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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas Surprise?

I like surprises.  Which is why I never understand it when Doug buys his own Christmas gifts.  After all, I’ve known him for over 20 years.  Doesn’t he trust me to get him a present that is well suited to meet his wants, likes, and needs?  Doesn’t he want me to surprise him?

Apparently not.

I got home from work last week and he informed me that I didn’t have to buy him a Christmas gift this year.  He had already taken care of it.   After all, he was just trying to save me the aggravation of going to the golf store and finding the putter he really wanted.  (Even though he had written down the exact type and model number, he was still concerned I would screw it up.)

So, he bought the club for himself and hid it in the basement.  On Christmas, I am supposed to pull it out as a “gift” from me and the kids, and he’s going to act like he is actually surprised. 

I can hardly wait.  Unfortunately, I've never been good at faking it or going through the motions.  I like real life drama.  Sure, surprises are known to backfire on me, but it's all about the anticipation and suspense.

Should I be glad he saved me the trip?  Would you rather have the real life drama of a surprise, or is it better to play it predictable and safe?

3 comments:

Alison said...

I vote surprise. There are far too few of them in our lives.

Stephanie White said...

One of my favorite books is The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. It talks about the way people receive love (Acts of Service, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Gifts or Words of Affirmation). I know that my love language is Gifts. I like to give gifts and I like to received gifts. I like for people to see that I have really taken the time to get to know them and pick out a gift that will truly have meaning to them. I would like to believe that others are doing that for me too. The truth of the matter is that Gifts is not the love language for many people (especially in my life). For that reason, each year I take the time to create a Wish List on Amazon so that all of those that love me have a list of items they know I will like. And while I do enjoy every gift that is purchased for me from my list, my greatest joy comes from the gifts that are not on my list but show that someone really took the time to think about me.

Doug - If you are reading this, stop now.

I would say Doug's love language is not Gifts. You have three days. If you want to surprise him, I would say, figure out his love language and tailor his gift to that (i.e. If it is Quality Time. Give him the gift of a date with just the two of you.).

Susan DiMickele said...

Yeah, good points. I like surprises, but everyone is different! Doug likes time!