Anniversary Ideas

Knottie1430965129

I did post this on my local board, but I haven't gotten any responses so I thought I'd try here. Anyone have any ideas for a romantic 10th anniversary mini celebration? FI and I are getting married in May; however, we will be together for 10 years in Dec. (New Year's Eve...I know, cliche). I know our wedding and honeymoon will be our big celebrations, but I still would like to do something nice to acknowledge our relationship so far. We have already done the Baltimore Inner Harbor on New Year's celebration, and neither of us is a big city person so Times Square is out. I am looking for something a little more creative than a fancy dinner or a weekend in a hotel room...any ideas are much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

Jells2dot0

I'm assuming you are on the East Coast- where at? 

snowywinter

You need to tell us more about what you like. Are you looking for a one-night thing or do you want a whole weekend? Do you want to stay local or do you want to travel a bit? Would you enjoy going on a ski weekend (even if you don't ski)? One of my fondest memories is going for a ski weekend in the Poconos where we spent the nights and mornings in our cozy cabin curled up together and our afternoons snowshoeing or tubing down the mountain. Or would you want to go some place warm? You could spend the weekend on the beach in Florida, where it's still warm on New Year's Eve.

Knottie1430965129

Yes, we are on the East Coast in Delaware. Not a whole lot to do in our little state. I think we are leaning toward planning a weekend since we are still paying toward the wedding/honeymoon plus we are getting ready to settle on a house. 

I mentioned maybe going snow tubing this winter just trying to feel out if that would be something FI would be up for, and the idea was pretty much shot down because FI's mom told him that his youngest brother has been bugging them to go on a family tubing trip and holiday break would be pretty much the only time they could go. Although tubing with a big group would be more fun than just the two of us, it might be difficult to get away for dinner on our own.

I thought about taking an overnight trip up to Longwood Gardens to see all the lights etc and have a nice dinner then spend the night and come home the following day, but FI is hard to convince to stay in a hotel if the drive back home is less than 3 hours.

I was really hoping to find a whiskey/bourbon distillery that is open for tours, not necessarily on the holiday itself, so I could surprise him with a tasting, but not a whole lot on in our region. We have wineries, and breweries, neither of which FI is that into. 

Quick list of things we both enjoy:

Cars/race track (closed in the winter booo)

Whiskey

Snow

A great steak, or seafood

Comedy shows

Football

Amusement parks

Sorry I didn't include more in the original post, I was hurrying and thought I put more key points than I did.

dalm0m

Fireworks on the Mall in DC? 

What about the Biltmore in Ashville  http://www.biltmore.com/  or for something closer to home the hotel du pont in Willington  http://www.hoteldupont.com/ ?

if that fancy is not your style Ocean City MD or Atlantic City NJ?  Something in Philly but you said you weren't city people.  What about the Poconos? 

Some of those are within 3 hours but if whiskey is involved, driving is a big no no. 

Knottie1430965129

Oh no, if I was able to pull off a tasting or anything that involved alcohol, we would be staying put.

I have been bugging FI to take me to DC to see the big tree plus all the state trees for Christmas. Maybe this could be my way to get down there! He is not at all into going to NY to see the Rockefeller tree, and I've heard DC is much prettier anyway.

The Biltmore looks beautiful, but may be a little far for this trip. I'll keep it in mind for the future  

I have been looking into some resorts in the Poconos, and someone on my local board mentioned a little town called New Hope in PA which looks cute and cozy.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I have lots of research & planning to do!

lyndausvi

I grew up near Longwood Gardens.  Great place.  I think they also do fireworks for NYE, although I could be wrong.    That area is really nice.   

It's not far from Amish country so you can take a ride up there.

Knottie1430965129

Oooh I didn't think of that, lyndausvi! These are all wonderful ideas!

I even looked into the Hotel Hershey to see what they offer for New Year's, but I don't know if I could talk FI into getting a chocolate facial!!

lyndausvi

I've never stayed at the hotel, but I like the town of Hershey too.

If you want to make him giggle like a 10 year old boy drive thru the town of Intercourse, which of course takes you to the town of Paradise.  Don't forget to hit up the town of Blue Balls too!

Knottie1430965129

LOL!! They made a special feature of those towns on the British Top Gear when they did a drive through America! 

I have never stayed there either. I looked into possibly booking our wedding there since Hershey Park is right there and would be something fun to do the rest of the weekend, but they are PRICEY!! And we decided we preferred water front anyway  

I may end up getting his input on the general idea and getting the OK to book so we can coordinated schedules in advance and just planning a few small surprises for the surrounding area we choose

lyndausvi

OT - I'm from Delaware too!  My parents have a place near the beach.

EveningToo

How about the Hudson Valley of NY. Beautiful, romantic inns and a lot of distilleries. 

http://www.hudsonvalleybeertrail.com/category/distilleries/

Knottie1430965129

Oh nice!! So you know there really aren't many things to do here once the weather cools off! We get to be the "go back to your own state, damn tourists!!" once the beaches close down haha.

OliveOilsMom

NYE in Philly always has fireworks at Penn's Landing. There are also tons of great restaurants and the Mummer's Parade the next day. 

Lancaster County is very pretty.  Lots of B&Bs (although watch what you book, some of them won't book unmarried couples).  Mt Joy has a brewery in a cave.  They also have a small restaurant in there called the Catacombs.  The brewery does do tours.

Cape May.  Some of B&Bs close in the winter, but may be open for NYE reservations.  Not all restaurants are open, but the Lobster House will be open.  You could even take the ferry from DE, depending where in DE you are. 

Atlantic City, but I don't think they have fireworks.  Friends and I went one year and waited out on the boardwalk freezing for fireworks that never started!  The Borgata is pricey but so great!  Lots of restaurants to chose from.

Poconos.  We just came back from Shawnee on the Delaware.  It is near Shawnee Mountain.  There are lots of Wyndham resorts right there.  We stayed at Crestview (its a timeshare, but you probably can book it if available) this year and it was great!  We also previously stayed at the Depuy units too, but Crestview is nicer since its newer.  Not sure if they are open in winter, but Bushkill Falls is nearby and a great hike for all levels.

Williamsburg is also nice in the winter time, but I don't know all that they have going on during NYE.

And if you are looking to save some money, check out groupon escapes.  Just make sure the fine print doesn't prevent you from booking over NYE.

Knottie1430965129

Destination: Thank you! I didn't realize there was that much to do in NY! I've only been to the city twice on field trips when I was in HS, and FI went once and hated it! Never thought to check out the suburbs!! 

Knottie1430965129

Olive: Thank you! FI's parents have Wyndham timeshares, I wonder if they would allow us to maybe use theirs and pay them for it?

I never thought about some places not booking unwed couples, that's a good point!

OliveOilsMom

Knottie1430965129 said:

Olive: Thank you! FI's parents have Wyndham timeshares, I wonder if they would allow us to maybe use theirs and pay them for it?

I never thought about some places not booking unwed couples, that's a good point!

If FILs are Wyndham timeshare owners, then you have opened yourself up to a whole world of places in driving distance to you.  North Myrtle Beach, Washington DC, Poconos, Atlantic City, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina all have Wyndham timeshares.  They could arrange a preview weekend for you (up to $300, some may cost $0 - it depends on the place), but you would have to attend a presentation for about 2 hours.  You would at least get a $100 gift card for your trouble, even if you say no.  If they book for you to use the timeshare as their guests, you should not have to attend anything (although they will try - it's their job!).

And most places don't care if you are unmarried, but there are many religious people in Lancaster County, which is why I did mentioned that for that area.

kaos16

If the Poconos isn't too far and you guys have a good sense of humor I would go to Pocono Palace, Cove Haven or Paradise Stream.  They are the old school, cheesy romantic, lovey dovey resorts.  DH and I went a few years ago, and it was actually a ton of fun.  I'm talking round beds and swimming pools in the room.  They have tons of included activities including indoor mini golf and a game room as well as outdoor weather appropriate activities, like snowshoeing and whatnot.  The food is included.  They have concerts and comedy shows too.

I think that was one of our most fun weekends away!

Knottie1430965129

LOL the Paradise Stream looks like something out of Dumb and Dumber!! Oh that's awesome! I giggled a little out loud when I saw it!

Oh yeah, FI's parents just went away to TN for their anniversary and told us about the little shpeil (sp?)  they always have to listen to. We went to Florida and stayed at Bonnet Creek with them a few years ago, it was AMAZING! 

We have a little time left, I think the Poconos might be where we end up. Romantic & chilly atmosphere , and one of those little resorts would just be the icing on the cake :-D

climbingsingle

Poconos (Woodloch is supposed to be really nice) 

Sussex County in NJ - we just stayed at the Grand Cascades Lodge. You'd be right by one of the ski mountains too. 

Another great skiing destination - Killington, VT. 

The Catskills are great too - check out Mohonk. We got married there. 

I've heard good things about New Hope, PA too. 

OliveOilsMom

Knottie1430965129 said:

LOL the Paradise Stream looks like something out of Dumb and Dumber!! Oh that's awesome! I giggled a little out loud when I saw it!

Oh yeah, FI's parents just went away to TN for their anniversary and told us about the little shpeil (sp?)  they always have to listen to. We went to Florida and stayed at Bonnet Creek with them a few years ago, it was AMAZING! 

We have a little time left, I think the Poconos might be where we end up. Romantic & chilly atmosphere , and one of those little resorts would just be the icing on the cake :-D

Oh yes, Bonnet Creek is amazing!  I have seen only one other resort beat that,  Hawaiian Kona on the Big Island. 

Knottie1430965129

There are so many places we eventually want to travel to and see! We are taking on the road trip before kids, bc it's pretty much a once in a lifetime chance so we are seizing it while we can!

All of these ideas are wonderful and will definitely be put in my anniversary getaway repertoire! We can't wait to go back to Bonnet Creek once we have kids just to see the look on those little amazed faces  

The one thing sort of holding us up from some tropical destinations is that I've never been on a plane, and I've just recently been introduced to boating. I loved jet skis in Key Largo, and the little ferries that we have taken to cross small distances, but I have a little anxiety when it comes to being on a ship where all I can see is more water.

Thanks everyone for all the ideas and awesome places to check out!!