Bring her with you.
Atlantic Village shopping is just up the road from venue...
You know what you might be on to something there.....I can sell it like this...
Me:"Hi darling I've been thinking about your birthday next year"
Her: (dripping suspicion) "oh?"
Me: "Well remember how last month I arranged for our friends to come to that nice restaurant and when we got there, I'd already been in earlier that day blowing up balloons for the table and putting party hats and daft toys for everyone on the table, oh and the cake and the special candles and everything..."
Her: "Yes"
Me: "...and how you asked for a book from the Richard and Judy 2009 list and I bought you all of them"
Her: "Yes"
Me: "..and how I arranged for your sister
*who does my head in* to come and stay with us as a surprise for the weekend"
Me: "and how you didn't have to lift a finger all weekend and I fed the pair of you and cleaned after you both?"
Her: "what do you want?"
Me: "Just wondering what to do next year"
Then the day after...
Me: "Hi darling"
Her: "Hiya"
Me: "How about we go away camping with the dogs for my birthday"
Her: "Yeah that sounds cool"
Me: "nice and cheap isn't it"
Me: "I was thinking about taking my bike"
Me: "We could go to one of the events on the ukGSer's forum actually as there's a couple that weekend, one oop Norf and one in the west country"
Me: "What do you reckon?"
Her: "Or you could just go yourself and we'll do something together when we get back?"
Me: "ok cool"
Right that's how it'll have to play out..
Why can't I just say
"Look Pet, it's my birthday you get your way 363 other days of the year so I'm off with some tossers to talk boll0x about bikes all weekend."