Holiday Shopping Without A Budget: I’m In!


I know what you are thinking…it isn’t even Halloween yet! But this week someone wished me “Happy Holidays” and the need to sing Christmas carols and wrap presents washed over me and I was thrust into the “holiday spirit.”

To help me really get into the mood, stores have already started to put out Christmas trees, ads on TV have begun talk of Black Friday and the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book is out. I look at this book every year and though none of the items ever make it on my list or under my tree for that matter, it still gets my gift-giving juices flowing.

Included in the annual Christmas Book is the Fantasy Gift List. This list has been published for 86 years and is filled with extravagant and completely unnecessary gifts. Nonetheless, I look at it every year and imagine myself having millions of dollars lying around for such frivolous things.

This year the list includes His & Hers Matching Parisian Watches complete with a weekend trip to Paris for the bargain price of $1 million. If you aren’t a fan of jewelry, there’s also a water propelled jetpack (boat included) for $99,500, a McLaren 12c Spider for $354,000 and for the ritzy farm girl they have a Versailles-inspired Hen House for $100,000.

My favorite pick this year: A walk on role in the Broadway show “Annie.” I mean who hasn’t dreamed of singing “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” on a Broadway stage?! For a mere $30,000 you can have dinner with the producer, six tickets to the show and an unspecified walk on role in the production. Mom, Dad…pay attention, I want this one!

Over the years, Neiman Marcus has provided a wide array of over-the-top gifts that include his and hers Beechcraft airplanes, mummy cases containing actual mummies, and a Boeing Business Jet for $35 million (the most expensive gift to date). The wealthy aren’t the only ones on Neiman Marcus’s mind though; specific charity organizations benefit from the sale of these extravagant gifts as well.

So which gift on the Fantasy List would you splurge on or buy for a loved one to really knock their socks off? Whatever it is, I’d suggest you start saving now!