HOME OFFICE : Gifts for the Desk Set Fit Any Price Range

If you know where to shop, presents for the home office are plentiful, easy to select and priced for every budget.

Possible gifts range from three-ring binders (three for under $10) for organizing loose papers to an electronic atlas for planning business trips (under $70) to an electronic mail answering machine (under $140) with individual security codes for multiple callers.

You’re bound to find something--even for the person who has everything.

Home office gifts are practical, and size, style and color seldom matter.

You can find home office gifts at such unconventional shopping places as office supply, electronics and software stores, and at more conventional retailers, such as Target Stores, which feature a home-office merchandise section.

The Office Depot store in Irvine has five gift bars scattered around its warehouse store, featuring stocking stuffers from coffee mugs to golf ball engravers to lighted magnifying glasses, according to store manager Lisa Rodriguez.

“Most all of our office and business gift ideas are real affordable,” Rodriguez said. “Some of the most popular items are letter portfolios and mini book lights.”

For more technical and complicated gifts, you might want to consider Egghead Discount Software Inc., where spokeswoman Megan McKenzie said store managers received special training in late October to help customers with gift selections.

“We are happy to demonstrate any of our software and encourage customers to ‘test drive’ our products,” McKenzie said.

For the holidays, Egghead will feature a multimedia starter kit for 386 IBM compatible personal computers ($500) and 60 of the latest multimedia CD ROM titles ranging from the U.S. atlas with a business trip planner ($70) to Microsoft’s Bookshelf for Windows ($150) which includes an encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, atlas and other references. Call (800) Egg-Head for the nearest location.

At Radio Shack in Newport Beach, store manager Michael Jacobson said, “Answering machines are the hottest thing going right now. Especially popular are machines with remote call-in so you can call from anywhere in the world and get your messages. And you can remotely reprogram your outgoing message.”

Radio Shack’s answering machines range from $80 to $140. Jacobson said he thinks Radio Shack is the world’s largest telephone accessories store and said that telephone accessories are always in demand and appreciated.

Target Stores, a nationwide general merchandise discount chain, has a home office merchandise section that offers a variety stationery, office supplies and organizer items at discount prices.

“Home offices are a trend our Trend Merchandising Section discovered a few years ago,” spokesperson Gail Dorn said, “so we started putting home office sections in our newer stores about two years ago.”

Frank McCrudden, manager of the Laguna Hills Target Store, said, “Our home office business in this particular store is very strong because south Orange County is very much an executive area and a lot of people have home offices.”

Popular home office items, according to McCrudden, include writing instruments, portfolios, binders and home office storage equipment such as file cabinets, bins and storage racks. The Laguna Hills Target Store has IBM compatible computers from $999 to $1,199 and facsimile machines from $300 to $500, and will offer a PacTel message pager, new for Christmas, at discount prices.

A walk through the aisles of the warehouse-style Staples, The Office Superstore in Santa Ana, produced the following list of gift ideas over a wide range of prices:

* Twenty-five-foot telephone extension cord, for office-wide freedom of movement with the phone ($7).

* Computer screen anti-glare filter, to minimize eye strain from window and light fixture reflections ($35).

* Keyboard wrist resting pad to relieve strain and soreness ($7 to $10).

* Folding luggage cart to more easily transport heavy or bulky loads ($15).

* Canvas and leather brief cases to look sharp and be organized when calling on clients or prospects ($35 to $150).

* Calendars to organize the coming year ($3.50 to $8).

* Three-ring binders to keep files at your fingertips ($1 to $9).

* Special purpose calculators (business, financial, engineering) for a pocketful of electronic expertise ($30 to $140).

My home office holiday gift suggestions are:

* Telephone headset to permit hands-free use of the telephone and prevent a stiff neck from cradling the phone on your shoulder. These simply plug into your existing phone and are available for under $70 at office supply and telephone equipment stores.

* Portable electric space heater, to take the chill off the home office and avoid heating the whole home to warm one room. Quality heaters, with safety features and a fan, are available for under $40 at hardware, home improvement and variety stores.

If you are wondering whether a home office gift is appropriate for the holidays, just remember Santa had one of the first home offices.