Surprise 30th Birthday Ideas for Him: A trip full of little surprises, and secret missions for my husband’s 30th birthday! A celebration we will NEVER forget!
When it comes to gift ideas for your husband’s 30th birthday, this was the ULTIMATE gift for my husband.
After visiting all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, quite a few times, and falling in love with them, I planned a surprise trip along with other fun secret surprises, so you’ll want to keep reading about what I did to surprise the special guy!
You may find it hard to believe that I kept all of this a secret for a year.
Surprise 30th Birthday Trip for Him
We LOVE to travel. Even though we recently visited Avon Colorado, and now live in Montana, we have a major love for warm tropical places. So when my husband’s “dirty 30“, was starting to approach us, swimsuits and flip flops were on the mind.
My husband turned 30 over the weekend, and I’ve had a 30th birthday surprise trip planned for him, for over a year. Yes, I kept a secret from him for over a year, and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.
The trip wasn’t the only surprise. There were little surprises along the way that made this trip extra special!
Planning the Trip
First, I told my husband two months ago that he needed to block off his schedule between certain dates, because I was planning to take him somewhere for his milestone of a birthday. His response?
“Are friends going with us?”
“Nope, just a trip you and I are taking together.“
Well… I know my extrovert of a husband, and his love for being around people, so that was a total lie. (It’s ok to have a white lie if it’s for a birthday surprise, right?) If he only knew I had invited friends a year ago, and he was about to be in for the surprise of his life.
The day came, and my husband knew we were leaving town. “Are we flying? Going by train? Are we going out of the country?” Those were the major questions I kept hearing him repeat to me. However, my answer to all of them were, “Well… we’ll see.”
#1 Surprise: Friends are coming too!!!???
That evening before we had left, I had arranged to have our friends show up at our house, right before we were to head out of the door.
“Surprise! We’re going with you!”
Our friends totally shocked my husband, as he opened the door thinking the babysitter had a pizza delivered, only to see our friends standing there toting some serious luggage.
Driving or Flying?
We all got in the car, and my husband with a puzzled (yet excited) look on his face said,
“Ok… where we going?“
“Sorry babe, not ready to tell you yet.”
Now… me, the planner and organizer in the family, would probably be freaking about not having control in this moment if the roles were reversed. But my husband’s a trooper and loved the suspense.
About after an hour and a half of driving in the car, we stopped at a hotel that was near the airport, and my husband immediately knew we were flying out somewhere the next morning.
#2: A “Yearbook” T-Shirt Gift
The next morning we all woke up early, and I surprised my husband with a custom shirt that I had made for him, that had
“Warning: Matt’s 30th Birthday in Progress,”
printed on the front; then on the back,
“Matt’s 30 Year Old Yearbook,”
with “one-liners,” 30 friends and family had to say about Matt.
This was absolutely one of the most hilarious, and interesting things I could have done. I learned nick-names that my husband had, and I heard stories about what my husband had done in the past that were hysterical!
Most importantly, my husband felt the love from 30 awesome people. (Totally recommend doing something like this for someone that you love.)
It’s time to fly!!!
We shuttled to the airport, and it was time to check-in for our flight. My husband was so excited to find out where we were going. Ohhhhh… but only if it were that simple. I made him hand over his drivers license (only to throw him off, because I already had, and only needed his passport) and made him stand back, as I whispered to the flight receptionist,
“Ok, it’s my husband’s birthday, and he has no idea where we are going, and I’d love it if you could help me out by not telling him.”
To my surprise the receptionist was totally cool, and played along. (God bless that man for being friendly and fun at 6:00 in the morning.)
Boarding passes in hand (hidden in my purse) we proceeded to our gate. Arriving at the correct gate, my husband sees “Dallas Texas,” on the TV screen at our departure gate.
“Really honey? Dallas?”
I wanna say I had him fooled for about 10 minutes that we were actually taking him to Dallas to celebrate his big 30th. Nothing against Dallas, but the poor guy couldn’t get his mind wrapped around celebrating there.
So then started the “Hmm… where would Dallas be a layover for?” His mind began to wonder.
Then… almost like I had planned it myself, on our flight, the stewardess announced the connecting cities for our layover.
“San Francisco, Honolulu, Miami, Cancun, Cabo,”
and the list went on. This was absolutely perfect. My husband all of a sudden knew that a layover in Dallas meant NOTHING, as the connecting cities were so scattered around the world. PERFECTION!
MEXICO!!!???
As we departed the plane in Dallas, we neared the connecting gate, and there it was on the big screen, “Departing to Cancun, Mexico.” My husband was ecstatic! Totally caught him off guard, and the wheels were turning.
“How did you arrange this? Do you have my passport? Where in Mexico are we going? Is it an all-inclusive?”
We arrived!
He was excited. I was excited. Our friends were excited. It was one of the most awesome feelings. I then looked at my best friend, and said,
“You know you love someone, when you get complete joy out of his own happiness.”
One More Surprise
When we arrived to the resort in Mexico, we walked in to the lobby and my husband couldn’t BELIEVE it when he saw the backs of what looked like more friends there waiting for us!
Other friends had arrived on a different flight and were ready to party… all with matching shirts!
An Incredible Weekend
We spent my husband’s actual birthday, celebrating with a special dinner on the beach, right next to the water. Sure wish I could have gotten a better photo in the dark, but I wouldn’t have traded seeing the sunset while drinking a pina colada for anything! 😉
The next 5 days were some of the most awesome, crazy, relaxing, days we had-had in a loooongg time.
We couldn’t imagine spending his 30th anywhere different, nor with anyone different. I HIGHLY recommend getting “away,” with the one you love if you can. What an experience, and what an amazing man… father… husband… and person.
If you’re looking for 30th birthday ideas for your husband, fiancé, or boyfriend, but aren’t quite ready for a trip, then you’ll LOVE my post on 30th Birthday Ideas for Him, where I surveyed and polled a ton of men to get REAL ideas and those that they’d absolutely love!
Thinking of planning an all-inclusive vacation for a special day? I’ve compiled all of my favorite tips for staying at an all-inclusive resort, that you DON’T want to miss, along with a Mexico packing list that will help you know what to take with you!
Amy says
I love this idea! I want to do something similar for my husband. How long did you wait before inviting his friends? I want to give them enough time to save some money but I’m nervous they won’t be able to keep the secret!
Jessica says
Haha I totally understand that! I told them a year in advance! They kept it a secret believe it or not… but that gave them enough time to save money, and plan for sure!
Kaitlin says
Love this idea! I was totally planning to do something like this but then all my husband’s friends happened to be having babies the couple of months right before his birthday in June. And I can’t really plan a trip anyway given the current covid-19 situation… not to mention the fact that I have a fairly young baby myself and I’m breastfeeding… ah well… I definitely want to do the t-shirt though! Did you include your own one-liner for the yearbook?
Jessica says
Awww! I’m sorry the trip didn’t work out! There’s always next year! 😉
I did! I thought it would be a lot of fun to add in something that only he and I knew! 😉
navya says
it is amazing!!!!! I love these ideas. thank you. good
keerthana says
awesome!!!! Thank you for your sharing. I got an idea for a surprise to my wife. all the best. it was awesome
Daaim Lewis says
I Turned Age 30 my GirlFriend going To The Hawaii Rest Had Days off From Work Holiday Weekend Next Year Thanksgiving & Black Friday going to Holiday Shopping & Christmas & New Year’s Eve going To Orlando FL.
Jessica says
That sounds like so much fun!!!
Peace says
Thank you so much for this amazing story. I just remembered that my boyfriend is turning 30 in two months and instantly started googling birthday ideas and yours popped up. I’m so excited to try this out!. We live in Nigeria and although I can’t afford a trip outside the country right now, i’ll make do with a beautiful place here. I’m just not sure if I can collect up to 30 quotes or comments about him. Thanks again!!!
Jessica says
Oh good!! I hope you have so much fun! Thank you so much for coming by and sharing that!
Eddie says
I’ll be modifying this beautiful idea into a birthday/asking my best friend to marry me. Got a year to plan. Thanks for sharing!
Jessica says
Yay!! That’s so exciting! Good luck!
Kalie says
Amazing! Planning my husband’s surprise 30th and definitely doing a trip. Although, I am not sure if I will be able to keep it a secret!!
Jessica says
Aw!!! Yay! You will have a blast… I just know it! It’s sure hard keeping it a secret, but when the time finally came, it was amazing!! 🙂 Good luck!
Monica says
I love this! Currently have a little surprise weekend getaway planned for my husband’s 30th in February! Similar because two of his best guy friends also have birthdays just 1-2 days apart and we are all surprising our hubbies with this getaway (we’re all scattered across the Midwest). Any ideas on a gift that I could get all three of them (two turning 30 and one 29). I’m stumped.
Jessica says
Oh how FUN that will be!!! Did you happen to see my post on gift ideas for him, for a 30th birthday? You may find something for all of them there! You can see that post here: https://fantabulosity.com/30th-birthday-gift-ideas-him
Have so much fun!!
Joy says
What’s the name of the resort you stayed at? It looked awesome.
Jessica says
Oh! We stayed at the Excellence resort in Riviera Maya. My husband says it’s still his favorite. 🙂
Stephanie says
I saw this blog post a few months ago. Literally just in time for my husband’s 30th birthday (May 2nd). I booked his birthday trip and began the planning process. He is under the impression that we’re going to San Francisco this weekend with my best friend and her boyfriend. Little does he know, we’re going to Cabo and his entire family will be joining us at the airport. It’s been such a struggle to keep this a secret, but I’m sure it’ll all be worth it! I also stole your 30 Year Old Yearbook shirt idea. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS AND FOR THE WONDERFUL SURPRISE IDEAS!!!
Jessica says
Yay!! That is so exciting! Thank you so much for sharing that! I’m sooo excited to hear how it all goes. How stinking fun! Keep me posted! 🙂
Abbey says
I absolutely love this surprise idea!! So sweet and thoughtful! I am currently 2 months away from surprising my boyfriend with a carribian cruise for his 30th birthday!! It’s literally driving me crazy not saying anything, especially the closer it gets! But hey I’ve gone this far right! I love the idea of taking him to the airport not knowing where he’s going! Thanks for the inspiration!
Jessica says
Awwww, YAY! How fun!!! I bet he’s going to LOVE it. Haha, I know… it it hard not to say anything, especially the closer it gets to going. But you can do it! It’s SOOO worth it, keeping it a secret! 🙂 You are so welcome, and THANK YOU, for coming by and dropping a sweet note! XO
Kendra says
Are the “one-liners” quotes that your husband said that people remembered? Or just memories about him? I like this idea and luckily I have 2.5 months to work on it….
Jessica says
They were both! I told everyone to tell me something that they think of when they think of him. Whether it be something that he has said in the past… has done in the past… or a sweet heartfelt message about Matt. The mix of different notes from everyone was a great variety! Some were chuckles and some were, “awwww,” moments! 🙂 Excellent! Good luck with the planning!!! 🙂
Kendra VanAndel says
Thanks so much! When I opened this up on the computer I could read a few more of the quotes and I am starting one of these for my husband! Good thing we have email and facebook!
Jessica says
Excellent! I’m so happy you were able to find the idea! I bet he’s going to love it as much as mine did! 🙂 {Keep me posted!} 😉
Bekkah says
Just wondering… where did you get the custom shirts from? I love them 🙂
Bekkah
Jessica says
Hey there! The men’s shirts were just ordered from a local graphic design company! I told them what I wanted it to say, and they just made them for me! The girls shirts were made by a girl that went on the trip with us! We just ordered tank tops, and then picked up a hot tool from Michaels
, and some rhinestones from: Michaels
They were done in no time! Plus… we could put whatever we wanted to on them! 🙂
Jeanine says
Wow what a fab story and so magical! You look like you both had a fantastic time in Cancun…I hear it’s amazing there…you are a good “surprise keeper” not sure if I could have kept such a secret for so long!
Jessica says
Haha! Thank you! I told my husband that it may not be a good thing that I can keep something from him for so long! 🙂 We did have a great time! Thank you so much for coming by!