parents anniversary - need help/advice

[saraL]

my parents will be celebrating their 40th anniversary at the end of the month. as some might know, we have been struggling financially but are slowly getting back on our feet. my mother has early on-set alzheimer's. so yeah, things haven't been wonderful around here.

as a treat my dad is taking my mother to niagara falls for a weekend to celebrate. and being the smart canucks i know you to be, i need some advice on what to get them as a gift and some ideas of places they could visit or eat at that are nice but not totally expensive. i don't know the area well enough but surely someone on here might know.

also: i wanted to help get them a hotel for cheaper. is travelocity the best way to go? it's the only company i can think of that gets good rates.

i was thinking of buying a bottle of champagne for them and putting it in the car right before they leave with a little card on it. they could smuggle it into the hotel or something. just a thought.


any help with any of the above would rock my world!

[ninna]

Butterfly conservatory is lovely!

[GoddessDigi]

Well, my idea would be a 'romantic' basket.
You can use coupons and get some nice things. Get some candles on sale, some chocolates on sale..you get the idea. lol

[Lynn49]

Regarding hotels, what I do is visit
tripadvisor.com
and hit "hotels", then the city and you'll get a list of hotels. Click on the ones that interest you (they're also all reviewed by people who have stayed there), then click on "Book it" or something like that. You'll get a bunch of pop-ups of various sites offering hotel rates.
But overall, I've found that
itravel2000.com
has overall very good prices, as well as
expedia.com

I'll second the butterfly conservatory and the falls at night.
I think the rates at the "falls hotel" are reasonable, and a room overlooking the falls would be so romantic.

As for a gift, speaking as someone who has celebrated 41 anniversaries, nothing pleased me more than time spent with our daughter and her hubby and our grandson. After 40 years there's precious little, if anything, we need or want.
Invite them over for a lovely, romantic dinner and you'll have given the perfect gift: your time.

Good luck! You sound like a very caring daughter...

[Kitty77]

SaraL, Nice idea with the little gift of champange! Maybe make your parents a special coming home dinner with their favourite dessert, then you could share all their adventures for their 40th Anniversary trip o Niagara Falls. Great ideas from Digi for the Romance Basket & Lynn, for the hotel rooms.

[saraL]

thanks so much for the ideas. i had totally forgot about the butterfly con. i know that is something my mom would love! i will check out the websites for hotels later. i`m at work right now. [bad, i know LOL]

thanks everyone for the help!