October Birthday planning
 

I am looking for suggestions for a surprise family gathering to celebrate my husband's 60th birthday, which is on Friday October19,2001. The group would consist of our son-in-law age 33, our daughter age 31 and their daughter age 2, who live in Boston, our other daughter age 29 who is in the process of getting her Phd in London England and our 21 year-old son who is at university in Toronto. We live in Ottawa. My plan is that we would all leave for someplace on October 17th or 18th and stay at least until Sunday, October 21st. Our son would have to get back for Monday classes. The others would be more flexible. <BR> <BR>My husband likes cities and warm places by the ocean. I had thought of either New York City or London, England, but those are probably not so great with our granddaughter. <BR>Maybe the Caribbean, but is October a good time to be there? We have been to Bermuda, which would be easy to get to, but we were not crazy about it. <BR> <BR>We have never been on a cruise, so that might be a possibility, but with that group and for so short a time? <BR> <BR>Any suggestions, ideas?

Hi Anne, <BR>How nice to plan a surprise party! Good luck keeping it quiet! For location, have you considered Hilton Head, SC? It has lots of lodging choices, good beaches, and close enough so you won't spend all your time just getting there. Of course, anywhere along the east coast, gulf coast, or Caribbean will be at risk for hurricanes. I would not recommend a cruise. I know some are so sold on cruises, that is the only vacation they will consider. But if your 2yr granddaughter is as active as I remember my girls being, her mother will worry constantly about her toddling toward the edge. I would also recommend Sanibel Island, but again, hurricane season peaks in October. Hope whatever you decide, your husband is taken by surprise!

For my 40th birthday, my husband flew my sisters, their husbands, my brother & his girlfriend to LAS VEGAS for 3 nights! We all stayed at the MGM Grande. It was so much fun. Las Vegas is great because there is SO MUCH TO DO! (I'm not a gambler) The first day, when all our planes were getting in from different destinations, we all agreed to meet at a certain time at a large bar in the lobby. I was so excited to have them all to Las Vegas because none of them had ever been there. They didn't have the money to do it, and they had preconceived notions of what they thought Las Vegas was, and that was gambling. I for so long had wanted them to see Las Vegas as I saw it; a city of artistic talent on a big huge scale-all those themed hotels-wow! It was like magic to see them all come into the bar with their spouses... we all ordered wine or beer and the party BEGAN! That first night, the men took off, and the sisters took off... we wanted it that way.. we met again for dinner a few hours later. My husband paid for a wonderful birthday dinner for us all one night at The Brown Derby restaurant, complete with gifts that my siblings had all thoughtfully brought, wrapped from home, to give me at this dinner which was something I never expected! Another night, he had tickets for a show. I opt for Las Vegas. It is warm, it's like a city, and there is SO much to do there... especially if members of your family have never been there... this is your gift to them and to your husband... it's a gift that goes both ways here... Birthday Girl.

While i was reading your post, the first thing that entered my mind was LAS VEGAS. When i read the poster's suggestion of a cruise, i thought that was great too (my last 2 cruises have been for family celebrations, and they were GREAT). On a cruise, everyone can do their own thing during the day, and still be together for dinner at nite. The only thing is that October IS hurricane season, and that could be trouble. If your nervous about the cruise idea, i would HIGHLY recommend VEGAS.

Thanks for your suggestions. I shall circulate them to the family and see what they think. <BR> <BR>We have been to Hilton Head. We went over one Christmas holiday and stayed at the Disney Resort there. We REALLY liked it, but I thought it would be fun to go someplace new. Which Las Vegas certainly is. Ill check it out!

Palm Springs has great weather that time of year and offers a lot to choose from for a family like yours. Only down side with Las Vegas or Palm Springs is the flight time, especially for the one coming from London.

Thank you for the Palm Springs suggestion. <BR> <BR>I've often thought I would like to go there. I shall look into flights. It is too bad it's so far. <BR> <BR>

Palm Springs or San Diego would be two great West Coast ideas for you during October. Both have nice weather that time of year and offer a wide variety of activities for families. <BR> <BR>If anyone in your family likes to golf, you can't go wrong with the desert area. In addition to Palm Springs, also look at the entire desert area including Palm Desert and Ranch Mirage. There are a few Marriott resorts out there that would be great for a family get together. <BR> <BR>

Since everyone is rather east-coast oriented, I'd vote for either: <BR>Newport, RI - see related post on upscale accommodations (Castle Hill Inn is gorgeous). <BR>Mystic, CT - Aquarium, ship tours, art galleries. <BR>St. Augustine (east coast) or Clearwater (gulf coast), Florida. <BR>I'm sure wherever you go, the birthday weekend will be a huge hit. What a wonderful and thoughtful surprise! <BR>