Eat and wash in a box.
One traditional gift on my giving list is a great Christmas combo cooked up by the folks at the Delta Sonic gas station.
In a pretty little blue box they fold in three coupons for a car wash and one worth $20 toward dinner for two at Applebee’s.
Every year I give one to my dear wife Karen. She uses the wash coupons on over-freezing winter days to get the road salt off her pretty red Mazda CX-5. And I get to share in the dinner. Win-win. (Now my terrific daughter Elisabeth and fantastic boyfriend George Three get it to share in the wash-and-eat, too.)
After Karen got off work Friday, we used the Applebee’s coupon. Lucky me.
Just sayin’.
Do you consider my gift-giving of the car wash/dinner combo more smart or more selfish? Do you wash your car in the winter months, and if so, how often? What would you order at Applebee’s?
Mark Bialczak 
I think the gift is thoughtful. If I could eat at Applebee’s, i would; if I lived in a place with winter mess, I’d want to clean it off my car’s paint and underbody a couple of times a season.
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Yes, a clean car is a happy car come resale time, Babe. 🙂
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I think it was a considerate gift 🙂 We rarely have salt/aggregate mix on our roads due to lack of ice/snow, so usually don’t have to worry about that – though the constant ocean breeze brings in salt on its on. I rarely eat at Applebees – not any close by.
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So your car wash is for the body, while our car wash is for the under-chassis. Regional differences for sure, Sadie, but salt can do so much damage to a vehicle.
I wonder why Applebee’s is avoiding your neighborhood, speaking of …
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I think it is a great gift idea. I haven’t been to Applebees for a while but I used to really enjoy the fried zucchini with the honey-mustard dipping sauce. Yumm!!!
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That sounds like a good app, Rachel. I love using app for food instead of digital world senses, by the way. 🙂
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i love this idea and getting a winter car wash always cheers me up somehow. as for applebee’s, i think it’s great to give or receive a gift that you can enjoy together. i have a weakness and tend to always order something fried when i go )
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I try to wash my car a couple of times each winter, Beth, when I notice a salt buildup on the body. (See Joey’s comment.)
This time I strayed from my favorite on the Applebee’s menu, the chicken wonton from the app side that can be doubled with one other in the trio order, and tried the new shrimp wonton stir fry. The shrimp and spices were nice, but I thought it was too white-rice oriented and vegetable-shy.
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It’s a 2 for 1 gift. Genius. I don’t think I’ve washed my car in 6 months. They are so expensive! $10 is the cheapest around, and it always leaves residue and never does the job. The three places I went to last year all had broken parts, where water just didn’t come out, so it missed parts of the car entirely. I had to talk to management to get reimbursed and finally gave up on carwashes. I guess y’all have better luck there.
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These Delta Sonic places are very efficient, Kerbey. There are two of them in the immediate ‘burbs, one east and one north, and they stake their success on the big and thorough wash. They even station workers with buffing rags at the exit of the wash to wipe off your car of excess drops and any missed spots.
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Oh, I’ve seen places like that, but always wonder if they really clean thoroughly. They seem packed.
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I’m not crazy about Applebee’s, but I do think they make a great mudslide.
I think car wash certificates are fabulous. I wash my car when I go out to get in and find myself saying, “This car is too dirty.” It’s random.
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If it catches your eye the wrong way, that’s a good time to run it through the wash, Joey. Good plan! And I agree, a well-made mud slide can be very refreshing. ❤
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I love it when people give me Delta Sonic coupons. I try to wash my car once a week, summer and winter. (My car is one of the few nice things I have, so I try to keep it nice.) In fact, I’m considering signing up for Delta Sonic’s plan whereby you simply have a charge posted to your credit card monthly and then you can go for the car washes as often as you wish. There’s a Delta Sonic on my way to work so I just stop there early in the am when everyone else is still either sleeping or getting ready for the day.
As for restaurant gift certificates, I often give those to my family in hopes that they will consider me when it’s time to use the certificate. I think we all do that.
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You’re smart keeping your cherished ride clean, CM. 🙂 And I hope your family members call you often for that come-along! 😉 ❤
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I think a gift that includes something you can do together says a lot about how much you treasure each other’s company Mark.
We don’t have Applebee’s here so I have no clue what I would eat there.
And I wash my car after our Chinooks that melt all the snow and make our cars look like they’ve been through a mud bath. The trick is doing them at just the right time, as it’s cooling off again and just before it’s extremely cold. ❤
Diana
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You are right, Diana. The timing of the winter car wash is so vital. You don’t want to get home and find yourself frozen into your vehicle! 😉 ❤
I wish to you someday the simple pleasure of a meal-and-beverage at an Applebee's, my friend. Inexpensive, informal, and tasty.
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Thank you Mark!
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Love the idea-car wash then go to dinner! Yo-good idea Mark! Applebee’s are all over Florida! No, I never wash any vehicles they are in the garages!!! The Gatorette. PS. He takes care of that by hand washing at a detailer he knows!
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Detailing is very thorough, Gatorette, and keeps the car looking quite fresh. 🙂
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This is quite true Terp!!! Gatorette
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We took Tommy there this year for his birthday dinner. They must have stopped doing the b-day song and free ice cream sundae cause when we told her it was his birthday, the waitress just smiled and nodded. It kinda bummed him out. Now, to order…Chicken Fajita Rollup. Eat half and take the other half home for lunch (or in my case, breakfast) the next day. So gooood!
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Maybe your waitress was slacking, Rachel. Poor Tommy! I can’t imagine a place like Applebee’s cutting out the birthday song and sundae! Hey, I think the fajita rollup is a great breakfast leftover, my friend.
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Mark, not only are you a kind and thoughtful man in the selection of your win-win gift from Delta Sonic, you have again proven yourself to be man of excellent taste and judgement. You and your dear wife, Karen are most fortunate to have one another … to give a gift that combines the practicality of making sure that your wife’s vehicle is clean and well-maintained with a dinner / date night at Applebee’s is kind, considerate and brilliant. The fact that Karen opts to have you as her dinner partner as opposed to one of her female friends speaks well of both her and of you. You are indeed a lucky man!
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I agree that I am indeed a lucky man to enjoy the dinner company of my dear wife Karen, Mark. Good call on that one, my Syracuse friend.
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I think that’s a brilliant gift, not at all selfish! I haven’t heard of Delta Sonic, so I just Googled them. Apparently they’re limited to certain northern states. But I think that’s quite smart on their part to package gift cards like that.
I rarely wash my car in the winter months since I rarely drive as it is (maybe 1 trip to the store per week) and since it stays in a garage the rest of the time.
And ooh, I haven’t been to an Applebee’s in ages, but I seem to recall their salads and bread being delish!
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You snagged a garage spot! Way to go, Charlotte. And treat yourself to an Applebee’s run soon. Fairly priced and yummy. 🙂
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Not when it’s to your spouse, who presumably enjoys to have dinner with you. Actually, Steven and I have a long tradition of giving each other gifts that are actually to both of us, notably when I give him a DVD of the cheesy movies that I dote on.
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Good plan for both of you, Cynthia. Not cheesy at all!
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