A 1972 Holiday ad for the Daisy line of rifles

So, what’s on your Christmas, er, holiday, er, solstice… what is it you would most like to receive on that gift giving day toward the end of the month?

The Squidoo website counts the Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster as the trendiest toy of the year; touts the interactive family appeal of the Nintendo Wii; and suggests the Motorola Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone as the go-to hi-tech gadget.

In a November survey, the Consumer Reports Money and Shopping Blog noted that most people tend to give and get the same presents year in and year out. But the poll also revealed a number of items new to the survey that gifts respondents said they’d be ‘thrilled’ to receive: boots, purses (designer, no doubt), pajamas and guns.

“It's a feeling of confidence, like having a shield,” Tony Orifici, a salesman at Dunedin's Florida Survivalist gun shop, told the St. Petersburg Times. “Grandpa wants a shotgun. Mom wants a revolver. ... We had a family come in and buy an AR-15, a shotgun and two handguns, one for each of them.”

While many gun dealers say the holiday drive for weapon purchases is just a continuation of the rush on firearms after President Obama’s election, FBI records show that November and December are typically gun stores’ busiest months.

But unlike trendy toys and gadgets, there are no fashionable brands of armaments.

“It's like a candy store. You come in and decide what flavor you want,” one gun store manager told the Times. “You might like Fords. I might like Chevys.”

Even with the recent economic downturn affecting most retailers, gun dealers expect this holiday season to be the best one yet.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, guns and ammo are on track to bring in $1.2 billion more than last year's $3.13 billion in sales.

“The one thing I've realized is constant is guns, along with gas and groceries,” Frank Desrosiers, the sales manager at Clearwater's Knight Shooting Sports, told the St. Petersburg Times. “We don't have to push anything. We have a built-in attraction.”

And that attraction, it seems, is drawing buyers from a previously untapped demographic: women.

One Florida dealer proudly displays a line of .22 rifles and snubnosed weapons that are painted pink, while others steer potential female buyers toward simple load-and-fire weapons like revolvers and 20-gauge shotguns.

Dealers told the Times they've seen more women shopping for guns and training this season than ever before.

“The mama instinct is big-time,” one gun salesman added. “Mamas want to protect their babies, and they will.”