Good for you, Simon...a gift from the heart...that's the way Christmas is supposed to be.  I'm sure your wife will cherish it!  My husband will be finding a new gas grill under (more like beside) the Christmas tree this year....Happy Holidays.

Oh Simon, you are one special man!!   What an absolutely lovely and thoughtful gift for your wife.  Please do let us know how many tissues she needed while watching it!

Well done Simon, that's a wonderful gift.

I can't post my gift as my husband reads AR, LOL.

Faith - your husband will love that! Thanks for your comments and a Merry Christmas to you.

Kris -I forgot to mention that I spent the time to label the actual disc and I also professionally packaged the box it comes in. When she see's the present under the tree she will think I just went out and bought a $10 movie! tee hee hee! I'll update you on the tissue thingy after Christmas Day! I am assuming your special present cannot be revealed here?

Jennifer - thanks for your comments and I understand that you can't be too revealing! :) Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Hi Simon,

I think you are sooo sweet and your wife is going to absolutley love your gift! :) My hubby tells me its Christmas everyday....he is special! :)

Simon  - That beats the blender I got my wife.  I probably won't get 9 hours worth of margaritas out of it.

Simon;

What a great gift!  This year my guy is getting a new jacket  - unfortunately, my 3 year old spilled the beans :o(

What is really funny though is that he has found an excuse to wear every single decades old scaggy coat he could find while protesting vehemently that he "doesn't need a new coat, his old one is just fine!"  I didn't even know he HAD some of the coats he's dragged out.  I'm also getting him a new digital camera - he has completely worn out the one he had taking pics of the kids and dog - I think we probably have the most well-documented weiner dog on the planet :~)

Have a great Christmas!

Simon:  I'm not going to take the chance that my hubby will see this :-)  All I can reveal is: He's getting toys :-)

Suzanne - Thanks for stopping by. Clearly if it's Christmas every day you need to spend more time at Active Rain Fit Club  to work off all that egg nog! Merry Christmas to you! :)

Joel - too funny!

Carrie - and what have you dropped subtle hints about?

This is great everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Kris - Toys will always work with me too, so if you happen to see my wife.......

Simon, good morning.. I'm writing this while sitting in an airplane at the Houston airport. I have given my wife a Christmas visit to our son in Austin. This is the fist time we have traveled elsewhere for Christmas.

Simon- Wow! That was a really nice gift that you made from your heart for your wife. She is going to love it. I think that the gifts from the heart are the best ones. I got all the kids out of the way and now I am trying to think of something for Nestor. Katerina

Well Dan have a safe trip and a wonderful Christmas. Don't forget to be in town next year for my fifth annual Christmas Party!

Thanks for stopping by Katerina - speaking as a man, vacations and toys work best for me! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Simon - Class. Robin drops by AR so I can not reveal the main gift. It is very difficult for us. As you know, we are not the Rockefellers, but we also don't have the Rockefeller's taste. We have never quite managed to focus on Christmas as the time of year to get something. If she is in Chico's and wants to buy clothes, I want her to do it then. Clothing makes her feel good about herself and her image and that is something that should not have to wait for valentines day, birthday, anniversary or christmas.

I really don't want or need anything. I suppose I would be happy with a dozen golf balls. Then again, I have a dozen some lender gave me last year. As Robin said the other night, "Well, you sure don't need any more paint".

So, regardless of whether or not she reads this, I have decided the best gift will be to truly attempt to empty the dishwasher more often, take her car in and get the dent fixed, accomplish kicking the nicotine habit, come to bed before 2:00 a.m., eat at a larger variety of restaurants and pause, everytime I get angry with something she says or does, and realize in her heart of hearts....she loves me and I am very fortunate to have her in my life.

 I bought my husband a MR. Buddy heater for our camper.  Not too romantic.

Simon:  I would love to see my old small VHS home movies of the kids turned into DVD's.  Can you pass that only to my husband too?:)

 John:  Exactly what I would like for Christmas.  More empty dishwashers that I didn't do, a bed made and a bathtub cleaned.  The surprise when a trip to the basement reveals all the toys have been put away and not by my hand.  A simple recognition of how much I do and a vow to help each other make life a little simplier.  And I promise to do things for hims as well.  Maybe mow the yard more often before he comes home from work.  With 11 acres and a toddler, that can become hard. 

J-Mac - that too is class my friend! "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" as I type this. I can see our tree, but my little surprise is still in my desk draw. I don't want her to have a clue and so I will sneak out Christmas Eve night nad hide it behind something we bought for the kids. Merry Christmas!

Simon - That is sooooooooooooooooooo sweet! I made hubby a calendar with family photos... and he's also getting a homemade stocking hat...

Jennifer- sounds perfect. I called your husband about the VHS thingy (well it was more like ESP actually). Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Lindsey - it's fun when you make stuff!

Simon - perhaps you should have a box of tissues in a gift bag for her, because I can see the floodgates opening!  My husband did that for me one year and I loved it.

Mick is always difficult to buy for.  This year, I want to put a remote start function in his new car.  Our entire marriage, he's always had me drive the best car of the two, and when his 99 Chev Sub started acting up, I told him it was his turn to drive the new car.  I haven't had a chance to drive it much.  So, tomorrow, I'm sneaking out of bed and dropping it off for the installation and having a neighbor pick me up from Circuit City!  I'm still figuring out how to go back and pick up the car without blowing the surprise. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Natalie - if my pressie meets with your approval then I know I am on the right lines here!  As for the surprise - just spend more time with your friend at Circuit City! I need a new camera if you felt that way inclined... :)

Here is his ol' Chevy.  I told you we were QPR supporters!  You know what his free Christmas gift was?  He heard Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, now has a 20% share in QPR!     A camera for Simon?  Maybe your wife will read this and surprise you! 

Well here is a Christmas present from me to him then - the picture of Mittal (the guy only seems to have one name and he is the son of the fifth richest man in the world) with Bernie Ecclestone - the guy who owns Formula One Racing and also an Director of QPR. Currently bottom of the Championship League Table, QPR have a ways to go yet!

Simon, that was very sweet of you.  I'll have to wait until Christmas morning to show this blog to him! 

Good job Simon.  Now all us husbands that actually already purchased a gift are feeling really bad!  My wife was wanting a diamond wrap for her wedding band.  I told her it was a great idea but I was thinking it would be a gift to give on our anniversary in June.  She agreed.  So, I went ahead and got it and it is hanging on the Chirstmas tree and she doesn't even know!  She will have to unwrap a package that will tell her where to find it.   

 I still like Simon's idea.  Will have to do that for next year.  Merry Christmas to all!

Sounds like you did OK anon - thanks for stopping by.

UPDATE: Well it's Christmas morning and my wife found her gift. We had tears and laughter and I got hit a couple of times, but she loved it!! Merry Christmas everyone.

I gave my husband a well-deserved Wii. He wanted one and I couldnt get my hands on it at the store. Thanks to Craigslist. Most of all, he gave me his time and companionship on this very special day...

What a fun Christmas!  My hubby got me a Garmin - evidently he remembered this past summer when I drove a client almost 30 miles out of the way trying to get to a home in the countryside (oops).  Now I won't have an excuse for getting lost!

P.S. - I threw out his old coats and he is pretty happy with his new one - and has taken about a thousand pics in the last 2 days with his new camera.

We also got a Wii - what a load of fun!  I like the fact that I can actually bowl and get points on the Wii (I can't seem to aim at the bowling alley).

Happy New Year, all!

Loreena - Everyone seems to be getting a Wii! Maybe I need one?

Carrie - well you certainly had a fun time!!