Citizens' Voice from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania • 46

-Mink Teddy Luxury-by-mail Catalogs Kick Off Season New York has a whole sectio devoted to "healthy There are an aerobic exercise OTL11L.11 111 CI I All II III I cn vnu run honpfit frnm trm Sm. nf ervn caa f.4 U1K, ak t.UW IU O.iAAl ICCL. Ill America's Cup races at bottom. Newport, R.I.; a gracious Old American Express offers South trip to Charleston, S.C.; the "Relaxation Tank," a the Kentucky Derby ir fiberglass enclosure for a Louisville, and a horse pack buoyant solution of water kept and rapids adventure in Utah, at a temperature of 93.5 F. Fitness equipment takes up The gadget to help you relax a bigger space than ever in is a stressful $3,495.

Santa's luxury pack. Another exercise does-Hermes, the Paris leather everything machine enables goods house, with stores inter- you to walk, jog or run up to 8 nationally, offers a custom mph on a shock-absorbent, Kinvxla CI Thp hirnhu'iwl surface. A front fit 19t an alarm nillhnv tft mind vnu it's timo far moriin nf tZi nviri mm i uuii. ql Oiju. aim dii uiiHMir mu- re geratim incidentally, a standard bit Englishbuilt three-speeder control panel monitors speed, oi sports apparel, the warmup comes with handlebars bound distance, pulse rate, and a ns gone high style this By GAY PAULEY UN Sanior editor This year, the rule still holds.

Each holiday buying season tops the previous one in what's there for a price, whether you are shopping for jewelry, furs, a trip, a condominium in the South Seas, a mink teddy bear, fitness equipment or a computer. You can even buy a 24-karat gold credit card. It's impressive to flash. No, you can't charge anything with it. I have wished my way through a hundred or more Christmas shopping catalogs, read advertisements, and concluded that all one needs is money.

Somebody out there has the wherewithal, recession or not, otherwise retailers would cease offering the and the big business of direct sales would go into a slump. in handstitched, natural reading of speed increase or season and you can pay up to nicskin and seat to match decrease. The works: $2,794. $125 and $150 for one of these tailored to fit the rider's Hammacher Schlemmer of for an adult. 2 The amount includes tax and gratuities.

That's nice. Want your name, or that of someone else, or a message, flashed in lights on Broadway? American Express can arrange it for $70 per message, on a computer-animated board 20 by 40 feet Then you get an 8-by-10-inch color photograph, ready for framing, of the sign. Nothing doing on New Year's Eve, however. American Express also offers a "Be my guest" service in which the card owner can order a gift certificate to be used for dinner out at a restaurant; provide a limousine service, order flowers, fruit baskets and the like, and the giver doesn't have to leave the chair. A gift of travel is a luxury, but some offerings for 1983 have special appeal.

Bloom-ingdale's, paying tribue to "America the Beautiful," offers a monthly venture to some special part of the United States. In March, for instance, the giver can buy seven days and nights at the Aspen, Winter-national ski races for $2,500 per couple, with transportation paid between Denver and Aspen. The couple pays the way from point of origin and return. Included, of course, are chances to ski. Other offerings take in the It's called the LaserTour, a bicycle-type gadget with attached video discs to be displayed on a television screen in front of pedaler.

The push of a button selects your scenery. The entertainment components can be used alone for television programs or video disc movies, or the "Life-cycle" stands alone as an exercise mechanism. The initial cost is $20,000. Sakowitz, the Houston based specialty store, has equally elaborate offerings in its "enjoy yourself section. Sakowitz offers the gold credit card, 6 troy ounces of a 24-karat likeness of the American Express regular gold card.

It's individually engraved, in a limited edition at $3,000 each, but it is only with the plastic card that you can buy goods and services. For $20,000 to $500,000, the store offers your own computer consultant, who can teach you how to use a computer, and design and program the ultimate computer to your lifestyle. There also is the custom built roller coaster, up to 2,700 linear feet, for $2,430,000. You can throw the ultimate dinner party for 100 at the "21" club in New York with a special private performance by cabaret star Bobby Short for anytime in 1983 at $103,500. 8 CO S5 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 ATARI' A Warner Communications Company 2.

7V7TTT71 2 faiocaMON'l Was 29.95 2 2 1 1 J5 I BACKGAMMON GOLF HOMERUN SKY DIVER STREET RACER SLOT RACER 2 mmx mw 95 I CHECK OUR LOW PRICES 2 2 KOW IN STOCK KAYSIK1 iT THE KM I 1 AflCADC A .1 1 SKI PACKAGES 2 I KOW 2 H5" qzm $TgCK 2 2 2 Instead, sales are on the increase by about 15 percent yearly. The Direct Mail-Marketing Association, New York, said that more than 5 billion catalogs will have been mailed in 1982, not all of them geared to holiday sales, of course. It estimated the average American household receives 40 catalogs a year, and the wish books generate an estimated $40 billion in consumer sales. Not all the sales are by mail. These days, customers pick up the telephone, and most stores offer the 800 toll-free ordering service.

Donna Sweeney, of the association, said there were other factors in the increase in business. More women hold outside jobs, leaving less time for the frantic dash from store to store. The two-income family can afford more expensive items. Ordering by mail or phone eliminates all the wearying leg work, or the nuisance and cost of parking a car when space is at a premium during the holiday rush. Many stores this year offer an additional convenience-gifts already wrapped for you.

Right now, they can wrap up for me the deed for a luxury condominium on the Island of Kauai, in Hawaii. It was the location for some of the filming of "South Pacific" and is called Hanalei Plantation. One of several resort "con-dos" on the island, it costs $1.2 million, with completion scheduled in 1984. Neiman-Marcus, the Dallas-headquartered specialty store, says the planned development offers miles of pristine beaches and emerald-clear waters. Each year that store features a "His" and "Hers" gift.

For 1982, it in the fitness category, a big new category in catalog offerings. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 INTRODUCING AN ASTOUNDING BREAKTHROUGH. ARCADE SYSTEM THE ONIY VIDEO GAME SYSTEM THAT BRINGS REAL ARCADE PLAY HOME. NOW PLAYING FROM ATARI RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE NOW LAYAWAY TIL SKI SEASON No.l Dynattar Omni Ski $175.00 Tyrolla 180 Binding 90.00 Tomic Poles 10.00 Mounted ft Waxed 10.00 REGULAR PRICE SOT00 PACKAGE PRICE 1 92 The Omni is a lightweight ski designed to provide carving characteristics while allowing maximum turning ease. Ideal "First Ski." ATARI! Exclusive built-in screen-NO TV HOOK-UP! Real arcade graphics, sounds and challenge Real arcade controls-360 serf-centering joystick and 4 action buttons Exciting Mine Storm' game built in Real arcode gomes like Scramble'" Berzerk and Armor Attack 12 cartridges, each with incredibly real arcade game play 2 No.

2 K2SR22Skl Salomon 637 Binding K2SR Poles Mounted ft Waxed REGULAR PRICE 185.00 100.00 19.00 10.00 326 GALE 00 $2Q9 2 2 PACKAGE PRICE LTD. (LFL) 1962. Al Rgh i i i.aH hu A I Mm. under license. For the advancing skier the SR 22, with its narrow sidecut, is a quick-turning all-around recreational ski with good ice-holding capability.

SHOP 10-9 SAT. 10-6 104 South Main Wilkes-Barre 022-6627.