IrishRed

I would completely FREAK (think a red headed tasmanian devil on crack) if my S/O did this. Just my .02, don't mess with her jewelry!

I do like the second idea, though

Martinis at 8

Oh we are muy simpatico! We had a Golden Retriever for years, and two cats. They are all deceased now. We waited a few years and then got two new cats. We don't have a replacement dog, and are thinking we shouldn't since we both now travel so much. The cats have each other and are easy to board, but a dog would get super lonely. I really miss the Golden . She was great and so loyal.

M8

Katja

Umm, I'd be heartbroken if someone swiped jewelry that had special meaning for me, and BUSTED IT UP!!

What were you thinking?

SirFlysALot

That's OK. I don't know anything about jewlery anyway so I would have a very difficult time of that one.

kipper

If she still has her original engagement ring, I was thinking take that, if he's purchased a pair of diamond earrings for her, take those, get the stones reset into something different, incorporating all of them. My mother no longer wears her engagement ring, and my father bought an anniversary band for her, and bought her other pieces of jewelry. While the new stuff is great, the old stuff sits and collects dust, and the new stuff doesn't have nearly as much meaning for her as the stuff he bought when they were just starting out, and didn't have much money. If he'd taken the old stuff to a jeweler, and asked them to come up with a design using those stones, and a few new ones, the new jewelry would have more meaning. I guess part of my thinking is that I trust DH and his tastes, and if I he took my jewelry, I'd figure he had a good reason. Legitimately, depending on the jeweler, you can have a new piece commissioned in a very short amount of time, so she wouldn't necessarily know anything was missing.

Kate_Canuck

How about sign up as a foster parent (or something similar where there is a connection to a place - e.g. an environmental cause), plus a trip to that place for later in the year? If she likes to learn, you could add some language lessons a deux.

Also if she really likes to learn, there are some great courses (on DVD etc) through the Learning Company, taught by top-ranked university lecturers. You could give her, e.g. Opera Course + opera tickets out-of-town + trip out of town. Go to http://www.teach12.com/teach12.asp

Martinis at 8

I have bookmarked that link! Thanks!

The foster parent or environmental cause is too mushy for me, but I echo your idea ^ . We've been calling these "learning blocks" in my household, i.e., study up on something and then go do a visit. In fact opera was one of the blocks we did several years ago, same with blues and jazz.

M8

Analise

Your FT handle suggests that you two might not always spend a lot of time together because of your travels (just guessing!)

Perhaps the greatest gift you can give her is time alone together. Even if it's at home. Make reservations at her favorite restaurants or just plan a wonderful romantic weekend together. What better gift can there be than time together?

vickiburton

At the risk of getting flamed and drummed out of the club, may I suggest: since your wife already has all she needs and wants, spend Christmas Day serving others at a homeless shelter. It's an eye-opener and sure to make one appreciate all the more what one already owns.

flyerwife

You'd NEVER get flamed on the Womens Forum for a wonderful suggestion like that! (Heck, you might not even get flamed on OMNI )

If you don't want to give up your Christmas Day, you might think about giving in other ways. Last year, I went to the NYC Post Office with the intention of adopting one of the families who had sent a "Dear Santa" letter. The letters were so touching, that I ended up adopting two families (four adults and five kids). The families I chose didn't ask for GameBoys or gold earrings. They wanted winter coats, boots, sneakers and clothes for their kids.

Daringdoo

I'm in! (I figure if I can do the FT Secret Santa thing, I can sure be Santa for someone who really needs it)!

Thanks for the inspiration flyerwife!

DD

kipper

That's very unlike the ones who soured me on that sort of thing. My old company did an "Adopt a Family" every year for Christmas, and last year's soured me on it. They asked for a Playstation 2 and a specific list of games for it, along with $80 tennis shoes. Asking for winter coats, boots, blankets, etc, makes me want to buy that and throw in a few toys or some such. Asking for a Playstation 2 and specific games, or $80 tennis shoes makes me say, "Are you crazy?" We get by decently, but we don't have a video game system, nor do we spend $80 on tennis shoes. The most I've spent on tennis shoes in ages was $50/pair.

flyerwife

Yes. I used to do the Salvation Army Angel Tree at Christmas (you pick a tag ornament off the tree and it gives a childs name, age and wish list), but I found that many of the kids had expensive PlayStation games (ok, I understand, you're a kid) and diamond earrings (hey, I want those too!) on the list.

I kind of felt like maybe their real needs were already being met.

Going into the NYC Post Office, I found thousands of letters, many written by adults that start out "Dear Santa, I'm not asking for myself, but my kids need shoes, a warm coat........". Really broke my heart. There were notes from kids who asked for computers "so I could do my homework like the other kids". And, of course, there were some notes that I just passed over because their needs didn't seem as dire as the rest.

For the 2 families that I did adopt, not only did I buy clothes, boots, jackets, but I also threw in some toys and some small gifts for the parents. I got my whole family involved and it was a heartwarming experience.

To keep on topic.....other nice gifts for those people that are hard to buy for would be golf lessons or gift certficates to the local golf course (of course, only if you are into golf!), trips to any special exhibits or places of interest (I'd love to go to the King Tut exhibit that's in LA now; I'd also love a weekend in Massachusetts where I could spend a day touring the Yankee Candle factory). Even a trip to see a long lost relative or the place where a person grew up might have special meaning.

kipper

Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks if you're in that dire need of necessities, you wouldn't be asking for Playstation games. Is the Dear Santa thing specific to NY? Are all of the families in NY?

If she's a fan of good cheese, plan a weekend in Vermont, and tour Cabot. Or, go to Wisconsin and do that. If she's a fan of wine, coffees, or beer, you can do a subscription to a (fill in the blank) of the month club, and they send different brands each month. Or, if all else fails, you can do a flowers of the month club, where they send her a monthly flower arrangement.

candaceg

Going back to the original topic - I like the idea of something you could do together. What about ballroom dance lessons or something along those lines? You could give her the shoes and wrap them up with a "certificate" for the lessons. My husband and I have been taking lessons for a couple of years and we've found that whenever we lapse on taking the classes together, our relationship suffers.