The traditional Christmas switch is on again, as University students slip furtively in and out of women's shops and 'Cliffedwellers roam the haberdasheries. But no matter from what angle one looks at the situation, crowds are swarming the stores, gobbling up anything and everything that will fit into Yule wrappings.

"The big rush started last Friday and won't let up until Christmas Eve," a Coop spokesmen observed yesterday. Thirty additional workers have been added to handle the crowd, he said, and the second floor has been set up as a special Christmas shoppers' haven.

Business in all sections of the Coop was reported above last year. No one department is doing noticably better than the others, with the exception of the check-cashier's window.

Hordes pack the florist's shops, buying all conceivable sorts of Christmas decorations. Students were reported to be carrying away dozens of wreaths, with a smaller demand noted for table trees.

Whether it's the cold or the holiday atmosphere, liquor sales are up. One merchant, however, thought Harvardians themselves were "comparatively temperate this season," for most sales consisted of Scotch and brandy packaged up for "dad." But another observed that plenty of erstwhile ale-customers had been in for whisky in the past week.

The College cannot be accused of clutoring things up at men shops, where one proprietor estimated that nine-tenths of his gift customers were women. Yet another reported a noticable College demand for presents for "pa," though "limited budgets are preventing $50 selections."

Classical records are the order at music shops with Christmas music a distinct second choice. Practically nobody wants popular music as gifts, the consensus indicated.

Pounds of candy are going home via the mail from local sweet-stores, while the lone women's shop on the Square reports seeing University students for the first time this year. "They order a pair of stocking or stadium boots and then head for the door as soon as possible,"

Proprietors of Local male haberdashers report an inverted problem. "Can't get these dames out of the store," one purveyor complained. "They keep trying on argyle socks."