Okay, How Would You Choose To Present A New Car To Your Wife At Christmas?

Here's how I'd do it. Hang the keys in the tree and say something like honey I see something in the tree. If you have a garage have it parked with a big bow on it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

I never understood presents that were cars. Won't she have to contribute to paying for it in the bills? Thus I don't understand the present value, if she's basically paying for it.

I guess I'm just used to living simply and beating cars into the ground for 20 years.

---

Gotta say something here. Who are you trying to "kid?!" aren't you only like 20 years old????!!!!!!!! While i do get what you are trying to say... I think you just don't have enough life experience to truely understand this kind of gift.


In my opinion you still have a child like view of christmas. To you it has to be something that is paid for in full and given to you. Or in other words something that you do not have to contribute to financially.

Not that I am an old man, but after being married for 10 years, divorced, remaried, and father two boys 6 and 11 and broke most of the way, I understand this kind of gift. The best gifts I have been given have not been purchased for me 100% or sometimes even at all. They were more of people being willing to rework the family budget so that I could get something nice. Yes, I ultimately ended up paying for most of it, but it was the opportunity to purchase it, that ultimately resulted in sacrifice for others.

Give her the car on chrismas morning. It will be the best christmas present she will ever get in her life. Let it be a TOTAL surprise. Don't even take her outside to see it. Just put it in the driveway with a giant bow. Wait for her to go outside on her own. If she doesn't go out after a couple hours tell her to take out the trash or something. Anything less then total suprise at home that morning would be cheating her of the greatest surprise of her life that you know she so deserves.

My mom was the best at doing "scavenger hunts" for a "big" gift (ie, expensive). She'd write up a rhyme with clues that lead you to another clue somewhere in the house, to another clue, and so on, until you got to your gift, hidden somewhere else in the house (or out in the garage). The first clue was in an envelope in the tree with our name on it.

Or, they'd run a string all through the house that you had to follow (and it crossed back over itself) until you came to the end, which was your gift. Always great fun!

I think presenting it to her on Christmas Day sounds like the best plan!

Haha! I have often done the scanvenger hunt game with my kids for their Easter baskets. Never thought about it for Christmas. LOL

Since there's so much discussion about the nature of the gift itself, I guess I'll throw my two pennies in as well. Something like this IS an awesome gift...for the right person from the right person. It really depends entirely on the individuals and the couple-dynamic. For instance, my husband and I work closely on ALL large financial decisions. If I were to buy him something this big as a "surprise" he would be very upset with me, no matter how good my intentions were. That's not a bad thing....it's just the way he is and the way we are together. We allow plenty of wiggle-room in our gift-giving budgets...but not $10,000+ worth of wiggle-room. :P

But on the flipside....I can entirely see how such a gift would be perfect for someone who trusts their spouse to make such a decision and is less worried about budgetary specifics.

Anyhow....all rambling aside....I think it sounds like a marvelous gift! And I think you should definitely deliver the gift at home on Christmas morning. (Personally, I'd be going nuts with the anticipation of the joy of that gift-giving! WAY better than receiving presents! LOL)

Try to get someone strategically placed with a camera or video to catch her reaction the moment it happens! :gj:

hey jeff aka mrmertz,

park the new car in a spot that has some kind of romantic significance for both of you guys then get her a gps for christmas. when she opens it on christmas day tell her its for the old busted toyota and that you guys need to test it right away. set the location on the gps to the romantic spot where the new mazda is located and let her drive there.

then let the surprise take its course.

pretty romantic eh??

Judy makes an excellent point that this is an awesome gift...from the right person to the right person. Since only the OP knows the details about his and his wife's relationship & finances and how his wife is likely to respond, it makes sense to me to assume he knows what he is doing as far as choosing the gift.

There is no doubt that the best time & place to present her with the gift is at home on Christmas morning (or whenever you usually exchange gifts...some people have slightly different traditions). The only question is how to make it the most fun & special.

BTW, if you like the snow idea, it would not be impossible... there are snow making machines, artificial snow, etc. The image of a car-sized pile of snow with a big red bow on top, in the middle of the desert, is a rather cool one!

If you are creative, there are endless possibilities with the scavenger hunt, solve a riddle, etc. My grandfather never gave presents, just cash, and we all knew exactly how much we'd be getting (his children got one amount, grandchildren a different amount, etc.), but the fun was in discovering how we would find it each year.

There is also an awful lot to be said for the simplicity of simply taking her outside the way your described in your original post, or hanging the keys on the tree, or something similar.

It goes back to what works for you & your wife. As Judy said, it depends entirely on the individuals and the couple dynamic, not just whether this is an appropriate gift, but also the best way to deliver it.

maybe there's a toy model of the exact same car that you can purchase and then place the real keys inside it. Wrap up the model and give that to her as a gift :)

Good luck with everything.

By the way...covering it in snow sounds like a fun idea, but having her dig it out with a shovel....ya - not smart...unless you want scratches and scrapes. :rolleye2:

Have you seen that commercial where the guy gives the girl 3 gifts - 1.) a box of tissues, 2.) a brown paper bag, 3.) a trampoline? I THOUGHT THAT WAS HILARIOUS... So, for you who haven't seen it, the girl opens the presents and is kinda disappointed/confused. Then the husband walks her to the window where her brand new car is parked, she starts crying, so the husband hands her the tissues, then she starts hyperventilating, so the husband hands her the paper bag, then she faints right onto the trampoline! It's awesome!!!

Anyway, I think this is a WONDERFUL gift that needs to be opened at home. I'd go for the simple method. Put the keys in a jewelry box (will probably fit in a ring box), then put the box in a cereal box amid newspaper or packing peanuts, then put the cereal box in a big packaging box with more newspaper or packing peanuts and some rocks to add weight... First, she'll get the idea that it's something special because of the big box. Then she'll think it's just a trick for a stupid gift when she finds the rocks and the cereal box. Then she'll get excited when she sees the jewelry case (if your wife is like most girls, they'll be excited over jewelry), then total surprise/confusion when she sees the key inside. She'll probably look at you like, "huh?". Don't give it away, don't tell her where the car is (hopefully, it is safely tucked in the garage sight unseen). Just smile and let her figure it all out...

Now, an added touch would be to put a boquet of her favorite flowers inside the car...

I would love this method. Really, really, love it... :-)

I would swap out her old car key for the new one, and have the car parked were she normally parks her old one. The Christmas mornng toss her the keys and tell her you couldn't get her present through the door so you left it in her car. Have a giant red ribbon around the car and a Christmas card in the window with a personnal message for her.

How sweet! I say Christmas day! :)