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The K id s A re All Right: H o lid a y V a c a t io n in g Id e a s For C h ild re nBY MARGARET DEARNLEYAs far as mv kids are concerned, stores should sell two Advent Calendars. One would, of course, count the days left until Christmas; the other would count the days left until school gets out tor Christmas vacation. My husband and I, on the other hand, are in total sympathy with the line in %u201c It%u2019s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas%u201d that goes, %u201c And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.%u201dChristmas vacation is a long one, and brings with it the inherent problem of what to do with the children in the meanwhile. Here are some worthwhile suggestions, all of which are in Brooklyn, and some of which are even free.VACATION CAMPSBoth the YWCA and the Prospect Park/Bay RidgeYMCA have all-day holiday camps planned for children 6-12 years old. The YWCA Winter Holiday Camp will run December 26, 27, 28 and 31 from 9:00 to 3:30 at the %u201c Y%u201d , Atlantic and Third Avenues, for $32. Additional coverage for working parents is available from 3:30 till 6 in an extended program which will cost $10 more. The children will have an arts and crafts program, recreational activities, field trips, and a New Year%u2019s party. To enroll your child, either stop by the front desk of the %u201c Y%u201d or call 875-1190, ext. 228.In Park Slope the YMCA, which is located on Ninth St.' between 5th and 6th Aves., also plans a holiday camp. The dates of this one are December 24 , 26, 27, and 28. Here, the children will have the use of the pool, as well as the usual arts and crafts, gym activities, and field trips. This camp is $40 for %u201c Y%u201d members, $45 for non-members. Call 768-7100 and ask for Mr. Vega to enroll.THAT FIRST WEEKENDMost of the city schools close for vacation Friday, December 21st, and starting the very next day are plenty of ideas of what to do. Saturday, the 22nd at 2pm is %u201c The Stephen Foster Story,%u201d part of the %u201c Not for Children Only%u201d series at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. The show will feature Foster%u2019s songs, a minstrel show, and a sing-along. Tickets are $4 each at BAM, 636-4100.Saturday, the 22nd and Sunday, the 23rd, The HeightsPlayers will present %u201c The Snow Queen.%u201d Performances will be at 26 Willow Place in Brooklyn Heights, with tickets $2 for adults, $1.50 for children. Call 237-2752 for reservations The Plaza Theater at 314 Flatbush Ave. in Park Slope, has an afternoon Kiddie%u2019s matinee. This week it%u2019s%u201c The Shakiest Gun in the West%u201d and five cartoons. Call 636-0170 for exact times as they change from week to week.The Brooklyn Public Library, at Grand Army Plaza, has a program called %u201c Music for a Saturday Aftermoon%u201d at 2:30 on Saturday. It%u2019s free, takes place in the second floor auditorium, and features Barbara Curialle on the piano, 780-7810.Sunday, the 23rd, there are free films at the BrooklynBotanic Garden at 1000 Washington Ave. at 1 and 3 pm. They are on Latin American Cooking, Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking, and Communities of Living Things. Probably more interesting to children, however, is the BrooklynMuseum%u2019s offering: the original, 1943, %u201c Heaven Can W ait,%u201d starring Don Ameche. This will be shown at 2pm in their auditorium at 200 Eastern Parkway and costs $1 admission.SCHOOL WEEK, MINUS SCHOOLMonday, December 24th. No school, and it%u2019s Christmas Eve to boot. How about skating? The Kate Wollman Skating Rink, located in Prospect Park will be open daily during the vacation for several sessions, 9-1 lam (figure skating and dance), 11-lpm, 2-4pm, 5-7pm and 8-10pm, at $2 a session for adults ($2.50 weekends), $1 a session for children under 14. Those without skates can rent them for an additional $1. For information call 462-9502.At 1pm, the Brooklyn Children%u2019s Museum at 145 Brooklyn Ave., opens. It will be open until 5pm, every day except Christmas and New Year%u2019s, and features holiday activities such as the original Hannukah, candle making, gift giving, holiday songs and stories.The Hudson Valley Marionette Company, at 477 Atlantic Avenue, is presenting %u201c Jack and the Beanstalk%u201d daily except Christmas at 1pm. December 22nd to 31st. Tickets are $2 for adults, $1 for children.Christmas Day, and indeed every day except Monday, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will be open. It%u2019s PoinsettaShow is in the greenhouse daily, and in the auditorium there are three %u201c Mystery Films%u2019%u2019 (they%u2019re not allowed to advertise by name) planned for the 26th, 27th, and 28th. On the 26th, Wednesday, America%u2019s most famous child star plays in the 1937 version of the equally famous Swiss mountain lass. The original 1932 lord of the jungle is screened on the 27th. A comedy spectacular is on the 28th. All shows are at 2pm., and all free.Not quite free, but for $1 each, the Brooklyn MuseumGilded Age of Film series presents %u201c The Year Time Changed,%u201d a short, and %u201c The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing%u201d (1955) on Wednesday, the 26th; %u201c A Tree Grows in Brooklyn%u201d (1945) on the 27th, and %u201c Meet Me in St. Louis%u201d (1944) on the 28th. These are all 2pm in the museum auditorium.Thursday, December 27th, the Brooklyn College Centerfor Performing Arts has booked the Gingerbread Players and Jack who will give a musical version of %u201c Snow White and the Seven Dwarfes.%u201d The presentation is at 2pm at the Whitman Theater of Brooklyn college, Campus Road and Hillel Place. All seats are reserved, and tickets are $2.50 each. Call 462-3525 for irtformation.If all else fails, %u201c Star Trek%u201d is playing at Loew%u2019s Metropolitan on Fulton Street near Smith in Downtown Brooklyn. For the exact show times, call the theater at 875-4024.THE SECOND WEEKENDBy Saturday, the 29th, the vacation is more than halfway over for most parents, and there%u2019s never school Saturday and Sunday anyway. What to do? Everything already mentioned, of course, plus another Kiddie matinee at the Plaza Cinema on Flatbush, Ave., Sunday, too%u2014call. 636-4024 for the exact time and title.In Park Slope, RSVP Theater Company will present %u201c The; Velveteen Rabbit%u201d Saturday and Sunday, the 29th and 30th, at the Park Slope Methodist Church, 8th St. and 6th Ave., at 3pm. Tickets are $1.50 for adults, $1 for kids.The Brooklyn Museum will show %u201c San Francisco%u201d (1936) at 2pm for $1. The public library at Grand Army Plaza has another %u201c Music for a Saturday Afternoon,%u201d this one in honor of the International Year of the Child, with Irin Poellot singing and Barry Farber on the piano, at 2:30pm in the auditorium.Sunday, the 30th, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will show two films %u201c All The World%u2019s children%u201d and %u201c To Brooklyn, with Love,%u201d at ipm and 3pm for free. At the museum at 2pm for $1, %u201c The Year Time Changed%u201d and %u201cThe Shocking Miss Pilgrim%u201d (1947) are the offerings.Sleeping Beauty, a presentation of The Pickwick PuppetTheater with 5 foot puppets, will be shown at the Brooklyn College Center for Performing Arts at 12 noon and 2pm with tickets costing $2.50 each. Call 462-3525 for information and reservations.S to c k in g Y o u r S to c k in g O n The Eleventh H our E ve n in gBY BETSY KISSAMWhen it%u2019s 12 o%u2019clock Christmas Eve, will you still know what to put in those Christmas stockings hung so carefully by the chimney? At one time, when fruit was difficult to come by in winter, oranges were the standard fare. An orange in the toe was the best treat, but today traditions seem to be slipping%u2014or maybe they%u2019re just in the making%u2014but almost anything that will fit goes into stockings. And the bigger the stocking, well...Here are some places to find some unusual contributions to that modern Christmas stocking.Little Things at 166 Seventh Ave., 636-0356, is filled with just what the name suggests%u2014all sorts of small things for kids and even adults. Pins in the shapes of cowboys, sheriff stars, birds, fish, and bugs even a cockroach, sell for 30 cents. Larger round modem art buttons with the artists%u2019 names go for $1 (and in this case the artist actually gets a royalty). Buttons, some funny, some with lines from movies, and some with common usage sayings fromthe 1930%u2019s and 40%u2019s are priced at 39 cents. And if you%u2019re looking for something a little funkier, try the stick pins that look like hotdogs or ice cream sandwiches with bites out of them for $3.50.Steppin%u2019 Out, 196 Garfield PL, 788-8626, has its own supply of stocking-sized gifts. The store deals mainly in Art Deco items. Lace collars, hand-embroidered, sell for $12; scarves, both silk and rayon, range from $8 to $15, or ties (that have never been worn) from the wide style of the 30%u2019s to the narrow ones of the 50%u2019s are $3.A large selection of pins made of celluloid, sterling silver and marcasite can be found here, and earrings including costume crystal earrings in almost every color imaginable are priced at $5. Deco compacts including a lavendar enamel one with marcasite for $9 fit nicely into stockings, as do combs: a pair ofgold-plated combs with rhinestones is $10, and a fabulous bird%u2019s wing amber celluloid one with red rhinestones goes for $25.At Good Earth Antiques, 223 DuffieldSt., 625-7579, you%u2019ll find mostly depression glass and other pieces from that period. Crystal knives, forks and spoons sell for $15 a pair, a knife and a fork, or fork and spoon. Old nut grinders go for $5 to $10. Other stocking stuffer ideas are the salt and pepper shakers priced at $5 for a pair of green glass ones, or $10 to $15 for pink or lavendar ones, or as low as $3 for a plain crystal pair. And don%u2019t overlook the cloisonne matchboxes from the early 1900%u2019s and late 1800%u2019s selling for $15 to $18.Another shop loaded with small unusual gift ideas is The Seated Indian at 128 Pierrepont St., 624-0890. Hand-stenciled pillboxes are priced at $4.50. A miniature perfume bottle from The Stork Club is $3.50 and an older souvenir mirror from Brooklyn%u2019s Coney Island is $18. Magnifying glass pendants were priced at $32 and ivory needle and thread cases were $20 a piece. Lots more including cameos, deco earrings, compacts, belt buckles, miniature picture frames, and a silver chatelain clip await you when you visit this unique shop. There are plenty of other fabulous gifts here to fill any stocking%u2014and at any price range.& Things at 226 DeKalb Ave., 522-3998, is another store carrying many unusual gift ideas, some old, some second-hand, and some new. There are sterling silver items, books, china, glassware%u2014all sorts of odds and ends. You should be able to find something to fill just about any stocking here.Buying By Numbers:Gifts For Under A DollarSeeking Handm ade Giftsstitched boxes, collages and pillows. The continuedfashioned in one of a kind art objects or in simpler versions to be played with in the childrens%u2019 room. At the Seated IndianShop at 128 Pierrepont Street, Park Sloper Meg Gray%u2019s marionette of Saint Nicholas is signed and dated. Made of a beautiful red and white silk with tiny hand stitches it hangs from the ceiling to be admired. It sells for a low $40. There are also h an d ,Sandra Brauer in her studio at 364Atlantic Ave. (Feldman Photo)Seated Indian is located in the Long Island Historical Society building, phone 237-0769.At The Store at 154 Montague St. are whimsical marionettes for $6.99 meant to appear in a puppet play, together with handmade dolls and old fashioned wooden hobby horses.It%u2019s quite unusual but there are still handmade smocked childrens%u2019 dresses to be found at The Women%u2019s Exchange at 76 Montague St. (624-3435). This shop also has knitted toys, mittens and shawls and even a handstitched woman%u2019s jacket all made by local craftswomen who receive a small commission from a sale.At The Friendship Store at 169A 7th Ave. (965-3619), folk art wall hangings in bright colors reminiscent of Grandma Moses adorn the walls. These sell for $45. There are also pillows in abstract designs in a cut-away technique. From several layers of differeent colored cloth placed on top of each other one layer then another is cut away in designs to reveal the underlying color then handstitched together. In a diversion of the usual stockinoshape, the Friendship Store displays satin stockings stitched into a large ballet shoe or into sneakers.BY IRENE VAN SLYKEAll of the sudden there are extra guests to contend with and you don%u2019t know what presents they would like to have and besides you%u2019ve spent your budget. Mind you if you set a limit of $1 for an item a merchant%u2019s response might range from a simple unbelieveing %u201c a dollar?%u201d to a moment of silence and a once look over. But some are quite helpful and appear to understand the dilemma.Here are some cheap suggestions. You can start at Sweets Etc. at 171 7th Ave. (768-3161). There are quite some expensive, imported items in Sweets Etc. but the owner showed off his little marzipan pears, lemons and bananas for 15 cents each and pointed out that a pound of pina colada coated peanuts was going for a dollar.At S & H 5 and 10 on 134 Montague St, a salesman steered me to some decorative glass jars with Mason tops, small ones for 39 cents, large ones for 69 cents and you can divide your pina colada coated peanuts into several jars.At The Flantorlum on 158 7th Ave. they were ready for me. There were carnations for 75 cents each, a mini-gladiolus for 90 cents and a tea rose for 80 cents. A customer followed me out of the store%u2014I had not bought anything%u2014and gave somemore suggestions. You could buy a small bag of soil, she said, for 69 cents and a packet of seeds for 25 cents and then maybe you have some unused pots at home and you%u2019ll be able to make a lot of gifts for one dollar.At Little Things (at 157 7th Ave.) you don%u2019t have to ask anybody. Little things are everywhere and most of them have a price displayed. There is a small Snoopy heart shaped phone book for 59 cents for friends who keep forgetting your phone number, buttons, one with Santa Claus, for 50 cents, and also dough ornaments, ribbons and other Snoopy memorabilia.At Laurie Lane Gift Shoppe at 152 7th Ave. a salesperson pointed vaguely to the back of the shore where I found a treasure trove of gag gifts. Six paper horns go for 99 cents, specs and a nose for 59 cents, streamers for 45 cents, surprise balls for 99cents and a color and paste book for 59 cents.Several stores offered scented candles for below a dollar and come to think of it MTA%u2019s diamond jubilee token is only 50 cents, the U.S. Post Office sells commemorative stamps for less than a dollar. For some gifts no money is needed. A Brooklyn Travel Guide can be had from Howard Golden%u2019s Borough Hall for free.December 20,1979, The PHOENIX, Page 17