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liday Season Focusned angels.loking for toys for yourHUUrrC a t%u2022 -------~ ~mecca. Clip-on bears s ($1.99 up), clip-on ns and Andys ($3.50), ;nomes ($2.50) that are bring good luck, almade as Christmas tre ill add their own spirit A tiny wrought-iron )9) manufactured as a liniature easily doubles lent.little 2-inch mice ied as nurses, doctors, is. miners, storybook football heros, rock more add their owr. store sells as well a items made as Chrtst- -naments%u2014crystal lolliummingbirds ($4 and ain characters from Wonderland,%u201d hand1 hand-carvcd wooden rom Germany ($2 up),NS AND POTPOURRI lemative at 88A Allanis filled with its own rce ideas. Felt squares ely 9 by 12 inches at 25 %u2022) in a myriad of colors, inis can be sewn into cs, tied with ribbon and e tree. These colorful n be filled with potpourand candies as in 19thCentury America.Brightly colored ribbons can be lied ar the tips of branches in bows, making simple but elegant decorations; gold and silver cords add richness to any tree. Felt squares and other fabrics can be used to make simple stuffed animals, and if you can%u2019t draw them yourself you can go to any child%u2019s coloring book and find pictures of animals to use as patterns. And Fabric Alternative sells patterns and kits that are specially designed to give you explicit, no-fail directions for making your own Christmas tree decorations. And the fabrics especially the calicos are available in Christmas patterns with holly and bell designs in green and red.LACE APPLIQUESLace appliques at Fabric Alternatives can be hung as is, or dipped in starch or coated with polymer acrylic, matte finish to make snowflake ornaments. Any applique (and every 5 and 10-cent store sells dozens in all sizes and shapes including comic book and storybook characters) can be hung as a decoration.Once you start looking, the possibilities for finding ornaments are endless from the very simple to the most elaborate, from inexpensive items or things on hand to fabulous one-of-a-kind decorations. Christmas tree ornaments are in the eye of the decorator.BY CONNIE PASSALACQUAThe best way to get into the holiday spirit is by starting to decorate and prepare for festive get-togethers. You can follow the old, rustic New England traditions of hanging wreaths on the door and in the windows, garlands over the fireplace, or you can follow your own decorative instincts with bows, ornaments, candelabras and centerpieces for a holiday table.Shops are selling an incredible array of holiday and party decor,such as garlands, wreaths, holiday patterned tableware, tablecloths, napkins, tinsels and bows. Even the simple utilitarian nutcracker, not meant to decorate, can become an object to be admired when it comes in the form of a staunch wooden soldier (it goes for $52 at A & S). Then, too, there are plain handcrafted corsages aglow with glitter made in the Corner Shoppe on Court Street which go for a mere $1.98.Minimax, 172 Montague Street, 625-4625 is chock full with colorful holiday items in its roomy store, overseen by owner Frank Garcia. There are beautiful stained glass candle holders ($14), but there is also a more whimsical Snoopy centerpiece for $2.98. There are festive placcmats and cups and window pendants for $4.98 and youcan finish off your holiday table with stick matches stored in a Frosty the Snowman red case for 79 cents. Of course, there are also the standard Hallmark cards and Christmas products and much, much more.Laurie Lane Gift Shoppe, 152 7thAvenue, 788-3889, has all kinds ol wall hangings with snowmen, Christmas trees, and sleds laden with gifts or Santas for a childrens%u2019 party. Laurie Lane also carries Hallmark tablecloths, napkins and cups, and of course candles.The Windmill Shoppe, 131 7th Avenue, 857-7223, has an interesting array of Christmas stockings, with some paper ones for as little as 99 cents. A snoopy stocking goes for $2.98. There are also scented and unscented candles in different sizes which in a New England custom should be placed in each window as a sign that friends and neighbors arc welcome.The Comer Shoppe, 263 Smith Street, 855-0476, is a veritable department store of decorations and Lee Gabriel, the owner, explains that most of them arc handmade products. Created in a back room of the store, are multisized, multi-colored bows (49 cents and up) corsages, snowmen figurines%u2014some for as low as $1.98%u2014and handmade ornaments (4 for $1.79). There arc also colorful garlands, and a variety of the usual Christmas tinsel, ornaments, lights and New Year%u2019s Eve party goods, most at discount prices.Even though The ValenciaBakery, 123 Smith Street, 622-5003is a bakery, it still stocks some ornaments and they are the ones that children especially enjoy - Looney Tunes characters like Sylvester the cat. Bugs Bunny and Twcety Bird dressed as Santa Claus or in other winter gear, priced at $2.98.Some Christmas decorations can be bought at florists such as evergreen garlands and wreaths, door swags and, at McGovern Florists, a one foot wicker shovel filled with hollv. ornaments and candy to hang from a door.McGovern, 5th Avc. & 25th St., 768-0800 has the usual live green wreaths, but also unique holly and boxwood wreaths although only made to order. Door swags come decorated with holly, pinecones and bells and McGovern also has centerpieces with candelabras surrounded with fresh-cut flowers for $12 and up.James Weir, 160 Montague St., 624-0270, has just received his needle pine wreaths and garlands. They can be decorated to a customer%u2019s specifications with cones, balls, ribbons and bows to decorate windows, fireplaces, doors and staircases.Bruce, the manager of MidtownGreenhouse at Flat bush and Hanson Place, 636-0020. says that he has fir. pine, balsam wreaths ($5 and up) which can be bought prc-decoraied or hand-decorated to suit your fancy. They arc also selling Christmas trees in burlap; kept decorated inside the house for a few weeks; the tree can then be planted outside after the holidays.Traditional and newer forms of cookie cutters tobe used for holiday baking. (Feldman Photo)At The Critical Cook, 178Atlantic Avc. (834-8067) owner TedKanakos is all ready for theholidays with myriad items, manyof them from France. Kanakos alsostocks cookbooks, and recommendsMaida Heatter%u2019s %u201cBook of GreatCookies%u201d (Knopf, 1978, $10.95) asthe best cookiebook of all.BLACK BAKER%u2019S STEELKanakos emphasizes the bestbasic equipment, such as goodrolling pins, marble pastry slabs,flour dredgers, and a really accurate Taylor oven thermometer, sincethe thermostat alone won%u2019t guarantee the precise temperatures delicate cookies need. He also hascookie sheets of black bakers%u2019 steel,heavy enough to insure evenbaking, a 10%u201d x 15%u201d jelly roll pancan serve as a cookie sheet one dayand the cake pan for a \Noel%u201d the next;Cookie cutters abound here,including a locomotive, a 8%u201d highChristmas tree, a set of numbers,and even a shark. But there are| also a variety of little molds, withnames like tarteleue, barquette,and pomponette, whi:h will maketiny holiday pastries. There is a setof 9 crinkle cutters, in graduatedsizes, and there are diminutive1 cupcake cups for petit s fours.FANCY FROSTINGCritical Cook has not only thebasic pastry bags found elsewhere,but the largest-any v here selection1 of different tips for doing the%u25a0 fanciest frosting designsoiher items are found here aseverywhere else; the cookie presswhich maxes cookies prettier manrollouts and involves less handlingso the dough can be softer, and apatty shell set, a gadget which canmake crisp, deep-fried butterflyshaped cockies which you sprinklewith powdered sugar.If you%u2019re downtown, Abrahamand Straus has several wholesections of baking equipment oni he housewares floor, including anice selection of wooden handledtools such as a pastry wheel forcutting frilled edges. A & S has avery large patty shell set, and avariety of tartlet molds and miniatire cupcake tins.1 A & S also has some novelties forcake baking, including cake pansshaped like Sesame Street characlers, a snowman cake set (yes,they%u2019re just three round pans, butiry to find the right sizes in yourown kitchen), and even an elaborate Christmas tree cake maker. Acovered pudding pan is here also.Cookie cutters in high-impactplastic are bright colored enough tohand on the tree after you%u2019ve usedthem.TEDDY BEARS AND SQUIRRELSIn Park Slope, some of the cutestcookie cutters are found at Leaf n%u2019Bean, 83 Seventh Avenue (638-5791), including teddy bears, asquirrel, and even a dachsund.Also in stock are pastry tools andsuch basics as springform pans andthe new terra cotta baking dishesWest for Housewares (former Harley Housewares), 194 Seventh Avenue (788-4213), ihe cookie cuncrs include a kangaroo, a rocking horse, a strawberry, and a pig, among many, many olhers. A diminuiive bake sei for children can keep vour kiichen companions busy on iheir own. There is plenty of baking equipment, including a disposable decorating set, great if you jusi do this once a year and ,wani less clean-up. The stock ofamique kitchen supplies here is being sold out, so this is your last chance to pick up antique cookie fins io put all your creations in.TINY BUTTERFLIESAcross the street at TarziuiHardware, 192 Seventh Avenue(788-4120), are gadgets and supplies which will probably havemoved across to Tarzian West byihe time you get there. Some of thecutest tartlet molds are there,including tiny butterflies. A hugeEkco cookie sheet, 17-1/2 x 11-1/2has high sides so it can be used forihe sponge cake for a Buche deNoel. The gadget rack holds agingerbread boy cutter, a pattyshell maker, and a decorating set.Your neighborhood hardwarestores will have a few things too, soyou can easily make this the yearfor something new. Most of thegadgets come with recipes, by theway.Rita DiBacco Nooman preparing Traditional ItalianPizzelles in her Park Slope home. (Feldman Photo)nr> r -%u00bbn / T t o n eDown Seventh Avenue at TarzianWhere Syria,Mexico AndItaly MeetBY LIBBY HAYMANHoliday baking, because it is so traditional, brings out in most of us some family specialties. In my house, where our ethnic identity was viewed as a hazy matter at hesi. we fell in love with the buttery cakes contributed to theChurch Bazaar every year bySyrian women. (This was in amid-western town where mostpeople were Norwegian or German,but somehow a Syrian communityhas formed there, too).When my mother tried toreproduce the Syrian cookies, shefound a recipe called \wedding cakes.%u201d Now I alternatelyuse a recipe for \(Greek butter cookies) or VienneseCrescents, the key to this ethnicidentity crisis is the simplicity ofihe recipe which basically involvescombining at least a cup of butterwith at least a cup ot confectionerssugar, 2-1/2 cups of sifted flour,ground or chopped nutmeats, and alittle flavoring such as vanilla,almond extract, or even brandy.Shape in little cakes, or crescentsand bake for about 15 minutes at350 degrees. Then roll in confeci ioners sugar.Another cookie with multinational background is the kind made in a cooky-mold. The Scandinavian ones are called Krumakes.but there are also Italian onescalled Pizzelle, and Rita DiBaccoNoonan, a Park Slope realtor,makes these. She bought the moldin Little Italy in Manhattan, but youmay be able to find one in ahardware store in any Italian orScandinavian neighborhood. Thev x)kies are baked over the burnerof a stove.PIZZELLEBy Rita DiBacco Noonan[makes 3 dozen]5 eggs5 cups flour1 cup sugar1 cup vegetable oil2 teaspoons vanillaBeat eggs and sugar and oil untilthick and creamy. Add vanilla andflour 11 cup at a time], beating wellafter each addition, until stiffbatter is formed. Drop spoonfulonto preheated iron, cook 1 minute,then turn iron for a few moreseconds. Remove cookie to cool.Lightly butter iron every othercookie. Use medium-low flame./~ __________. ______c m 7 a T h o P u n i t N i t t P a n e 1 5