Yesterday, it was my friend Nikki’s b-day. I had no idea what to give her. She is always so thoughtful and giving which of course made it extra hard. As I was driving by her house one day the thought came to me to give her a bird house. Her little tree out front has a bunch of little bird houses in it, but they are… hmmm… how do I put this, homemade looking, kid-ish, and weather worn. I figured she must like birds if she had so many bird houses in her tree, but maybe she would like one for herself since I could tell the others were her kids. She needed a colorful, beautiful one. So I went on a search and found this one at Fred Meyers on clearance. I couldn’t pass it up. I almost wanted to keep it for myself. 😉 I threw in a little bird house card and the gift was complete.
The hard part was the delivery. Me and the kids made a plan. After school we were going to hang it in her tree and then call her and tell her that we were driving by and saw something strange in her tree. Then hangup. She would go out and see the beautiful bird house and birthday card attached and be so happy and surprised. hahaha… that plan didn’t really happen.
We both drive to pick up our kids from school and on our way home, we pretended to go back home but really we took a back road and parked the car a street over from her house. I had the kids sneakily run and make sure she made it to her house and went inside. We waited a while because she was visiting with a neighbor, but then she drove away. HOW PERFECT!! Even better that she wasn’t going to be home. The coast was clear. we drove up, put the bird house in the tree and drove back home. As we turned the corner, who comes driving by, but Nikki!! I seriously yelled out loud in the car, “NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!” She pulled up along side me and had a look on her face like, ” what in the world are you doing over here?” The jig was up, we were caught. I told her we were trying to be sooo sneaky, happy birthday, and to go check her tree, because we indeed saw something strange in it. 🙂 With a smirk she drove off.
When I got home I received a text from her that said how much she loved the bird house and that it made her day. 🙂
Sometimes thinking of gifts for someone can be hard. But honestly anything that you give or make will make that special person feel so happy and thought of. Thanks for reading about my little adventure. I hope it inspires you to go out and do something special for someone you care about.
My bird house was on clearance at Fred Meyer, but if you were looking for a cute birdhouse here are some cute ones on Amazon.com.
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Ashleigh says
Karen- sigh… I just love your story. 🙂
Ashleigh says
Kristen- You are so cute! Love your attitude.
Ashleigh says
Leah- I purchased my bird house at Fred Meyers and it was clearanced down to $9. But I doubt you will be able to find the same exact one. I added the amazon links in the post that has this bird house and other cute ones. Hope that helps!
Karen S. says
I smiled at your birdhouse story; just love that desire to show care to others–it really matters. Several years ago I bought some bulbs in the fall while a good friend was away for a few days. Her life had been very difficult and often the joy in her day was looking out the kitchen window at the seasons as she washed dishes.
While she was away, I took the daffodil, tulip and crocus bulbs and a shovel, and planted the bulbs around the trees and shrubs in bare yard.
Like you (sort of), I was discovered–a construction worker repairing their barn spotted me. But he said he’d keep my secret.
Months later, in February, when the skies are so gray and gloomy here in the Northwest, green starting brightening the dirt in that yard. In March the daffodils were in full bloom and I heard my friend’s daughter tell someone how mysteriously flowers were blooming at their house. Smile.
Sigh. Eventually deer ate the tulips, and their dog dug up lots of the other bulbs. But I know the yellow, pink and purple blooms gave my friend joy and delight–which gave me the same.
(I’m not sure how to upload photos of crocus and daffodils…..)
Kristen says
I love this. You might have inspired me to do fun little gifts for my much appreciated family. Birthdays, Shmirthdays. I think I’ll just do it on a random day.
Thank you!
Leah says
How much was the bird house, its adorable! I will have to gift one to my sister this year! Thanks for the idea.