Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Max goes Christmas shopping

Max hates crowds.
Max hates shopping.
Max thinks children are weird and kind of creepy.

My mission at lunchtime today was to buy a Christmas present for LG, who is a small child. My first stop was Sparky’s, Prague’s most crowded toy store. There I realised that I have no idea what little girls who are nearly 4 years old do for play. I looked at dolls – but do 4-year olds like cute little baby dolls or do they prefer sexy sophisticated Barbies? I looked at Lego sets – I figured LG would love the princess castle, but I thought it might later be hard to transport back to The America in that big giant box. And, at about $100, it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. I know LG likes to colour, but a box of 8 crayons seemed a bit miserly for a Christmas gift. I looked at books, but the selection in English was limited and the choices looked either too young or too old. Other people in the shop seemed to know what they were doing, which just made me angry. It was rather obvious that I did not belong in a toy store.

Fuck this, I finally thought, I am going to shop for something that I know something about – clothes. I went straight to Marks & Spencer on Wenceslas Square. The children’s department was blissfully empty and the little girls’ clothes were sweet. And, more importantly, they were all labelled by age so there was no mystery in choosing something. One quick phone call to find out if I should buy 3-4 or 4-5, and I was all set. I looked at a pink coat – LG’s favourite colour, but a bit too ordinary. I looked at a beautiful purple wool cardigan, which I was considering when I spotted the “bonded gilet”. The gilet is a little vest (in the American use of the word) that looks and feels like beautiful soft suede on the outside and is lined with plush fur, but it is all fake and machine washable (Max is not totally impractical). And it has little flowers embroidered on it. I absolutely love it. LG is going to love it. Mission accomplished.

All other gifts have been purchased over the internet.

3 comments:

Tits Malone said...

MM,

What a hoochie outfit you have published! Will you be wearing something similar to blow out those Chanuka candles?

I hope so.

Monkey's Max said...

TM,
You've got to be kidding - I could never wear heels that high.

Stairs, hello! Happy Christmas to you too. xo

Anonymous said...

Gilet is a Quebec or French term for sweater vest. I have never heard this in the U.S. Max.

Love the pic...looks like something I purchased this year...slutty lingerie!!!!