annual Duracell Ultra Kids' Choice Toy Survey.

Surprise: Several in the top 10 list require batteries, including the top two.

Topping the list is Poo-Chi, an electronic puppy that sings, dances, eats, makes "real puppy sounds" and naps when he's tired. It retails for about $30.

Coming in at No. 2 is Slithering Jake the RC Snake, a remote-controlled reptile that coils around furniture and flashes his eyes. All of this fun can be had for $34.99.

That's a wrap

OK, so you blew Junior's college fund buying his holiday presents. Now you have to wrap them so he'll be surprised. (As though having to tell him, years from now, that higher education is not an option won't be shocking enough.)

The makers of Scotch Tape want to help -- not with the college fund, with the wrapping.

The company's pop-up tape dispenser (which costs about $2) spits put pre-cut, two-inch strips of tape right into your fingertips. And you can wear it on your wrist, thanks to an elastic strap. So no more searching for that clear-plastic dispenser when you're up to your eyeballs in wrapping paper.

That's assuming that after all of the shopping, you can still afford wrapping paper. If not, Scotch has a few ideas: Use newspaper, comics pages, aluminum foil, old maps and magazine advertisements for dressing packages. Or design your own wrapping by stenciling or rubber-stamping on white paper.