Need advice, how do we surpirse DD with her birthday cruise?

[gshoemate]

We are taking DD on a surprise cruise for her birthday but not sure how to surprise her. I want to tell her that we are taking DH to a doctor's appointment over on the east coast somewhere and we won't be back in time to get her off the bus so she is going with us. And she won't know anything about it until we get off the exit to go to the port. DH wants to tell her before we leave the house that we are going to take her somewhere for her surprise and let her stew about it all the way to the port.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[CM_Mom]

I think it really depends on how she takes to surprises. I don't know that I'd tell her the Dr. story unless it's true. Depending on her age, you might make a game of it and give her clues daily for the week or so before. You could always tell her you were taking her to see Mickey for her birthday and let her think it's the parks but if she's been on a cruise before, she may figure it out.

 

[PiperG]

We are suprising DS7 with a cruise in three weeks. We are going to tell him that he has an MD appointment on Friday, the day we fly out. We will pick him up when his class breaks for lunch, and bring him home.

I plan on feeding him lunch at home while DH goes out to the mailbox.

DH will return with a postcard from a prior trip (It is the one with Mickey & Minnie on the bow of the ship). On the back, I will have used scrapbook letters to write, "Hayden, come sail with us. Love, Mickey & Minnie" or something like that. DH will give it to DS saying it came in the mail for him. When DS asks when we are going, we say NOW!!!

I can't wait to see his reaction. We were going to just head to the airport after we picked him up from school, but we thought we could get better pictures of his shocked look at home rather than in the car.

DS has been talking about a cruise since our Land and Sea in Feb. We keep telling him that we are planning one. What a shock!

I am eager to hear how others surprise their kids.

 

[aprilgail2]

I don't htink my daughter would handle that surprise very well so I usually tell her way in advnace. She likes to pack her own things and get ready...plus now with her in school I have to send a leeter in anyway so the teacher has all her work ready for her to go the day before we leave, she certainly would be wondering why she is getting so much work that one day LOL!

 

[logan1_2000]

I wanted to surprise DW with a cruise for her, ahem, 40th B'day a couple years back, but I knew I did not dare pack for her, even with her best friend's help, so I let her in on the cruise 2 weeks in advance (which was her actual birthday, then the cruise followed later so we would not miss holidays with family). Wish I could have just packed for her and DS, picked them up, and just started driving until they guessed or until we got to the Port. If it had been a surprise for DS, would have done it just like that.