Surprising your spouse is a fantastic way to let them know you are thinking of them. I have compiled a short list of 10 fun ways you can surprise your spouse with. I find these are the moments we remember. Marriage is about being selfless, and you might as well have fun while doing it!
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1. Night under the Stars
Do you or anyone you know own a truck or bigger vehicle? Surprise your husband with a spur of the moment camping trip! Put down the seats of your van or clean out the bed of your truck and load it up with comfy bedding and fun activities. Pick up your husband after he gets off work (or even better, get work off for him if that’s an option) and drive to your destination without letting him know where you’re going. If you have a laptop, bring a movie or two and watch it under the stars with your sweetie.
I mean, this is camping, there are so many different twists you can do to change it up to what you have available. If you don’t have a vehicle, do a tent! If he gets home late or has work early, set up a romantic campsite in your back yard. No matter what, if your husband is an outdoorsy type like mine is, he will love any of these. I’m not even that outdoorsy, and I would love it if my husband surprised me with this!
2. Lunch Surprise
Does your spouse pack a lunch for work? If so, you can make a little something extra special for him by putting in little things with cute sayings on them that go with the food item or just fun notes letting them know how much you love and appreciate them and/or how hard of a worker they are. My husband loves it when he finds surprises from me in his backpack at school or his lunch at work. It’s a small 2 minute surprise that could make a difference in their day.
3. Madden the Mundane
Ask your spouse to go pick up something you need from the store, help out one of your family members, or something else mundane and lame and then show up where ever he’ll be going with a surprise date night up your sleeve.
4. Kids Again
With the hustle and bustle of adult life, we sometimes forget to just loosen up and have fun like we always did when we were in those care free childhood days. Think of an activity you loved doing as a kid and recreate it for you and your spouse. It could be swimming with just the two of you, a read-a-thon, playing with a Frisbee or other sport outside, playing at your favorite park, painting pictures, etc…
One of my favorite memories I have with my husband was on his birthday 2 years ago. He was bombarded with school and finals. He told me he really didn’t have time to celebrate that year. WHAT?? Who is so stressed and busy that they don’t have time to celebrate their birthday! So while he was at school, I filled up a bucket of water balloons and squirt guns and left them outside with a fun note attached to the door for him to find upon arriving home.
You can also do this with nerf guns (This gun is our favorite for nerf war in the house) or laser tag. Laser tag has become really popular lately, especially in the house.
It doesn’t have to be a long or complex activity. Our water fight was so short and simple and my husband loved it; especially since it forced him to loosen up after a stressful day!
5. Surprise Live Show
Figure out what your spouse’s favorite musician, comedian, or live show is and see if they are touring anywhere near you. If they are, surprise your spouse with tickets to the show. My husbands favorite band is Dream Theatre and when I found out they were touring this year I was bummed that the closest place they would be near us was still a good 8 hours away!
I’m not particularly fond of the band, but his brother was. His brother and I arranged for them to go together while I got girl time with my sister-in-law (win-win!). The concert also just so happened to be on his birthday so I told him I planned a romantic getaway for the two of us, but that he would need to make sure to get work off for 2 days. For weeks, he kept trying to figure out where we were going. (By the time it was his birthday, my husband was convinced we were staying in some cabin in Zion’s National Park. I have no clue how he came to that conclusion. Ha!)
If you decide to wait like we did to let them in on the surprise, you can even listen to the musician or comedian on your way to the show to see if they catch on. When my husband finally figured out where we were going (after 4 hours of listening to Dream Theatre and many, many hints) his reaction was priceless! He spent the next four hours on the road grinning from ear to ear and looking like he had died and gone to heaven.
My only piece of advice for this surprise would be to make sure you capture their reaction on camera. You’re never going to want to forget it.
6. Amplify the Average
Anticipate everything you think your spouse would want out of an average day and amplify it.
For example:
- They want breakfast—->Surprise them with breakfast in bed.
- Your spouse eats lunch at work—->Show up at their work and take them out for lunch OR pack them a killer lunch
- They like watching a TV show after a long day—->Take them to the movies or rent a movie for home
7. Written Love
Over a period of 2 years, while my spouse and I dated, he used to surprise me with emails, texts, and cards. These cards would add to his list of 101 things he loved about me. One time while he was across country from me, I decided I would make a list of my own. I bought a deck of cards and mod podged little notes of the things I loved about him to each card. I then put a single hole punch in each card and tied a cute little ribbon through them all so they would stay together.
8. Just Say “YES”
From the start of their day to the very end, say “yes” or some other positive affirmation to everything they say. This could become really fun if they start to catch on to what you’re doing.
9. Girl’s/Guy’s Night Out
We all love spending one on one time with our spouse, but occasionally its nice to get out with friends. Contact your spouses closest friends and plan a fun night out that your spouse wont know about until his/her friends come to pick them up!
10.The Little Things
This last one is just about the little things. Your surprises don’t always have to be grand gestures. In the end, I think it’s the little, daily activities that are going to really make a difference in your marriage: Doing the dishes, a candlelit homemade dinner, someone watching the kids, so you can have alone time, watching their favorite show with them, etc… Sometimes I’ll just write a simple cutesy note, in big font, that I leave on the computer for my husband to find when he opens it up (you could also make it the main screen so that every time they start the computer up, they see it).
Marriage takes work. It is like any other living thing, if you nourish it and take care of it, it will grow. If you expect it to grow itself, you will find in slowly dying. I hope this gets your creative juices running on different ways you can surprise your spouse!
What are some fun surprises you’ve done for your spouse or significant other?
This post was originally published in July of 2014 and has been recently updated to best benefit you.