How to surprise your kids

[tradeshowgirl]

Hi all- we leave in a few weeks on the Allure and have not yet told our kids (ages 5 and 8) about the trip. Anyone have a fun suggestion on how to surprise them? Would like to tell them about 5 days in advance. Thanks'

 

 

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[champagne123]

How exciting and what a great ship for a 5 and 8 year old. I think at this age, they really need a "visual" instead of just telling them.

 

How about going to You Tube, finding a great video of the Allure....play it for them so they understand and THEN tell them? :):):) Have a wonderful time!!!

[micmacmissy]

Ooh! I love stuff like this!

 

Go on google images, and print out color photos of all the fun stuff on Oasis and a few destination photos:

-rock wall

-mini golf

-kids' area

-parade with Dreamworks characters

-carousel

-ice cream, hot dogs, candy shop

-photo of ship

-palm tree/beaches

 

Paste them onto a foam board, then cut up the foam board into a bunch of pieces.

 

Then sit your kids down and tell them you have to go away the following week and have them put together the puzzle to find out where...fun!

Edited May 2, 2016 by micmacmissy

[micmacmissy]

You could also do a little treasure hunt for them, each item is hidden somewhere in your house...Give them clues to hidden locations in your house. At first location, maybe there is a picture of an airplane (if you're flying to port), which sends them to a second location, where there is a picture of a hotel, then a palm tree...etc etc.

 

They'll have to run all over to find all the pictures, and then once they've found all the pictures they have to guess where they're going.

Edited May 2, 2016 by micmacmissy

[nealstuber]

We once booked just 24hrs in advance. DS was 10 and at a sleep over when we booked. We packed and picked him up on our way from Memphis to Galveston. Didn't tell him until he asked why there were suitcases in the car -20 mins after we left his friend's house.

[3happyferrets]

We did this once. We told them we were going to Miami for the beach. When the shuttle from the hotel came, we said, sorry kids, no beach today, we are going on a cruise!! They flipped out, it was great! Have a wonderful cruise[emoji4]

 

 

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[Hawaii697]

I literally surprised my daughter on her first cruise as we were taking the car rental shuttle to the pier. I had gotten into Miami so early that I decided to rent a car for about 6 hours to get around. She thought we were visiting staying with my brother who was in Miami working on project. After we had breakfast with my brother, I decided to head over to Miami Beach to give her an idea of where we would be hanging out for the weekend. Of course you have to take the MacArthur Causeway to get to the beach from the airport. Our ship was sitting there, and my daughter said to me, mom, when are you going to take me on a cruise . . . I told her, maybe another year or so. While sitting on the shuttle her back was to the window so she never paid attention to the area. She was playing her handheld game. As we pull through the security area, I said to her, remember when you asked me when will I take you on a cruise, well, today's your lucky day . . . turn around and look. The look on her face, priceless . . .:eek: She was stunned! :D She had a great time!!

[pete1681]

We did stuff like that to our kids all the time,basically it was "let's go,get in the car" with no clue as to where we were going .We would end up at some central Florida attraction,Disney,Seaworld etc,after a while they were happy to get in the car with no notice,it always turned out fun.

[lakelorain]

We used Photo Shop to put our grandkids on the ship and had the picture framed.

[MNice99]

We did this this 5 yrs ago. (kids were 12 and 17) we bought a video of FOS off eBay and gave it to them to watch during a special dinner(Caribbean themed) including virgin daiquiris in fancy glasses. They (or at least the youngest one most have watched that DVD 50 times before we left.

 

 

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[LeeW]

A few years ago we were taking a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to LA and a guy brought his family with him to see him off. He was going to a conference in LA and everyone got in line. When they opened up checkin he told them they were coming with him, plus a couple of days at Disney. About the same age as yours - wow, did they light up!

[SthrnCruiser]

I created a 5x7 invitation

 

[matandbri]

I am so excited for you and your kids. We surprised ours twice. Once with the luggage in the car, but we didn't get as far as I hoped before the questions started! The first time we did a treasure hunt with a bag full of things they would need on the cruise as the treasure. Great memories from both. Whatever you decide, treasure the moment! Enjoy your trip.

[tradeshowgirl]

These are all such great ideas! I had been thinking of getting a puzzle made at Walgreens but I think you need to own the rights to get it printed here so that won't work. I like the idea of printing a bunch of items and making my own puzzle!

I love the idea of just going to the airport, but they are going to miss their last week of school so I wanted to tell them in advance so they could say goodbye to their friends.

Thanks everyone!

 

 

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[BearsAhoy]

Our first family cruise (transatlantic from Southampton), we told our kids on the eldest's 7th birthday. I decorated his birthday though it was a treasure map, with models of Indy, the Eurostar, and a BA 747 - our modes of travel. We left a few weeks later. (And our youngest had his fourth birthday during the cruise.)

 

For the second, the kids were still four and seven, and it was a complete surprise for them. We live in Vancouver, and did a cruise to Alaska along with my parents. The night before embarkation, the kids stayed at the grandparents' house - and the grandparents sneaked their luggage in to our house without the kids noticing. My husband and I then packed for the four of us. The next day we two took a taxi downtown with everyone's luggage while my parents told the kids they'd have a "transit day" (they love riding the Skytrain and Seabus). My mom made sure had favourite lovies, etc - forgetting those things would have ruined the whole trip! Hubby and I positioned ourselves so that when my parents and our kids rounded the corner to Canada Place, they'd see us looking at the ship. "Oh, imagine that you're here, too, what a coincidence" and so on. Then one of the kids said they were going for lunch, so my mom asked them, "would you like to have lunch on that ship?" Seven year old responded, "but I don't have my passport!" We flashed the passports and boarded [emoji41]

 

Third cruise was the Panama Canal (one year ago today!). At Christmas, we gave them things like a marine chart of the canal and a model ship puzzle, to give them clues. They were five and eight then.

 

Now, we're looking at Alaska for next summer, and have deposits down for some big celebratory trips in 2018 (South Pacific + Sydney to Singapore) I don't know how we will tell them about those!

 

 

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[jakethecruiser]

Don't tell them in advance at ALL. Tell them (if you have an early morning flight) when you wake them up. If you don't have an early morning flight then tell them that you have a surprise and bring them to the airport and tell them there.

 

 

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[tradeshowgirl]

Don't tell them in advance at ALL. Tell them (if you have an early morning flight) when you wake them up. If you don't have an early morning flight then tell them that you have a surprise and bring them to the airport and tell them there.

 

 

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Unfortunately I don't think that will work for us. We are cruising over their last week of school and want to tell them in advance so they can say goodbye to their friends. They are both kind of sensitive and don't want to start the trip off with a meltdown because they won't see their friends again [emoji53]

 

 

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Edited May 4, 2016 by tradeshowgirl

[nealstuber]

Unfortunately I don't think that will work for us. We are cruising over their last week of school and want to tell them in advance so they can say goodbye to their friends. They are both kind of sensitive and don't want to start the trip off with a meltdown because they won't see their friends again [emoji53]

 

 

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Maybe you can tell them they're taking off to do something you know they'll dislike... A visit to the Amish Country with a stop at a least favorite relative's? A whirlwind trip to all the sports hall's of fame, capped with tickets to some minor league event in their least favorite sport? Joining Hillary or Trump on the campaign trail?

 

The trick is to play it up so much that they can't show their disappointment....