Dear all

Do you choose your marklin christmas present?
Does your wife choose your present?
Or do you make un suttle suggestions?

For me i buy my own christmas present and my wife wraps it.

Tim

I used to try sneaking my big annual Märklin purchase into the house without my wife noticing but since she retired that became increasingly difficult. Now I order it from MSL in time for Christmas and she takes it away immediately it is delivered and wraps it. She also reads the delivery note in the packaging and makes a great fuss about the unbelievable cost. I just nod knowingly and smile.

Yes, I pre-ordered mine in ealry 2022 and it will be delivered to dealers in January 2023. I did ask for one smallish model RR item for Christmas from my family. My spouse has wrapped a few things for me, and asked me not to buy anything in return until the gifts from family are unrapped.
Once I bought almost $1,000.00 in Marklin items over a few months in 2003, and hid the withdrawl slips in my car console under the cup holders, but later in the year they were discovered by my spouse. This was my personal credit union account I had for decades, but our money had been consolidated since the mid 90's. My car payment was deducted automatically from it. I had no other hidden debt.
I came home from work that day to find a few Wiking ho scale vehicles smashed where they were displayed. I never said no to anything they wanted to buy, but I should have asked or at least said I was buying trains. So I moved the money in it to our joint savings account. Shortly after my company closed, and the credit union was absorbed by another.
My father in law bought a $600 camera in the 1960's in secret, and a Pontiac Trans Am in the late 70's. My mother in law had a fit when he pulled up with it from work. He was a GM salaried employee, and they ballooned car purchases annually. Basically, they could order a vehicle with a small down payment, with 15% off the base price m.s.r.p., and 20% off options. After a year, they had to either pay the balance due in arears, re finance it, or sell it. So they sold it, broke even or better, paid it off, and for less than another grand, and got a brand bew car each year. So instead of another Chevy Nova in 1978, she ordered herself a fully loaded Caprice Classic.

Yes, I think we both prefer that I choose the Märklin... ...whether she knows it or not...

She also makes sure I know what a good gift choice for her would be, so that is balanced

She does the wrapping of both (The 88569 Crocodile this year)

^__^
Mike

Then there is the issue of time, you already know what you want. When she shops you could quite frankly pop off to the Mediterranean for a week or two and not be noticed missing in action!