Gift giver with questions

To begin, this is a fablous site and forum!
I had casually purchased a Bonsai as a gift from a discount store thinking I would be able to easily get all the information I needed from the web. All was lost until I stumbled upon this site- so, thanks in advance!
This gift is intended for stress management (he works in the Sears Tower and after Sept 11 needs all the stress management help he can get), so I'd like to give him as much information as possible.
Here's the Bonsai set-up from research on this site, and it's new home to be:
I purchased a small Juniper which I think is about 2 to 3 years old judging from some information in the Beginners Guide on this site. It has some new growth. Since it needs to be kept outside it will most likey be kept at his weekend home which has a watering set-up on a timer for when he is away during the week. The geographical area is Chicago and it's greater area so cold, cold, cold is the forecast for winter. I plan to give him the address for this site so he can check out the Beginners guide, tips etc. but I do have a few specific questions.
Here go the questions:
Should I have him put it outside immediatly (it's rather mild this year dipping below freezing every other day) so it can go dormant, or will it be shocked? And how do I tell if it's already gone dormant? If it hasn't gone dormant is it best to keep it inside this year until Spring?
Since he has the water timer set for every other day in Spring and Summer (unless it's unusally dry) can he put wood chips around the base to help keep moisture in if needed?

Juliet

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