HI Steve
to IIS! What a great xmas gift for your wife! and at a good price too, well done.
The moon is a great place to start - unfortunately it's waning at the moment and is getting close to new moon - so you won't see it in the evening. It's a very early morning object at the moment.
You could view the Orion Nebula - it's a showcase object rising in the East after sunset.
Use the starmaps in your Astronomy 2009 book to help you find it.
Good luck and I hope your wife loves it!