Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the planets
Not a spaceship was stirring
Not even on Saturn.

Ok, tell us the color, or year or something we can use in the poem. Where will it be parked?

The book is a nice idea, but an easier way to create a treasured keepsake might be to have someone take a picture of you and your DH with the car. You could be gesturing toward it the way they do on commercials (or The Price is Right), or you could be holding up a giant Merry Christmas, _________!! (Fill in your son's name.) Or something like that.

Make sure the camera is close enough so you don't have a lot of background around you and the the car. Make an enlargement (8x10 is nice), and frame it with a nice mat. Then put it in a box, wrap it up, and put it under the tree. :-)

We actually bought 2 cars since I have 2 sons. I would probably do the same for both...
One is a Red 2006 Saturn Ion and the other is a Silver/gray 2004 Saturn Ion.

We aren't planning on picking up the cars until a few days before Christmas. We will be parking them at a neighbors until Christmas morning and then either putting them in the garage or driveway...

My DH and I gave our grandson a used truck for Christmas 2 years ago. what we did was hid it in the garage and did gifts to all to unwrap except Tyler, he was they last to unwrap and while others were unwrapping my DH backed truck in driveway came in handed him a TINY box with a key.wrapping paper was a short note saying he had a key to our hearts! He loved it! Needless to say many tears were shed that morning.

I like the idea of the key(s) in a set of small to larger boxes, wrapped in newpaper, one or two having small, but not overly obvious, vehicle ads.

Since both boys are gettng cars, make the box heavy, hard to unwrap and open, even requiring a small tool, that
could be vehicle related. This will require the boys to work together to open the box, and then the surprise will be doubled. Maybe include two prepaid charge cards worth a first gas fill up.

Double the pleasure, double the fun!

Sue

Another idea would be to buy a gift (more on that in a minute)..and wrap it in several bigger boxes so he has to open about 5 of them until he gets to the 'gift'. The gift could be one of those 'emergency' kits that you keep in the trunk of a car..flares, flashlight, etc. Oh, and don't forget to put the keys to his new wheels inside of the kit!! You could tape this poem on the outside of the wrapped kit:
"You know how important you and your safety is, to dad & me-
And although this gift is no 'biggie' we're sure you'll agree.
Because you fill us with so much love, joy and pride...
We hope you'll find some happiness with what's inside."

I know it isn't very unique, but I have always wanted a car with a big red bow on it. I am a sucker for that.

Thanks for all the ideas! I will share this with my DH tomorrow. In the meantime, I came up with some rhyming lines, but not sure they all go together. If anbody wants to add or change this to make it better, please do...

Santa is working hard this year
to give you a gift that will bring great cheer.

He's giggling and laughing and shouting with glee
He'sleft you a gift
But it's not under the tree

Santa knows you are going to need a lift
So please accept this spcial gift

this special gift is just for you
i hope you'll enjoy it the whole year through

Just remember wherever you go
You have a family that loves you so.

My other idea I came up with is to use the 12 Days of Christmas, but I can't think of something for each day...again, please add or change anything....

On the 12th day of Christmas my parents gave to me
12 months of payments
11 gallons of gas
10 ??
9 ??
8 ??
7 quarts of oil?
6 months of insurance
5 seat belts?
4 new tires
3 air fresheners?
2 license plates (or set of keys)
1 (red/silver) car

I remember doing a clue hunt one year when we gave my nephew a bicycle. The first clue was wrapped in a box under the tree. Then, he had to follow other clues until he arrived in the garage where we had stashed the bike with a big red bow on it. The clues were little puzzles related to locations within the house. I can't remember them, but one was something about finding a set of keys which meant looking in the piano. It was hysterical watching him try to figure out the clues while running all over the house. Of course, your boys are older so they might not think it's very funny.