Santa Claus' load would be lightened considerably if he ditched the toy-making elves and chose his gifts from Neiman Marcus' Christmas Book. Frankly, it's hard to imagine anyone, save perhaps for the late Mother Teresa, being good enough to earn most of its offerings.
It's doubtful, though, that Mother Teresa would have had much use for a seat on Virgin Galactic's charter flight into space, even if an admirer were to cough up the $1.7 million (before sales tax) for the fare. And one really can't have pictured her settling down to read the one-of-a-kind 26-volume set of couture designs from women's fashion designer Jacques Fath ($3.5 million).
What about those of us who aren't quite beatified, but are still very, very good? Well, there's the backyard water park (an assortment of sprays and water cannons starts at $100,000…although there's a temptation for naughty behavior inherent in such a gift); a skyscraper model made entirely of No. 2 pencils, which comes in two sizes (7 feet tall at $40,000, for the pretty darned nice; and 20 inches tall at $6,000, for the not-quite-as-nice, but those still deserving more than a lump of coal).
Consumers finding these items too rich for their blood can indulge in limited edition pet homes from Italian designer Marco Morosini, which range from $5,000 to $7,000, depending on how much pet owners really love their pets.
For those needing to correct their nice/naughty balance, Neiman Marcus is providing a chance to donate to a charity via a one-item auction. The proceeds will go to Joe Torre's Safe at Home Foundation, which combats domestic violence.
The auction lot is a sports lover's dream, and includes tickets to the 2007 National Hockey League All-Star Game in Dallas; Super Bowl XLI in South Florida; the 2007 National Basketball Association All-Star Game in Las Vegas; the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Francisco; the 2007 U.S. Open Tennis Championship women's final in Flushing Meadows, NY; and a bonus surprise event.
The package also offers a chance to share a private meal with a living legend from each sport, including hockey's Wayne Gretzky; football's TroyAikman; basketball's MagicJohnson; baseball hall-of-famer Bob Gibson; tennis great Chris Evert; and links legend Arnold Palmer.
Bidding starts at $250,000, which is a comparatively low price to get on Santa's good side.
The Christmas catalog is available for $15 by calling 1-800-Neimans. The catalog's contents are also online at Neimanmarcus.com.
