Holiday catalog has out-of-this-world gifts

DALLAS — It took Jack Massing and Mike Galbreath about 10,000 pencils to construct a 7-foot tall, medieval-looking hexagonal skyscraper model.

Now the self-described art guys hope Neiman Marcus finds someone to buy it for $40,000.

The pencil skyscraper, diamonds, furs, luxury sports cars and reservations on a space ship are all featured in The Christmas Book, Neiman Marcus' annual offering, released Tuesday.

Entries range from a $20 box of cookies to a $3.8 million lifetime membership in a private club being built in Tuscany.

Neiman Marcus likes the attention it gets for the gifts. Vendors love the exposure in a catalog that goes out to some of the wealthiest shoppers in America.

The company won't disclose how much the book generates in sales.

"They have huge success in selling these fantasy gifts," said Carolyn Wincer, the head of astronaut sales at Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which is providing the $1.764 million chartered space trip for six. "They have the type of clientele that will go for this."

Cars are among the best sellers. This year, the Dallas-based retailer is selling 50 copies of a 2007 BMW M6 convertible, for $139,000.

For motorists interested in an environmentally friendly alternative, there is a three-wheeled vehicle called the Twike, which runs on battery and pedal power. Neiman Marcus picked the two-seater as its his-and-hers gift for the season.

"We're Popular Mechanics' kinds of guys. It never occurred to us that this would be fashionable," said Mike Patterson, director of North American operations for Fine Mobile, Twike manufacturer.

Neiman Marcus has a team of buyers who scour the globe for catalog candidates, and the bosses chip in now and then.

Brendan Hoffman, chief executive of Neiman Marcus Direct, the online and catalog division, dreamed up one of this year's offerings while attending a fundraising gala for a charity started by New York Yankees manager Joe Torre.

The gift is tickets to six big sporting events and lunch with six past superstars. Proceeds will go to the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, supporting school programs against domestic violence.

"This is one of our first big national exposures," said Torre's wife, Ali, who runs the foundation.

The package will be sold during a Nov. 7 auction. The minimum bid is $250,000.