Totally adore your idea and thoughtfulness! And also agree with those who are suggesting that she has a hand in picking her own out. Gift certificate, box or toy for the presentation; but take her shopping after the holidays and help with the haggling! Like your power tools, vehicles and perfume, the sewing machine should be tested and fit her to a 't'. Be sure to find a dealer who provides lots of hands-on, free lessons and lots of extras - bobbins, special feet, thread; a great warranty and services the machines on-site. Trade-up options are nice to pre-arrange too!

I'd treasure the hunt with my hubby as much as the joy of using the new machine :)

I dont know how you could possibly surprise her and get exactly the machine she would love to have.
My inclination is to go with the gift voucher and take her out, make a day of it, she can try out a bunch in the price range
alotted. There are good choices out there for almost every budget.
I favor Bernina, and then Baby lock. I like certain Vikings, as well as Pfaffs.
She is very lucky to have a thoughtful husband.

I just recently got the Viking Ruby; I love it. I've been doing mostly embroidery with it and it is great. It's not finicky at the different threads that I use and it's easy to learn. I would make sure when you got it that it came with free classes and support; that is mandatory.

Gift certificates are always the right size!

I have found you should have a good sewing machine store that will be there if you have machine trouble or need some training on the machine ,every machine is a bit different and someone with knowledge of the machine is worth a lot.
d.swindle

Buy it for her but let her pick it out. My BIL bought one for my sister and she hated it. Your wife knows what she wants better than any of us.

First, where do you live? What brands are sold by local retail stores? Only buy a brand that you can have serviced and that provides free "learning" classes. After that, how much do you want to spend. You must compare apples to apples. Why don't you find a good dealer who sells several top brands--Pfaff (my choice), Bernina, Janome, Brother, Viking and get a gift certificate so that your wife can choose. Otherwise, it's like her buying you a car when she's never driven. Would she know how to judge what to get?

Good luck.
SandyQuilter

My husband took me to "look at machines so we know the price and can work towards getting one for you next year" . I had to pick three favorites and list what I specially liked about each one. I knew money was tight for that Christmas so was not expecting anything. Got the big sewing machine box under the tree but definitely not one of the ones I had chosen. Sort of hurt but I diligently read the entire box to show my excitement(?) then opened it to find the exact machine I had lusted after,one of the three. What an anticlimactic moment. That was surely the biggest surprise. By the way, he had to take the box back to the dealer and pick up the right box after Christmas. What a man and what a dealer!,,,

Love that story.

Some tips on buying a sewing machine, from Quilt University's library:
http://www.quiltuniversity.com/buyin...ng_machine.htm