Husband Birthday Gift: Meat Smoker

I always try to be very sneaky and not give any clues when birthdays and holidays are involved because Hubs loooooooves surprises. He doesn't even let me tell him what I got OTHER people for Christmas, because he likes being as surprised as they are when they open their gifts.

This year for New Year's we went to a friends house and the boys smoked meat while the girls stayed inside and talked about natural child birth (it sounds weirder when I type that out than it really was...). Hubs wouldn't stop talking about how awesome it was to geek out all day with his guy friend and smoke meat, "Like men." Okay, okay, I got the hint.

When I ordered the smoker, it arrived the next day (thank you, Amazon Prime!) and I had no idea how I would hide something that enormous for three weeks until his birthday.

I draped an old sheet and a beach towel over the box in the garage and instructed him he was not to look under that sheet under any circumstances OR move the box at all.

The weeks went by, the box became obsolete and neither of us noticed it.

On our Costco run the weekend before Bill's Bday, I suggested we pick up some ribs because there was a new recipe I found that I wanted to try. Thinking nothing of it, he tossed them in the cart.

The night before his birthday, I suggested he peel back the sheet over that box in the garage, and maybe take the ribs out of the freezer.

Needless to say, I had one very surprised, very happy husband :) Here are photos from his first "smoke":

Please take note of his outfit choice. That's my man.

Oooooh RIBS

With the cheesiest smile he could muster. Nailed it.

What's the best gift you've given your hubby?