How to surprise my kids for Halloween Cruise?

[tsutton]

So my husband and I taking our kids on a Halloween cruise this year and we want to surprise them as this will be their first time. We had thoughts of surprising them as we pull into port or the morning of with a cruise themed gift. We've been keeping this secret for well over a year and want to make this amazing for them. Any suggestions on another way? BTW, they are 11 & 8.

[Buckimion]

Any chance they would believe a "special" trick-or-treat/Halloween party event and you will only be there a couple of hours, followed by an "oops, we forgot to leave?" :p

[Justwant2cruise]

Make tshirts that read something like "our first Halloween cruise 2016"

Either leave them out for them to wear that day or wear yours and hide it and right before you arrive have them change into them as you reveal you've been wearing yours the whole time

 

 

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[poz222]

I like the T-shirt deal but I would make a little scavenger hunt. Maybe put a note on a teddy bear to look somewhere,mthey buy a couple of captain type hats (or pirate hat) with a hint to another place were you put a postcard or picture of one of the islands,many a note which finally leads them to their t-shirts that say "Haloween cruise" or something like that. And you guys wear the same shirt underneath. But make sure that they have not made plans with friends for Halloween beforehand so there is no disappointment in missing trick or treating with buddies (kids are sometimes weird like that).

[tsutton]

Thank you all!! Those are great ideas. I definitely love the scavenger hunt/tshirt ideas. My plan is to have family shirts made so that would be perfect! Like I said my original plan was to surprise as we are pulling up but it just didn't feel "wow" enough.

[Foxinspace]

I'm going to arguing that maybe you should do your "Big Reveal" a few weeks ahead of Halloween so that they don't have a chance to make plans. If one of their friends is holding a big party and they plan on going, they might be really upset to miss it. Also if they traditionally go Trick or Treating with a group of friends they might not want to miss that.

 

Plus who knows they might really love a chance to do some cruise planning of their own!

 

Also don't forget to bring along some Halloween themed door decorations.

 

Have a great time.

[RuthlessBoss]

I'm going to arguing that maybe you should do your "Big Reveal" a few weeks ahead of Halloween so that they don't have a chance to make plans. If one of their friends is holding a big party and they plan on going, they might be really upset to miss it. Also if they traditionally go Trick or Treating with a group of friends they might not want to miss that.

 

Plus who knows they might really love a chance to do some cruise planning of their own!

 

Also don't forget to bring along some Halloween themed door decorations.

 

Have a great time.

 

I agree. Give THEM something to look forward to instead of plunking them on a cruise with no choices.

[tsutton]

thank you all for your replies, you've given me so much to think about. Now I'm considering doing the reveal a little sooner than originally. So, I'm on the search for custom Tshirts!! :D

[A&Jfamily]

Start a one month countdown on 10/1. Perhaps some kind of game that each day they a clue so they get to puzzle it out and find more clues each day as to what the vacation might be and when, as well as what they might be doing on the vacation. If you start with the "when" part, then they know they are gone for Halloween.

[Megan_Strick]

Dress up like Fun Ship Freddy!

[Foxinspace]

Start a one month countdown on 10/1. Perhaps some kind of game that each day they a clue so they get to puzzle it out and find more clues each day as to what the vacation might be and when, as well as what they might be doing on the vacation. If you start with the "when" part, then they know they are gone for Halloween.

 

I like this idea!! You can spend the first few days "revealing" that you are going on a vacation from Oct. 31st to Nov 4th (or whatever your dates are). That way you have told them with 3 weeks notice so they won't be disappointed to miss anything at home. Set it up so the final reveal is a week or so out and they will still have some time to look at ports and plan activities.

[crusinpsychRN]

thank you all for your replies, you've given me so much to think about. Now I'm considering doing the reveal a little sooner than originally. So, I'm on the search for custom Tshirts!! :D

 

customcruisewear.com is great. You can personalize them any way you want.

[crusinpsychRN]

They'll need to plan a costume.

[rjrice1]

I did a surprise cruise right after Christmas from San Juan..

told the kids we were going to stay in a big house on the water..

but also told them a "good friend" of mine were giving us a "day" pass to the ship... and while we were having lunch told them wouldn't it be nice to cruise on this ship..

They were so excited too...

[Organized Chaos]

The first thing that comes to mind is giving them some early Halloween candy of some kind. Print out a copy of your boarding pass and hide it in the candy. You might have to help them figure out exactly what it is for, but once they know, let the excitement begin. Maybe incorporate a pirate costume to keep with the "at sea" theme.

[NarleyM6]

You could do like an advent calendar like they have a Christmas, but a countdown one. A clue or surprise everyday and make sure they get the hints and know what is coming, but don't actually confirm until you are on your way or something? We surprised our kiddos, 11,7 and 4 and told them we were going to the railroad museum that was right across from where we parked. After we were all out, Hubby popped the trunk and all of our luggage was there and we told them to grab their bags and lets go cruisin! We kept it a surprise for 11 months!

[stefs111]

Be sure to bring a lot of assorted candy and hand them a big bag full when you board, so they don't feel like they missed out on going door to door and getting all kinds of good stuff!

[tsutton]

These are awesome ideas!!! I'm thinking maybe doing a countdown with each week ending in a cruise themed clue and the final countdown week ending with a gift for them with things they will need (swimsuit,etc) and a custom tshirt!! Their ultimate surprise will be that their grandparents will joining us as well!

[gannk]

These are awesome ideas!!! I'm thinking maybe doing a countdown with each week ending in a cruise themed clue and the final countdown week ending with a gift for them with things they will need (swimsuit,etc) and a custom tshirt!! Their ultimate surprise will be that their grandparents will joining us as well!

 

 

Maybe their grandparents can show up to "trick or treat" at your door! This sounds like a fun vacation!

 

 

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[CarnivalNico]

I would definitely recommend telling them at least a month before hand.

 

I surprised my girlfriend by asking her if she wanted dress up as a Pirate with me for Halloween. (Our cruise actually left a day before halloween)

 

She was totally into it, when she picked out her costume at Party USA I pulled the "Wait, you need a parrot." ::We walk around the store to find a parrot::

 

"Oh, you need a fake sword" ::We go to get a fake sword.::

 

"Oh, you need a boat!" ::Pulls Cruise Contract out of my back pocket and gives it to her::

 

She broke down crying. It was awesome! Got major BF points for that.

 

She also appreciated the fact that I told her about it before going on so she had time to save up a little extra cash for our excursions and of course, to buy a wardrobe.

[Out of Iowa]

aren't those on the "prohibited items" list onboard?