Surprise holiday- please help!

[Bigapple2456]

Hi!

so just a bit of context, my mam has been desperate to visit NYC but we’ve just never done it. She’s always wanted to go and see the Christmas decorations. After years of studying I’ve finally graduated and started my full time job and earning a serious adult salary rather than my part time student wage haha and one of the first things I’ve done is book us a surprise trip to NYC. I’ve always promised I’d take her but it was in a loose ‘one day I promiseeee I’ll take you’ kind of way and now it’s actually happening and I’m so excited for her!

i told my mam I’ve booked us a trip to London to see the Christmas lights so she’s definitely got it all off work and she’s so excited for us to go, but I’m planning on telling her nearer the time we’re actually going to NYC instead. Just wondered if anyone had any ideas of how I could go about surprising her with it? I was thinking of getting her some gifts which seem random (eg a big apple) and then eventually the last gift reveals it but I can’t think of any other ideas other than an apple 😅

if anyone has any ideas of what I could do I’d be really grateful! She’s been a wonderful mam over the years and I just want this trip to be perfect😊

What a lovely daughter you are!

I hope you both have an AMAZING time x

we got back 2 weeks ago it was AMAZING!!!

didn’t have to do a video for the esta’s and I’ve got working visas for some obscure countries!

Staten Island ferry

we did the tourist bus for a day was great

walk over Brooklyn bridge and spend lunch in dumbo

empire state was the best sky scrapper for us.

What a lovely birthday surprise for your Mum @Bigapple2456

An open top tour bus is a great way to see the sights.
You can do a Movie or TV location bus tour that is fab.
Ellen’s Stardust Diner is great fun - singing waiters and waitresses. Near Radio City.

Make sure you both have travel insurance

How lovely!!!! Enjoy ☺️

Get her a personalised scratch card. I did this for DH when I bought him a surprise holiday recently. Have a look on Etsy and do a search for "holiday surprise scratchcard" . There are loads to choose from.
This is the one that I got for DH.
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1736561938/scratch-and-match-3-to-win-personalised
Hope that you both have a fabulous time.

We surprised our young son with a trip to Disney with a LEGO Captain America figure.

When asked where he thought we were going he excitedly exclaimed "SMYTHS"

I did my son's using the app 3 days ago. He had to be with me because it asked for him to look into the camera and move the phone as instructed to prove he was real. It didn't show anywhere that he needed to do that until we got to that stage of the application.

Gosh that has changed! I did my ESTA in April and that wasn't there. Although they had added the section where you have to put social media accounts by then.

OP I'm sure you'll have a fab time. Top of the Rock is the best place for views. Miles better than the Empire State. When we surprised my husband for his birthday we wrote a poem full of riddles for him to solve.

Make sure you have got a good wodge of spenders though. The USA is wildly expensive these days. We stopped in Vegas for a few days on the outskirts, just to chill by the pool as part of a road trip. A take away Chinese meal for three on the first night cost well over a hundred dollars. In an Aldi in Florida in 2022 a small bag of apples cost 6 dollars even before sales tax. And the less said about the current prices in San Francisco the better!

We’re off to the states in 2 weeks and we didn’t need to do videos for our ESTAS

You only need to do the video thing if doing the on the ESTA app. If doing on the website, you don’t need to and can do it for other people fairly easily (just did for me and DH two weeks ago)

Social media accounts section has been there for years and remains optional as it always has been.

so much misinformation about at the moment!