Posts Tagged: "surprise"

“Here’s Some Dough!” Pizza Box Money Gift

- - Gifts for Him, Going Away, Graduation, Kids, Money

College students and pizza go together like movies and popcorn. Sing with me now. “This I tell you brother. You can’t have one without the other.”

pizza-box-money-thoughtful-graduation-gift

Click to enlarge

What factors have caused this magnetic match?

#1 – It tastes amazing. Even plain cheese pizza is heavenly, and it just gets better from there. Pepperoni. Supreme. Meat Lovers.  Oh, sweet Jesus!

#2 – It’s dirt cheap and sometimes free. I remember getting so much free pizza in college because most student organizations used it to lure people to their meetings.

#3 – It’s the ultimate convenience food. No plates or utensils necessary. Napkins optional.

#4 – It can be delivered. Just think of all the times pizza deliveries have saved college students from starvation when they’re either too drunk, too lazy, or don’t have a car to get food.

#5 – It even tastes good cold. Pizza for breakfast, anyone?

But no matter how much college students love their warm, gooey pizza, they can’t survive without cold, hard cash.

Money is by far the #1 request for gifts by graduates so give it to them. College is expensive! Ditch the envelope though, and get creative.

Give them a “Here’s some dough!” Pizza Box Money Gift for a present they’ll never forget! It’s easy peasy to put together with a few simple items, and it creates that “WOW!” factor!

HOW TO CREATE A “HERE’S SOME DOUGH!” PIZZA BOX MONEY GIFT

Continue Reading

Easy Peasy Money Umbrella Surprise

- - Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Going Away, Graduation, Kids, Money, Wedding

At Sunburst Gifts, we love coming up with creative ways to give money. This time, shower someone with cash with a Money Umbrella!

money-umbrella-thoughtful-gift

Money umbrellas are a fun and creative way to give cash gifts.

When they open the umbrella, they’ll be completely surprised by all of the cash that falls out from the inside!

If you give the Money Umbrella gift in person, watching them open the gift and seeing their reaction is half the fun so make sure they open it in front of you. And get your camera or video camera ready!

You can attach a note to the umbrella that says “Open Me” but I prefer say something like,”Open it up so you can see that it’s a lot bigger than it looks. It will really protect you from the rain!”

Yes, little white lies are completely appropriate in these situations.

If you’re mailing the gift or you won’t be there when it’s opened, definitely include a note that says “Open Me.” You don’t want the gift recipient to miss out on their big surprise and, even worse, lose the umbrella and the cash because they had no idea what was inside!

Th Money Umbrella gift idea is so much fun to give and receive, and it’s easy peasy to create!

HOW TO CREATE A MONEY UMBRELLA

Continue Reading

Personalized M&M’s |Valentine’s Day

- - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day

Chocolates are a girl’s best friend. Some would say diamonds but oh… how chocolate satisfies that indescribable craving!

M&M's-Valentine's-Day-Messages-thoughtful-gift-ideaRandy surprised me last year for Valentine’s Day by giving me my favorite candy – M&M’s! And they were personalized. I had no idea he even knew you could purchase them that way. I’ve seen personalized M&M’s at baby showers and birthdays and thought they were waaay cute!

My M&M’s had messages of Love Randy, Happy Valentine’s Day and the American Sign Language sign for I Love You (that one was my favorite!). The ASL “I love you” sign is a tradition used in my family by my grandparents, parents, brothers, sons and us. Continue Reading

A Private Music Concert | Unique & Thoughtful Gift

- - Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Experiences, Gifts for Him, Valentine's Day

When my mother Robyn turned 50 years old, her six children wanted to show her just how much we love her. Our gift needed to leave a mark on her memory as big as the mark she had made in our hearts and lives.

Private Music Concert Meaningful Gift Idea

My mother and grandfather sing and clap along to the music Edgar Cruz plays on his guitar.

Instead of having her children one at a time, our mother pretty much had us all at once. My parents adopted my two brothers (Garry and Kevin), my two sisters (Jeny and Julia) and me so my siblings and I could stay together. A few years later, we added Ochi to our family.

That still blows my mind because I didn’t have Aiden until I was 30. My parents were in their late 20s when they opened their hearts and home to five kids ranging from ages five to 18! God bless them!

My brothers and sisters and I decided to DOUBLE surprise our mother on her birthday.

Continue Reading

Coach Barry Switzer | A True Story

- - $20 or Less, Birthday, Experiences

My step-father Paul’s birthday falls in November, and he will turn 90 years old. He loved two things his entire life, my mother and University of Oklahoma football.

Barry-Switzer-surprise-birthday-visit-thoughtful-gift-idea

Step-father Paul, Coach Switzer & Queen Darlene

Since Mother passed away, there’s just not a lot of moments he gets real excited about except OU touchdowns and a WIN, of course. I wanted to do something really over the top for his birthday and Coach Barry Switzer would fit the bill.

I wrote Barry a letter and here are some excerpts. For a thoughtful twist, I wrote the letter in a thank you card.

I’m thanking you in advance for a favor. Our step-father Paul will be 90 on November 10. He was born in Norman and feels lucky because that is the home of OU. Every positive adjective I could come up with is not enough to describe his love of OU football. He never misses a game on TV. Continue Reading

Easy Peasy Birthday Money Box

- - Birthday, Graduation, Kids, Money

httpvh://youtu.be/4-foPlkBl2Y

I once found out about a family member’s birthday party the day before. I freaked out at first! What should I get a teenage boy on such short notice??

birthday money box

The birthday money box contains a really long strand of cash.

That’s when I thought of the perfect thoughtful gift idea that anyone can create at the last-minute – a birthday money box.

Money is something every teenager wants, and the birthday money box I could easily create with items I already had at home.

The birthday money box is fun to give and receive because when the gift recipient pulls on the card that says “PULL UP,” they will be surprised with a really long strand of cash that continues to come out as they keep pulling and pulling and pulling!

HOW TO CREATE A BIRTHDAY MONEY BOX

Here are the items you will need:

Continue Reading

Ordering the 25th Wedding Anniversary Special at Sonic

- - Anniversary, Birthday, Experiences

My husband and his best friend, Curtis have been friends since they were 16 years old. They played on their high school tennis team and were known to be pretty salty players. They even won a state championship in doubles their senior year. When Curtis started dating Susan, the four of us became best friends.

kiss me frog cookie jarCurtis and Susan’s daughters were planning a 25th wedding anniversary for their parents and asked if Randy and I would “distract” them while guests were arriving to their parents’ home.

Through the years, the four of us have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries together by going out to eat. So Randy and I made plans to take them out for a 25th wedding celebration dinner. That way it wouldn’t look suspicious.

Susan wanted to know what to wear and I told her the place we were going was a surprise but to wear their Sunday best. Afterwards, we would return to their home to change into more comfortable clothes for the second event of the evening.

That gave us a reason to go back to the house! Continue Reading

How to Stuff Gift Objects Inside Balloons | Video Tutorial

- - Catch All

In our post called “Surprise Someone By Hiding Gifts Inside a Balloon,” we shared how balloons can be a very fun way to present someone with a gift.

Enough of our readers wanted to know exactly how we were able to stuff different objects inside balloons that we thought a how-to video would explain it best.

In this video, we show how to stuff cash, a gift card, an iPhone (electronics), a sleeve of golf balls, a stuffed animal, and a frying pan inside regular sized balloons.

If we’re able to stuff these gift items inside regular sized balloons, imagine what gifts would fit inside big balloons! Oh, the possibilities!

httpvh://youtu.be/ZT7_msYD__Q

Surprise Someone By Hiding Gifts Inside a Balloon

- - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Family, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Kids, Money, Mother's Day, Thank You, Valentine's Day, Wedding

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crAv5XKPmTg&feature=youtu.be

Presentation! Presentation! Presentation! We are always trying to find new ways to be creative in gift giving, right? Here is one that is easy, inexpensive, colorful and makes a noise that goes POP! Gifts inside a balloon!

Pop-the-Question-Wedding-Proposal-Gift- Idea-Sunburst- Gifts

Hiding an engagement ring inside a balloon is a creative way to “pop the question!”

In a previous post, I talked about a unique wedding proposal idea. Get a decorative box that has an attached lid that will perfectly fit a blown up balloon. Write or type a note that says “POP ME” and attach it by using a stick pin to the inside of the lid.

She can use the pin to pop the balloon. Place the engagement ring inside a blown up balloon, put it inside the box and close the lid. When she opens the box, pops the balloon and sees her beautiful engagement ring, that’s when you get on bended knee to “pop the question.”

Gift cards have become a common way to give a gift. Usually it is placed in a card, an envelope or a gift bag. BOOOORING!

Continue Reading

Hunger Games Inspired Wedding Anniversary Surprise

- - Anniversary, Experiences

My friends Desi and Peyton love a good adventure. It’s no coincidence I first met them at a “Dirty 30” mud obstacle 5K race, and I’ve borrowed their snowboarding helmets. They not only love that kind of thing but they love experiencing it TOGETHER.

toy gun and toy bow and arrow leaving up against front doorThey also love The Hunger Games and Peyton used their shared interest to surprise Desi on the night of their third wedding anniversary.

Desi came home to find a letter taped to her front door and two weapons – a gun and a bow and arrow – leaning up against it.

(No, the gun and bow and arrow weren’t real. I was just trying to be dramatic. Gotcha!)

The letter read:

Continue Reading