What I tell family members who want me to make something for them is that we both have to love it: I will have to love it while I'm making it and they will have to love it when it's done. I don't go for the idea of a total surprise for that reason, but it does depend on how picky they are. Some people will love it no matter what because you made it for them, and some will be much more demanding--I'd like to have a good feeling about how they'll react while I'm working on it.