This British Invasion Competes With Neiman Marcus Catalogue

Decisions, decisions.

Will this year’s top his-and-hers Christmas gift be a $7,500 underwater scuba scooter from Neiman Marcus?

Or will it be a $25,000 trip to London that includes dinner with a member of the House of Lords and a stay at Hampton Court, the royal palace that was home to King Henry VIII, from the House of Windsor Collection?

The House of Windsor, a new catalogue for Anglophiles, tried to upstage Neiman’s traditional splashy Christmas gift reception Monday, but in an oh-so-British fashion.

Neiman’s showed off its top gifts to faithful shoppers at its lavish morning reception complete with three herald trumpeters, a mother-and-baby pair of grazing miniature donkeys and a Santa Claus wearing a beard, rolled-up red suit and flippers.

Meanwhile, the Windsor gang scheduled a 5 p.m. private reception in New York hosted by Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, chairman of the catalogue’s advisory board. British trade officials and diplomats were invited, but it was magazine journalists only.

“It’s sort of much more tony,” sniffed Brad Larschan, president and chief executive of the House of Windsor Collection.

“This is a very British affair, and Neiman’s is a very Dallas affair, and we’re just different. But we’re good friends, and we look forward to giving them a little bit of competition,” he said.

The upscale department store chain has been showcasing extravagant Christmas gifts since 1959. The Windsor catalogue was introduced this spring and is dedicated to the U.S. market.

Neiman’s began mailing 3 million copies of its catalogue Monday, while 2 million copies of the slimmer House of Windsor holiday catalogue also went to the post office.