| For years, adults wanting to give and receive erotic Christmas gifts were limited to spun-sugar lingerie and binding and embarrassing underwear from Victoria’s Secret. That has not quite changed, except maybe the receiver of the lingerie can just as easily be the guy and not the girl.
It’s the 21st century, and we are much more than "masters of our domains." Sex toys for her and him, bondage gear, whips, ball gags, dildos of every possible erotic stimulation, rubber, latex, fantasy wear and restraint devices are ending up in Christmas stockings and under the Christmas trees of adults of all ages.
Priape, "Canada’s favourite gay store," carries more than just designer T-shirts and jeans. It carries a wide variety of sex-toys as well as bondage and leatherwear for gay or straight clientele. Jim Heaton of Priape says that Christmas is the time when they will see more interest in the toys and gear as gifts, but shoppers may also be looking for themselves as well. "People who are looking for a sex toy for the first time want something that’s fun," says Heaton. "Some people buy them for the first time and I joke about naming their toys. That can set them more at ease."
Not all toys are created equal as well. There is an amazing array of sexual toys, dildos, vibrators, butt-plugs, vibrating eggs, cock rings etc. on the market. It is very important to get to know more about that one gift that will hit the spot. "When it comes to toys, there are latex and silicone," says Heaton. "Silicone toys are usually a single pour and latex or rubber will be poured over a core. Silicone toys last longer, they are easier to clean as well as being more hypo-allergenic and they seem more realistic."
Couples often come in to buy their toys for each other, the idea being toys are very personal and not just a casual Christmas gift. Larry Green, owner of Toy Box, has been in the business for 10 years. "Over the years I have noticed people to be a lot more at ease with the concept of sex toys and fantasy wear. I have noticed a lot of people coming by after Sex in the City made the Rapid Rabbit vibrator world famous."
Sex toys have now entered the arena of respect as well as attracting celebrity designers. Canada’s own nurse and beloved dirty older lady Sue Johansson has started her own line of sex-toys, designed with the same no-nonsense simplicity employed by her TV show Sex Talk with Sue.
All girls and boys like to get toys at Christmas, but don’t forget to don that latex corset for Sex-mas dinner wear. At Barbies Custom Clothing, latex shirts, dresses and corsets are all the rage. "Christmas is one of our busiest times of the year," says Larry Green of Barbies. "You don’t have to powder yourself all over anymore, which used to be a problem. The new styles are very easy to get into. Wearing latex is hard to describe – it is very forgiving, very tight and highly erotic. It is also very sexy."
This Christmas, look farther than the wall of silicone cocks and full-length rubber dresses. For the more adventurous, there is Calgary’s famous B&D Emporium. Christine, owner of one of the more established boutiques of bondage, restraint and leather gear, has been in the business for almost 20 years and has a clientele of every age and social status. "We spend a lot of time with our clients with regard to education," she says. "We have always been advocates of safe, sane and consensual play. We also do a lot of custom work for clients – leather cuffs, leg and thigh restraints, slings, steel spreader-bars, paddles, everything. We always try to get people to get themselves educated. Some of our books include titles like SM: 101 and Screw the Roses, Give me the Thorns."
There is more to restraint play than meets the eye. "One thing we always advise is to avoid metal hand-cuffs," she says. "There is more of a chance of injury or nerve damage. People want them, but they are a little on the dangerous side. Part of our job is to educate about what they want."
Don’t be shy about buying that naughty someone something very naughty for the holidays – the one you may be pleasing the most, could end up being yourself. Have yourself a kinky little Christmas. |
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