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.

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.