So...DH is obsessed with golf. Obsessed may not be a strong enough word. He desperately wants a simulator but he cannot afford one with his student loans right now. We also dont really have the perfect space for it right now. I plan to gift it to him for basically his Birthday (in October) and Christmas. The gift will require purchasing the siimulater, some accessories (i.e. mat for the floor) as well as prepping the space for it.

My plan is to clean up our garage...which has tall enough ceilings for him to swing his driver and therefore is the best space. I can get the garage all prepped without tipping him off (cleaning, decluttering and painting). However, he will of course notice once its installed (which will require the use of a handyman).

So...I am torn about when to "give" it to him and how? My gut tells me to give it for his Birthday...so he can be involved in the installation. At that point I can have purchased the simulator and gotten the garage "ready"...I can then give him a coupon for the handyman or something. In a perfect world I'd love to surprise him with it all installed but I just dont think I could pull it off since he uses the garage every day...

I just hate the idea of not having anything to gift him at Christmas...should I buy some little token-ish items for him to unwrap? DH and I love gift giving at the holidays...so I would be sad with nothing to give...

If I should go the token route...any thoughts?