I like surprises.  For me, there’s just something fun about planning something fun for someone else.  When my wife Carolyn and I went on our first real getaway trip in 15 years to Miami, the trip itself wasn’t a surprise, though I did have a few tricks up my sleeve.  After 2 nights at a Country Inn and Suites (thanks to the Club Carlson “Last Night free” on award redemptions), I pretended that I had screwed up the hotel reservation and we had to go find another hotel.  But in reality, I had booked us a beachfront suite at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale :-D.  Read the full Miami trip report for the entire story.

(SEE ALSO: Club Carlson Q1 2015 promo – Extend your Stay: Up to 40,000 points per person)

And apparently I am not alone.  Recently, I’ve seen posts about planning surprise trips from Mommy Points, a two part series from Pearls of Travel Wisdom, and of course there was the several part round-the-world trip that Ben from One Mile at a Time planned for his dad.

I have the advantage in that my wife is a stay-at-home mom, so I don’t have to worry about coordinating time off from her job – I just need to plan a babysitter.  We actually have a friend of mine coming over as part of a plan where we are bartering some of my excess airline miles for her babysitting – it’s a win-win for both of us!

For Christmas, I surprised Carolyn with 2 plane tickets for later this month, but the destinations only said “Somewhere Warm”.  You may remember a recent post I had about wanting to just get somewhere warm.

(SEE ALSO: Comprehensive guide to Caribbean airport taxes and fees)

So far, I have managed to avoid spoiling the secret, though I have given a few clues.  With our surprise trip coming up soon, I thought I’d check in with Carolyn to see what her thoughts were on the upcoming trip.

Sorry for the low audio on her part – apparently I did not miss a career as an aspiring filmmaker.  I will try to do better with the next one.

I do realize that I have mentioned our destination to some folks on Twitter and other social media.  So if you know, please indulge me in not spoiling it for her!!!