A girl can dream, can’t she?

The pajama-clad husband escorts his apprehensive wife out to the drive-way, all the while covering her eyes. “No peeking!” he says. She can barely stand the anticipation of what could be waiting for her as he whips his hand away to reveal the gorgeous, brand-new, bow-adorned car sitting in the driveway. She squeals with delight as he drops the set of keys into her outstretched hand. “Merry Christmas!”

The commercial ends.

Car companies run this add every year during the holidays, but I wonder how often it really happens. My girlfriend’s husband drove a car up her driveway as she waited and it had a big bow on it, but it wasn’t Christmas morning, she was looking out the kitchen window, and it was a used car, not brand-new. I guess that kind of counts. But seriously, has anyone ever had this scenario become their reality?

I adore cars. I wrote posts here about my adventures with Toyota, Lexus, and Chevy and I drove a racecar to celebrate a milestone birthday. My car-in-the-driveway fantasies are specific and my standards are pretty high, so I’m not sure I would want a car picked out for me without my input.

Therefore, this is my opportunity to aide my husband in his selection process if he is planning on surprising me with a car this year. (At this time I want to refer you to the title of this blog post.) Not that I would feel ungrateful for his effort and choice, I just want to help the guy out a bit.

If I could choose a practical car that would suit my everyday life, I would be out-of-my-skin excited if a 2011 Toyota Sienna Van sat in my driveway on Christmas morning. If he wants to increase my chances of fainting from shock and pleasure, it should be white. That would be perfection! This van gets everyone from point A to point B with style, comfort, and two, yes two, sunroofs. (Honey, I would like this option to be included in my model, please.)

Throwing aside all practicality to purchase a car that spoke to my wild side, he should have a Porsche Boxster waiting for me as he escorted me out to the driveway. (The color and options don’t matter. Okay, they matter. Green convertible, please.)

In reality, this is not happening this Christmas. No way. I know our finances and the way we choose to spend our money. Honestly, this fantasy will probably never happen. I feel thankful we have two, reliable cars and we don’t need anything more. Our basic, nothing-fancy minivan and four-door economy car will be sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning and this is fine by me. I feel lucky I had some awesome driving experiences this past year thanks to Mom Central and the car companies mentioned above.

What car do you wish could be waiting for you with a big bow on top this holiday season? Go ahead, let yourself dream a little.

When Eileen Calandro is grounded in reality, she is the Chief Mom Connector of Mom Central. You can read about her race-car driving and other adventures on her own blog at calandroclan.com and connect with her on twitter as @MomCentralChat and @calandro5.

Eileen Calandro