Is It More Important To Be Surprised Or..

Hubby and I are like you two, very practical when we buy things for each other. Or like you, we'll go in on something together for each other that we both want and call it our such and such present to each other. Now I do like to buy him something extra that he doesn't know about so there would be some element of surprise for his birthday or Christmas because knowing everything isn't all that fun. But most often we do go in on things together so we do get exactly what we want.

I think the surprise is always nice but getting the things you want is too. My family does lists - you have to list atleast 10 things (so people have choices) you would like or types of things... Last christmas i asked for a porcelain doll (i've collected them for years and about 4 years ago my mom said i was too old for dollies and i hadnt gotten any since) I was told the same thing you're too old for dollie. Well I stopped to admire some dolls at a hobby fair (i'd love to learn to make them) and pointed a few out to my sister that i really liked. We continued shopping and she disappeared while i was buying a gift for a friend. She came back and we continued looking. I stopped to look at the dolls again and the guy selling them says you like that one? i said yup and he says she just bought one like it. I loooked at my sister and shes looking confused (she sure wasnt gone long enough to run a bag to the car and she wasnt carrying one) and i just shrugged it off thinking hes mistaking her for someone else in a white coat. Christmas day...I was so surprised cause she HAD been the one to get the doll and i had forgotten all about the guy saying that til i opened the box!

I think your idea is very sensible. You get to keep on budget and get what you really want, that's cool. I would do that if I had a husband I think. But I know myself and I would want to sneak and get at least one tiny surprise for him too. Silly I know but I do actually like nice surprises. And yes, if I can buy something for Christmas that I was going to buy anyway, then I do want to get points or something for that purchase. I do like seeing those points add up!!

When my mom was alive , I had fun during christmas. She would always say/ " Surprise Me." that would drive me up the wall. She was hard to shop for but easy at the same time. One year I got her the whole mystery series of one of her favorite authors. But as for me, I hate surprises , even good ones. what we do/did was everyone save mny mom would make a list. If Christmas was a day of hanukkah, I would make a combined list. Let me explain. I am the only Jewish member of the family. But if Hanukkah is either before or after christmas . I would get money for Hanukkah and gifts for christmas. the problem is as I got older and a job , I could get what I wanted during the year so making the list was harder and harder. Now that my mom is gone and it is just my sister and I I rather just get a gift card for hanukkah and leave Christmas alone.

i dont like to be surprised that much either. i am making a lot of our christmas gifts this year and plus we are going to be trading in our airmiles and esso points for blockbuster gift cards. since hubby lost his job in august, things have been sort of tight this year.

Nope!! Give me the surprise anyday. I love to be surprised with what I am getting, but I can understand that others have to do what they have to do. I try to get ideas for what the members of my family want for Christmas and birthdays, and go from there. They just don't know where I am going to stop on the list.

Well, a lot of times my husband and I will discuss what we want for Christmas, Birthdays, etc. all of the time, and try to buy things for each other that the other person wants and can benefit from as well. I know that many times I will find myself especially this time of yr. continuously trying to build up my Paypal account, and savings, etc. just so I have enough $$ to buy my husband something nice for Christmas while making sure it is something special that he would like as well. It never hurts to plan ahead and get them something special for sure.

We are at the stage we pretty much buy what we want, when we want it. I like surprises, but not necessarily in the way of large presents. A trip would be a trip we would give to each other, actually. We do manipulate how and what we pay for to gain benefit.

I think what you are doing is a great idea! In times of recession, I feel it is more practical to get what one desires and eliminates the possibility of redundant gifts. Imagine the surprise if a couple buys the same gift for each other! It is not impossible as great minds think alike.

I think it is nice to get something that you want, whether it is a surprise or not. My bf always manages to get me something that is a surprise, but what I want as well....well, maybe not always, but usually. The best year was when he got me a set of diamond earrings. I had always said that I wanted a pair, and that year I just happened to point them out in a sale paper. However, I still did not know that I was getting them. He must have purchased them well ahead of time. Because by the time Christmas arrived, I had completely forgotten all about it. I guess he is a pretty good listener.

I like to be surprised at Christmas, I always try to suprise my wife but she usually knows what I'm going to get her, I have learned to live with it. When I do surprise her its nice to know that I didn't need her help in finding a gift that she really wanted. I did succeed when I got her an iPod, she still tells people the story since it was for Valentines Day.

I love to give surprizes than getting them from others. Yet, sometimes I have to be surprized for some of the acts of my hubby. The best surprize was to get a diamond ring on the very first anniversary..

Last year my husband and I decided that we weren't going to buy presents for eachother, because we wanted to save up money for our wedding and our honeymoon. We ended up buying some small presents for eachother, but we didn't spend much money on presents. This year we are going to buy presents for eachother, and we already started talking about the things we want, that way the presents won't be a surprice, but that is okay. Sometimes we buy one big thing instead of buying things for eachother.