Never Household Appliances

I was over at the neighbor’s house about a month ago while he was installing a new wall-mounted-over-the-stove-with-lights-and-fan microwave, (I got the old one of the same type – it’s like new, really.). I was told that it was bought for his wife as a Mother’s Day gift.

“My wife wants nothing to do with household appliances as gifts. In fact, she is quite offended by such things.”, said I, with just a hint of indignation.

Her rationale is that cooking, cleaning, and other domestic chores benefit everyone in the house. Would an appliance really be a gift just for her then? Probably not. I see my wife’s point and have adopted it as my own for many years, so I was rather surprised that this couple didn’t have an issue with it. Well, about two weeks later, my neighbor confided to me that his wife doesn’t like “domestic” gifts either. Mother’s Day was just an excuse to replace a black microwave with a white one. I’ve talked to several other men about it, ranging in age and socio-economic status and all, thus far, have agreed that giving appliances as gifts to your girl is a big no-no. After nearly 14 years, I still have a hard time choosing gifts that my wife likes. I try to pay attention to what catches her eye at the jewelry store. That’s usually a good bet. If I’m off the mark, the jeweler let’s her come in and pick what she wants and then applies the cost of what I bought against what she wants instead. You can’t easily do that with a wall-mounted microwave – it takes a lot more work.

After 25 years, you’ve got to know…

I was speaking with my neighbor Tom about his 25 years of marriage. I figure after that long, you’ve got to know a thing or two about keeping it fresh with your wife. Here’s a story that he gave to me:

It was our wedding anniversary. I can’t remember which one exactly, we’ve had 25 to date. But I do remember this very special one, as if it were yesterday.

My wife Deb and I have this tradition: Every Christmas season, we set aside an evening to watch the classic movie “White Christmas” starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and that other gal, I forgot her name. (ED: probably Vera-Ellen) By know, you’d think I would remember after 25 years of watching this movie, but with age comes… well, you know.

Deb and I like going to the theater for a relaxing evening of entertainment. When we do, we usually buy a large popcorn and soda and make a supper of it. It’s kind of a take from Deb’s family: When she was a young girl, every Saturday night, her family would pop popcorn and watch TV and that would be supper for them. She has many fond memories of doing that as a family tradition! So, this one particular Christmas, I tried making our tradition a little more intimate.

I knew a place where they sell big screen TV’s. They had a separate room set up as an entertainment center, with a 60 inch TV, surround sound, the works. They even had a love seat right up in front of the screen. A very romantic setting.

I asked the owner if I could rent the room for one night to view “White Christmas”. He said, “Sure thing…”; so I gave him the video, slipped him a $20, went to the theater to pick up a large popcorn and soda, and it was all set for my sweetheart and me to enjoy a romantic evening together at our own little “mini Theater”.

Deb was surprised, to say the least, when we got there. We sat down on the love seat with a popcorn and soda from the theater waiting there for us. When I clicked the remote, “White Christmas” came up on the screen! She loved it! We loved it! God is good!

Tom from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA

Prince Charming

This is the original idea that Stuart King gave me, (see About This Site), and thus started the conversation about finding and sharing more ideas like it.

The hardest part was finding a store that had a variety of unique charms. You know, the kind that go on a charm bracelet. Once a source is located, buy several charms that reflect the different and wonderful aspects of your girl. Things that you find special and even things that she likes about herself – oh, and don’t forget the charm bracelet itself! Gift wrap each charm individually, and finally the bracelet. Over the next week, or so, depending on how many little packages you have, leave one here or there where she will be sure to find them. One a day is nice. Little notes should accompany the packages – maybe something relevant to the charm that she will soon find inside. You know, “I like this about you because…”, or “I love it when you…”. I’m sure that you get the idea. When you are all out of little packages, pick the time and place to give her the bracelet to attach all of these little tokens of you affection. During a walk, or maybe at dinner, or just when you are getting together after a long day.