My husband is the sweetest man I have ever known, but he really messed up with this one. I mean big time!
It was my 22nd birthday and not only was I not surprised by the surprise party that he helped to throw, but what happened after I walked in the door was the cherry on the icing.
Our spouses won’t always know what makes us tick and why we like certain things unless we communicate that, especially in the early stages of getting to know each other.
I love the color Tiffany Blue and Audrey Hepburn! I find it therapeutic to walk into a Tiffany & Co. store even when I know I’m not buying anything. When we were courting, all my husband really knew was that I loved the Tiffany Blue color and Tiffany & Co. He didn’t know it was because I worked hard to get a Tiffany bracelet on my eighteenth birthday. It was a sign of my coming of age.
He didn’t know that Tiffany & Co. was like a live vision board for me. I knew that one day I would go to that store and buy whatever I wanted. My husband also didn’t know at the time that I used to dislike my name and walking into that store was a reminder that my name was special.
So what was it that my husband did that was so wrong? With great intentions and with my love for the brand in mind, my husband presented me with a little blue box in front of everyone at the party. When he realized how excited I was, he pulled me aside and explained that what was in the box wasn’t in fact from the beloved Tiffany & Co. store.
I had asked for a cross necklace for my birthday. I didn’t really show him what I wanted it to look like because I kind of just wanted him to show me he could pick one out on his own and surprise me with his great taste. Excellent plan. What could go wrong? Well, he surprised me all right. The cross necklace was not what I expected, to say the least, and it looked like an imposter sitting in the perfect Tiffany box.
I was embarrassed and devastated. Let’s just say, we had a long talk about what Tiffany & Co. meant to me and how to shop for me. Wouldn’t it be great if you could avoid an event like this? I really could have done without all of the surprises on my 22nd birthday. I know my husband was really trying to get me something he thought I’d like, but he was no expert in purchasing gifts for me.
Communicating about expectations is so important around this time of the year! If we communicate with our loved ones, especially with our spouses/significant others, we can avoid frustration and wasting money.
Trying to let my husband surprise me was the mistake on my part. Let’s face it, people we’ve known for years like our own grandparents and even parents sometimes miss the mark when it comes to buying us the perfect gifts. Why would our spouses be any different unless we express our expectations?
So if you’re done with the failed surprise gifts and the fake smiling when you unwrap your honey’s gifts, use this Free Perfect Gift Guide to say goodbye to those experiences! I created this guide for my husband and me to use so that we were sure to get each other gifts that were guaranteed to please. I filled out one and he completed one. I kept the one with his answers and he kept mine.
We’ve used this guide for every holiday, peace treaty and more. Let me tell you, it has been so much better than thinking “Surely by now he knows what to get me!” You can gamble that way if you want, but I prefer to like the gifts I’ll be unwrapping this year!
Download the Free Perfect Gift Guide today and let us know how it worked for you in the comments!
