I love surprises. It doesn't have to be big as long as it has a word "surprise." But giving surprises for kids have been as fun as getting them myself.
I will share with you some of our favorite surprises for kids. Some we already did and some we are still planning on doing.
Warning! None of the surprises are expensive gifts nor trips to Disney world.
1. Surprise them with luxury bath. My daughter always envies when I have a cold drink in a fancy glass and have relaxing music when I take bath. When I did this to her, she melted. Yes, there were candles and then fancy rose lotions afterwards.
2. Surprise sleepover with a best friend. We plan few days ahead and talk with friend's parents if they could just bring their daughter for a sleepover. Once they show up at the door there is usually some crazy screaming and jumping up and down for a minute and a lot of laughter all night long. Best surprise ever!
3. Announce game night. Here are some 25 hilarious family game night ideas we play on weekly basis.
4.. "Kidnap" your child from school one day. I did this once and we ended up at the bookstore reading books and drinking smoothies. It has stayed as very memorable event with her for longest time.
4. Hide sweet note under the pillow. I know my daughter always flips the pillow when she lays down to bed so she always finds finds my notes.
5. Announce national (Your child's name) Day. It's never the same day, because it's a surprise. Usually it happens when they have been behaving really good. It's basically a YES day for them.
6. Stuff their pockets. Sometimes before we head to park or a play-date I put some tiny treats in their pockets. I love putting little raisins in there. (My kids have nut allergies, but you could totally put them instead). The surprised reaction/smiles on their faces when they feel something in their pockets in the middle of the park play when they get little hungry are priceless. "Mommy, I have raisins in my pockets!!!
7. Surprise them with treasure hunt for a snack. Whether it's just a fancy grilled cheese sandwich, a yummy smoothie or whole cake. The suspense is always fun. YOu can find our FREE Treasure Hunt printable here.
8. With no particular occasion bake (or buy) a cake (or a cupcake). It doesn't happen often in our house, but when it does I love seeing kids' reaction when we bring in the cake after dinner. Especially when they don't expect any kind of dessert that night. It's like a birthday night!
9. Make a poster on their door. It could be anything from "reasons why I love you" to compliments and so on. They would be so surprised when they get home from school to see their door with a huge poster.
10. Have a restaurant in your house. This is how usually goes in our house: We call kids for dinner. As soon as they sit down we (I get my husband on board sometimes, because he loves being a waiter) introduce ourselves as waiters for tonight and ask what would they like to drink and eat. As they order their meals (and we can basically guarantee it will be pasta of some kind) we go cook it, just like in the restaurant. Meanwhile they are given coloring books and crayons. Again, just like in the restaurants. They love this surprise game. Especially when we did this the very first time.
When the meals come, my daughter always asks us (the waiters) to join us.
11. Join 7-Day Surprise Your Kids For Free Challenge. I will send you immediately the first video of how we surprised our kids.
Doing these sweet surprises for kids does take time and effort and sometimes it's really hard to pretend to be a waitress for dinner after a long day. But you know, it's totally worth it. I believe kids learn the best from example. Just watch and the next time they will be writing you notes and putting them under the pillows or serving you over the dinner table.
It's all about teaching.
I know life is busy and hectic enough. You might think who has time for all this?? Don't stress, you don't have to do this daily. It's enough if you do 1 surprise a week/month. Whatever works for you best.
More Surprises!
If you can't tell yet, I am an addict for surprises. I adore surprising my kids so I put all of my ideas in a book - 100 Surprises For Kids To knock Their Socks off! It's beautifully designed with pictures, tutorials and recipes needed for the surprises. Occasion or no occasion, the book has it all! Surprise kids without breaking a bank and without spending hours on planning.