Aaron and I were exchanging Christmas gift ideas the other night. I had a few ideas for him that I thought were good ideas, but was curious to know if there were some things on his Christmas list that I didn't have on my gift idea radar. There were. If you don't know my husband personally, you've probably gotten a feel for him through some of my posts and learned that...the man has a lot of hobbies! So it should be easy to get gifts for him, right?
When I asked the question, "Honey, what do you want for Christmas?" These were some of the answers I got:
"A 300 gallon milk tank that I can use for oaking wine..."
"You could insulate the workshop...or just buy the insulation so I can start working on insulating the workshop and the chicken coop..."
"Hmmm...I could use a new electrical panel in the workshop...you could have Tommy (our electrician friend) come install one."
Gee, thanks for the ideas. Realize these are very economical ideas, but something like an electrical panel would truly make him just as giddy as Ralphie getting his Red Ryder BB gun. However, the part that makes gift giving fun for me, is the element of surprise and being able to pick up on clues of something that he might need or want that would lead me to a very thoughtful gift. How cool of a wife would I be had I noticed that there wasn't enough electrical power in his workshop and thought to get an electrical panel installed for him without him telling me he wanted that?!
And then there is my other fantasy of us spending our first Christmas as a married couple together, where we are gazing lovingly into each other's eyes on Christmas morning as we exchange sentimental gifts wrapped in boxes that we can actually unwrap in front of each. Maybe I would sell my hair to buy him a chain for his beloved pocket watch, while unknowingly he would sell his pocket watch to buy me some beautiful jeweled combs for my hair. Reference? Anyone? Anyone?
Then again, maybe this is just a sign of the lifestyle we've chosen and that I did not marry a man who will ever have "a new sweater" on his Christmas list, but rather anything that will contribute to our budding business. I should've known this two years ago when he told me he wanted a hydraulic jack for Christmas. Don't ask me what it is...even though I did in fact get that for him, I still don't know. But he's building something with it that he can use to build something else. Or something.
I guess I will just have to learn to say "Merry Christmas, Babe!" and figure out how the heck to wrap up a big ol' wad of insulation and fit it under the tree. Maybe the longer we are married, I will get better at picking up on clues that will make me think of some of these off-the-wall gifts myself.
Since he reads this blog, I won't give anything away as to what I might get him this year. But, if anyone knows where I can find a 300 gallon milk tank, you know where to find me!
