Shoppers Hunting for Smaller Presents

If retail sales in Cambridge are any indication, Santa Claus will not give out so many Florida vacations and three-piece suits this year as a result of inflation and economic uncertainty.

"Business is not outrageously booming," an employee at Crimson Travel said yesterday. "In fact, it's way down for this time of year because energy costs have made travel so expensive," she added.

"People seem to be making mostly `necessary trips'--business trips and trips home," she said.

Sneaky Thrift

At J. Press customers are still buying natty clothes, but not so many of them. "Instead of buying two suits and a jacket, someone will buy just a suit and a jacket," manager Joseph Porta said. "People don't know what the future will bring but they do know that we have an after-Christmas sale," he added.

As a result of the decline in spending on expensive gifts Cambridge consumers have more money to spend on lower-priced items.

David A. Piper, manager of Ehrlich's Tobacco Shop, said inflation and a recession may augment their sales, which are twice their normal level.

"Instead of going to Bermuda, a guy's going to buy a new pipe," Piper said.

Moreover, Christmas revelers are buying slightly less cheer. John Hayes of the Harvard Provision Company said yesterday cordials and cognac are selling especially well this time of year, but most people are buying fifths of alcohol rather than quarts--which cost $1.50 more.

All Is Vanity

The beauty business may not suffer from a tight Christmas, because vanity is generally inelastic. In fact, although Santa may shoulder lighter packs this year, area hairstylists still assume they will arrive looking neat. "I hear all the sob stories of people without any money," Hair Care of Dunster Street's Nancy L. Sellon said yesterday. "But people who will do anything to save money get their hair cut because it makes them feel better," she added.

What coiffe will Santa be sporting? "Around here most people want the free and natural look," Sellon said.

As Santa will admit this Christmas, not even his hairstyle is free.