Okay, every time I ask my husband what he wants for Christmas he says 'Cabellas Gift Cards'. I hate getting gift cards for people, but also don't know enough about hunting/fishing to just go to Cabellas and pick something out myself.
So last night we were talking and he came up with a "plan" to get what he REALLY wants for Christmas... A muzzleloader that is on sale at Cabellas for $200 (The sale ends this coming Monday). He knows that I can't afford to spend $200 on his Christmas gift. We were going to keep things small this year and only spend $25 on each other. However, he has $115 in saved up Cabellas gift cards. He wanted me to give him his gift early (The gift would be $25 either in cash or in the form of another Cabellas gift card), so that he could go spend those gift cards (Plus a little of his own money) on that gun that he REALLY wants.
I told him no, and that he had to wait until Christmas to unwrap any Christmas gifts and no matter what it was he was going to sit there and like it. He is sufficiently pouting.
What he doesn't know... I have a plan! :)
My plan is to take the $115 in Cabellas gift cards (Hey, he wanted to use them for this anyway and this is the only way I can afford this gift). I'm going to splurge for $50 instead of $25 since I have some left over money now that everyone else's gifts are bought. The bank of mom is loaning me the extra $35 plus tax (I am paying her back the first week of January). I am going to get the gun tonight (Hubby thinks that mom and I are going to the mall (Which is in a completely different town/area than the closest Cabellas) for a last minute Christmas shopping shopping spree). I called Cabellas and they told me that I don't need a gun license or any special IDs to buy the gun, so we are set there. My mom is going to keep the gun at her house so that he doesn't find it. I am also going to put the used gift cards back in his wallet so he doesn't suspect anything (And then make sure that he doesn't go to Cabellas before Christmas)
So while he was sleeping last night, I managed to get the gift cards out of his wallet (3 different gift cards). Problem... What if he notices the cards are missing today before I get the used ones back into his wallet? My original plan was to say that Oliver must have gotten into his wallet again last night while we were sleeping (He does this fairly often) and then "find" the cards in our bedroom somewhere when I got home from shopping. But of course, last night hubby thought to put his wallet up high where Oliver can't get to it (The only freaking night I want his wallet down low and he puts it up high). So now what? What do I tell him if he notices the cards are missing before I can get them back into his wallet?
Ooo, Diane - He was thinking about using the gift cards to buy his BIL's and brother's gifts (this was after he started to think I wasn't going along with the gun idea) and the gun really is only $30 less for the sale price... So maybe I could say that I took them for safe keeping since I knew that he was going to get enough gift cards to buy the gun himself at Christmas time even after it went off sale (It's the only thing he asked for and my mom let it slip to me that she got him a $75 gift card) and I don't want him to spend the cards on anyone else? Does that seem plausible?
Christy Lee - I know that he does not want the gun to hunt this year. He's already gone bow hunting and has used another type of gun (Not an alternative kind) for gun hunting. He knows better than to even ask to go hunting again. Sorry, but he leaves for work at 5am and gets home at 5pm Monday through Friday. Before it got dark so early he would just go immediately after work and wouldn't get home until 9 or sometimes 10. My patience with Oliver is usually gone by 4 or 5, so when he doesn't get home until 9 or 10 I am pulling my hair out from the craziness! On weekends, I just want him home with me for family time. Besides... He is already pushing his luck because now he is starting to ask me about ice fishing. Lol
I say blame Oliver and say it must have happened before he put the wallet on the shelf.
Worst case just play dumb, and say you found them and put them away. No one wants to lose their gift cards when they are saving them for some thing big!
Easiest thing is to tell him he was being a pouty monster so you took them and put them away for safe-keeping (or at someone else's house - but don't blame your mother or name the person), and he can have them on December 26th.
Thrown the wallet on the ground, splatter the cards, and whistle.
You just took your eyes off of Oliver for a second, you have no idea how he got to his wallet...
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Yikes, looking at your what happened what would happen if you return the used cards and he tried to use them?
I would just tell him I took the cards, I am hatching a plan, the less you ask the better.
Here in Missouri, it's the start of "alternative" deer season. That means that you can use a pistol, shotgun, muzzleloader, or anything other than a regular rifle to take a deer.
Does MN have an alternative season too? Are you sure he doesn't want his muzzleloader early for that reason? So he can go hunt with it? You might want to find out, instead of forcing him to wait until Christmas for his gift....because the hunting season he wanted it for might be over for the year by then...and then he'll have to wait until next year to use it.
Good luck!
My vote is that the used gift cards go somewhere else...NOT in his wallet!
If he notices they're missing from his wallet, just say you our them in his drawer because you found them under the dresser days ago--that pesky crumb stealer must have been messing with his wallet again, and so ce he was at work when you were cleaning up....
To put them back might cause an issue if he goes & tries to use them & starts making a scene at the store....
1. Tell him that you took them for safe keeping. you didn't want him to be tempted to go and possibly buy something that he might get from someone else. (i use this same logic on my kids. no you can't buy ANY video games or toys between Thanksgiving and Christmas because I have no idea what everyone is getting you. wouldn't want to hurt the gift givers feelings)
Did he take the cards out last night while he was talking about his plan? If yes, place the used ones on the counter and tell him that you found them on the floor. he should be more careful.
Take the cards out, do your shopping and then replace them. I assume he's not planning to use them before Christmas. Then on Christmas morning, you can tell him to toss the cards away.
Sometimes, my husband and I are just honest about Christmas. We tell each other, since this TV is on sale right now, lets go ahead and get it and remember this is our gift..
Then I might give him a tiny gift to open that morning.. This way we do not have to worry about missing money, gift cards..etc..we tried playing games like this early in our marriage and it did not always end up well..
Miscommunication, assumptions, guilt.. Surprises ruined.... Just think about it..
Don't blame Oliver, so unfair to the child. How would you feel if he got after Oliver for getting into his wallet. I take it Oliver is your toddler. If he notices them gone, just say "Oh, I took them" If he asks why, you can make something up or just say "You will see" and leave it at that.
