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Love It or Hate It: Surprises

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top knot

How do you feel about surprises? Last week my sister invited me over to her place for a surprise. She wouldn’t give me any clues and told me she didn’t spend any money. The suspense just about killed me. At first, I thought she planned to cook me dinner. But when I arrived she was just hanging out and snacking on hummus. My surprise, she told me, wasn’t being delivered for a couple hours.

While we waited, she made us breakfast burritos and kept getting interrupted by phone calls from the delivery person. The idea of a delivery person made me think she was giving me flowers, but I remembered she didn’t spend any money. As the night went on, I got more and more anxious. Finally, the “delivery man” called and said the package was ready, but we’d have to walk to the end of the block to meet him. I followed her down the street, dying the entire time. What could it be??! 

We walked to the end of the street into a dark parking lot. I saw someone walking towards us when I realized… it was my mom! She had driven down from Portland with my dad for a surprise visit. I was floored—I haven’t seen them since Christmas!

Surprises can be so much fun, don’t you think? Here are some of my favorite ideas if you’d like to surprise someone soon. 🙂

cookie break kit

1. A cookie-break kit—Leave it on your friend’s desk (complete with homemade cookies, a carton of milk and pretty straws) for a sweet afternoon snack.

surprise balloons

2. Balloon wake-up call—Fill a room with balloons after your sister falls asleep so she wakes up to balloons everywhere. (I love ideas involving balloons!)

snail mail: pretty stationery

3. Send snail mail—In a world full of e-cards and emails, simple, hand-written letters are still one of my favorite surprises to give and receive.

purple flowers

4. Send flowers—Doesn’t everybody love a bouquet of bright blooms? In my opinion, getting flowers when you’re least expecting it is so much better than getting them for a special occasion.

(Top image via A Well Traveled Woman)

Last modified: January 10, 2019