As many of you know, my DH and I have been planning a surprise all-expense-paid trip to Disney for our kids, their spouses and our grandkids. (DH and I are going, too! Of course!) After endless weeks of wondering and asking you all for ideas on just how to announce the surprise, we finally decided on using fortune cookies to announce the surprise!
Little added note: When my two oldest kids were younger, I was raising them on my own. I dreamt about taking them to Disney, yet never was able to do so. So this will be a very first trip to Disney for them! And for our grandkids, too!
Saturday morning, my DH and I were running around like two little kids on Christmas morning. Giggling Smiling literally holding onto one another and jumping up and down. Literally.
Keep in mind, we still have one child at home. He kept looking at us with one brow raised-you see, it was a surprise for him, too!
We bought fortune cookies from our local market. Very carefully, we slipped the fortunes out of the cookies using craft tweezers-and replaced them with fortunes we had made ourselves.
The fortunes we made read:
(We also made two special fortune cookies, one for my DH to open and one for me to open. But made sure no one else got one of our cookies!) (NOTE! Our family nick name is jac & co.)
We then put the fortune cookies in a waxed paper bag and stapled it closed-to look exactly like the way we get them from our favorite Chinese restaurant-and hid them in the kitchen cupboard.
I then set a very casual table, complete with chop sticks while my husband went to pick up our take out order from the restaurant-3 orders of every appetizer on the menu!
Finally, 4 oclock came. Finally!! We all sat down to a very casual, fun dinner. Lots of smiles and good conversation. Having only chopsticks on the table made for a fun experience in itself!
After dinner, I casually said, ok, everyone. Grab a fortune cookie! (we always take time to read our fortunes, so this was nothing unusual)
I opened the bag of fortune cookies (which I had tossed behind the take out containers when no one was looking) and casually held out the bag so everyone could take one.
Everyone read their fortunes. Silence. Then read them again. Silence with quick wide-eyed glances at one another.
To break the silence, I read my fortune: Mi Lao Shu: Mickey Mouse.The kids starting looking at each other
Then my DH read his fortune cookie:
jac & co. are going to Disney!
Silence.
jac & co. are going to Disney! My DH read again.
Well, the silence was finally broken
for the next 4 hours, our little home was filled with a family of nine
everyone talking at once
everyone laughing
everyone hugging
and planning, together, the trip of a life time
.Magic. Pure magic.
We sent them all home with leftover Chinese food, WDW guidebooks we got at Barnes & Noble and little booklets we made ourselves with park maps and a special jac & co. are going to Disney! cover.
Little added note: When my two oldest kids were younger, I was raising them on my own. I dreamt about taking them to Disney, yet never was able to do so. So this will be a very first trip to Disney for them! And for our grandkids, too!
Saturday morning, my DH and I were running around like two little kids on Christmas morning. Giggling Smiling literally holding onto one another and jumping up and down. Literally.
Keep in mind, we still have one child at home. He kept looking at us with one brow raised-you see, it was a surprise for him, too!
We bought fortune cookies from our local market. Very carefully, we slipped the fortunes out of the cookies using craft tweezers-and replaced them with fortunes we had made ourselves.
The fortunes we made read:
Magic awaits you in a faraway World
Your lucky numbers: 08 27 06
In 176 days, your alarm clock will go off at 4 am
Runway lights will take you to new heights
7 days & 6 nights? Plenty of time to see the sights
The best way to dine? Reservations for nine
If you see a mouse dancin down the street, smile and say cheese!
Your lucky numbers: 08 27 06
In 176 days, your alarm clock will go off at 4 am
Runway lights will take you to new heights
7 days & 6 nights? Plenty of time to see the sights
The best way to dine? Reservations for nine
If you see a mouse dancin down the street, smile and say cheese!
(We also made two special fortune cookies, one for my DH to open and one for me to open. But made sure no one else got one of our cookies!) (NOTE! Our family nick name is jac & co.)
We then put the fortune cookies in a waxed paper bag and stapled it closed-to look exactly like the way we get them from our favorite Chinese restaurant-and hid them in the kitchen cupboard.
I then set a very casual table, complete with chop sticks while my husband went to pick up our take out order from the restaurant-3 orders of every appetizer on the menu!
Finally, 4 oclock came. Finally!! We all sat down to a very casual, fun dinner. Lots of smiles and good conversation. Having only chopsticks on the table made for a fun experience in itself!
After dinner, I casually said, ok, everyone. Grab a fortune cookie! (we always take time to read our fortunes, so this was nothing unusual)
I opened the bag of fortune cookies (which I had tossed behind the take out containers when no one was looking) and casually held out the bag so everyone could take one.
Everyone read their fortunes. Silence. Then read them again. Silence with quick wide-eyed glances at one another.
To break the silence, I read my fortune: Mi Lao Shu: Mickey Mouse.The kids starting looking at each other
Then my DH read his fortune cookie:
jac & co. are going to Disney!
Silence.
jac & co. are going to Disney! My DH read again.
Well, the silence was finally broken
for the next 4 hours, our little home was filled with a family of nine
everyone talking at once
everyone laughing
everyone hugging
and planning, together, the trip of a life time
.Magic. Pure magic. We sent them all home with leftover Chinese food, WDW guidebooks we got at Barnes & Noble and little booklets we made ourselves with park maps and a special jac & co. are going to Disney! cover.
A special heart-felt thank you goes out to carolfoy 
.
That was certainly one of the best surprises I've read.
