It's when you need a pick me up (or a good cry) and go down a rabbithole of uplifting video clips, and everyone has their own favourite flavour of therapy video. The girls at work were all big on surprise proposal videos, and I can see why they work. They're full of people making big, romantic gestures towards the one they love, and it's happy couples agreeing to spend the rest of their lives together. That's pretty infectious stuff, no doubt.
My personal favourite though? Kids getting ponies for Christmas/birthdays. Oh my god does that get the waterworks going like nothing else. I've seen lovely videos where kids or grown ups get puppies or kittens for Christmas, but because my own childhood was so full of my horses and ponies and my parents going out of their way constantly to give me access to animals and make that a special part of my growing up, it's the girls and ponies that get me right in the feels!
Worth noting though, if anyone is planning to recreate a surprise like this, responsible pet ownership comes first. It's one thing for a parent to surprise a child, knowing already that the animal will fit into the household and that they can comfortably afford the expense and time associated with owning an animal. Especially in the case of these horses, often they are horses the child has been leasing or riding in lessons for a while before he's purchased by the parents. If there is any doubt at all that the person you're surprising might not be up for a 10-20 year pet owning commitment, don't do it. Animal shelters are full of unwanted 'gifts' after the holiday season so it's not something to be taken lightly.
That said, for anyone needing a little Youtube therapy of the "surprise animal" kind, this is for you.
