While making your holiday list and checking it twice, you may be pondering gifts for the home that would be just right for friends and relatives.
Start with a museum store, if there's one nearby, or a museum catalog if not. You'll find fine design - and support the museum as well."The merchandise carried has to be related to the collection, so museums specializing in decorative arts will have the greatest number of items for the home," says Beverly Barsook, executive director of the 1,600-member Museum Store Association in Denver, Colo.
Two such museums of note - each with a mail-order catalog - are Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Va., and Winterthur Museum and Gardens in Wilmington, Del. The Museum of Modern Art in New York also has a catalog chock full of cutting-edge housewares and modern decorative items.
Otherwise, consider specialty catalogs, or exquisite shops if you're lucky enough to have them nearby. Gift departments at upscale clothiers such as Barney's - their gift department is called Chelsea Passage - or Henri Bendel's, Bergdorf Goodman and Nieman Marcus are also good ideas.
Then there are shops based on a theme. Felissimo, a New York store that is the first for the Japanese mail-order house, is focused on a healthy environment. The Age of Reason in Westport, Conn., specializes in scientific gifts.
To put you in a holiday mood now and please those on your gift list later, start with "A Music Box Christmas," $18 for a CD, $12 for the audio tape. Traditional carols and tunes such as "Joy to the World" and "Jingle Bells" are played on the Porter Twin Disc Music Box. It's available at Berg-dorf's.
What's more homey than a set of sheets? The choices in bed linen range from the ethereal to the humorous. Be prepared to be generous when buying luxury bedding.
More down to earth are witty sheets by Joe Boxer for J.P. Stevens' Utica brand. Consider a set with the motto "S.O.S. Severely Obsessed with Sleep!" or another with an overall trout motif. A three-piece twin set is $35 and a comforter is $85.
The Showbox Photo Viewer is an innovative way to store your photographs - and display them. Up to 40 snapshots can be stored inside by sliding open the concealed drawer. To view the rest of the pictures, just open and close the drawer again and the next photo will appear automatically in the window. They come in two colors - soft white and charcoal - and in two sizes: 31/2-by-5 inches and 4-by-6 inches. They retail for $19.99 and are available at department and gift stores nationwide.
Then there are gift sets of another type, already packaged or easily assembled, that are keyed to the interests and tastes of the recipient. For the inveterate jotter, a keep box from Felissimo contains three colors of sealing wax with two stamps, a fountain pen, a bottle of ink and an ink stamp. It's $160.
Something good to eat or drink is a sure-fire start to a custom gift basket. Choose among these: a vessel in which to prepare it, a container in which to store or serve it, and a book about it.
Gifts for dining and entertaining are welcome in many households. Consider a pair of chopsticks for someone who savors Oriental fare or napkin rings for friends who like to set a fine table. Egg cups could brighten a breakfast spread.
The Age of Reason, the Connecticut shop, has a variety of kaleidoscopes and stereoscopes, some antique, from about $20 to $120 each. To make your own time, there's a battery-powered clock (rechargeable batteries, please) with a blank chalkboard face. It's $30, eraser and chalk included.
Phone numbers and addresses:
Colonial Williamsburg: 1-800-446-9240.
Winterthur: 1-800-767-0500.
Museum of Modern Art: 1-800-447-6662.
Porter Music Box Co. Inc., Box 27 A, Randolph, VT 05060. Telephone 1-802-728-9694.
Showbox Photo Viewer: HB Group Co., 582 Great Road, North Smithfield, RI, 02895-6807. Telephone 1-401-769-8000.