Christmas is a time for giving, and we all want to gift our loved ones a present we know they'll cherish. With just over a week to go until the big day, most of us will have finished our Christmas shopping and will be thinking about wrapping our gifts to give to our family members once Christmas arrives.
The day you hand out your gifts can vary between families, with some waiting until Christmas Dayitself, and others choosing to exchange and open gifts on Christmas Eve. But one woman recently got to open a present from her husband two weeks before Christmas, and her jaw hit the floor when she found out what it was.
The woman, named Erin, posted a video on Instagram which showed her walking out of her house and approaching the boot of her husband's car, where he claimed a gift was waiting for her.
As she walked towards the car, a small noise could be heard from inside, and Erin immediately stared at her husband, who was filming, with a look of shock on her face.
She then opened the boot and saw a red gift bag. But, when she reached out to pick it up, the bag moved - indicating something alive was inside. With a look of sheer terror on her face, Erin reached forward and tilted the bag so she could see what was inside, and immediately began crying.
Inside the bag was a small ginger kitten that was staring up at her with big blue eyes. She took the animal out of the bag and held it against her chest as it meowed softly and looked around at its new home.
Through tears, Erin stroked her new pet and thanked her husband for giving her the "best gift" she could ever ask for all before Christmas has even arrived. She captioned her emotional video: "Please excuse the ugly crying, but my husband wins Christmas!"
Commenters on the post were eager to congratulate Erin on becoming a cat mum this Christmas, with many saying they wished their partners or family members would get them a cat.
One person said: "You got the best gift EVER." Another added: "He is so precious! I'm so happy for you."
A third posted: "I fear I would cry uncontrollably if this happened to me."
As with any pet, a cat is for life, not just for Christmas. If you are planning on adopting or buying a cat for your family this Christmas, make sure you do plenty of research to make sure you know exactly how to care for your new family member for the years to come.
You should never surprise someone with a cat, especially if you don't know if they actually want one, as this could lead to unintended difficulties.
In the worst-case scenarios, the cat could end up in a shelter after Christmas, which isn't fair to the animal and puts unnecessary stress on shelters that are already struggling.
For more information on how to responsibly bring a cat into your home this Christmas, visit the Pets4Homes website.
