Win a $200 RedBalloon Experience for Dad this Father’s Day!
Aug 20
** This giveaway has now closed. Congratulations to the lucky winner, Leah L! **
How many times have you moaned, “But he’s so haaaaard to buy for!” or “He already has everything he wants.”
I have the solution!
Daddy Smiles is a wonderful Dad and husband. He works hard for his family, and rarely wants for anything. However for as long as I have known him, he has dreamed about owning his own boat (some of our earliest memories together are of water-skiing up the Brisbane River with friends!). But it’s just not something that I can justify at the moment. I have promised him “one day”, but in the mean time I thought I’d surprise him with a little adventure to celebrate Father’s Day!
RedBalloon offers a huge variety of adventures and experiences that will appeal to anyone and everyone. So I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than being able to give Daddy Smiles his very own boat … for a day!
We picked up the boat from Seaworld Resort, and after a quick run down on how to drive the boat and anchor it, we were off!
Daddy Smiles was as happy as a pig in mud!
We cruised the canals and admired all the incredible million-dollar houses with their helipads sitting out the front! And then we spied a beautiful park with a little playground, so Daddy Smiles showed Fred how to take us there. He insisted we call him Captain Fred!
We stopped for some morning tea (we had packed a picnic), and the kids had a run around and a quick toilet stop before climbing back aboard.
We could not have asked for a more perfect day. The water was flat, the sky was blue, and the sun was just warm enough to keep us comfortable. The boat was a little half-cabin, which meant that there was a section at the front which was completely shaded. It gave us a little bit more space if the kids got ants in their pants. It also had a little door that flipped open so they could poke their heads up and still see where we were heading.
I was so impressed with how Lucy handled it all. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to sit still long enough to enjoy it, but she was content to watch the water splashing up the sides, and the birds flying past. However, the gentle rocking of the boat soon found her starting to fight the Zzzzzzs.
So I bundled her up on my lap and she had a little kip as we headed to our next destination.
There is nothing better when you are on a boat than having fresh seafood for lunch! And they don’t come any fresher than buying straight off the trawler, caught the night before. These prawns were the tastiest, yummiest prawns I have ever eaten! Look at our little boat in the background, just waiting patiently for us!
The kids had this whole stretch of beach to themselves, so after lunch they dug in the sand, made castles, had a swim and ran around and around and around!
We had a little bit more time before we had to deliver the boat back at 4pm, so decided to find one more deserted beach for us to explore – which really wasn’t all that hard! There are beaches and little pockets of solitude around every corner! After a beautiful day on the water, it was so nice to just sit back and relax and watch the kids enjoy themselves. Lucy has learnt how to be SuperWoman so she started “flying” right up the beach. It was so nice to not have to to worry about other people, or dogs, or cars – to just let her be.
The kids were happy to splash in the little waves, and then one last time, we boarded our boat, not quite believing that the day had gone by so quickly.
It was just such a wonderful day. No stress, happy children, and a very happy husband. I told him that this was an early Father’s Day present and he said it was the best way he could think of to spend a day with his family. I reflected on how nice it was to be able to give him just a little bit of his dream. He may not own a boat yet, but for one day at least, he did.
Happy Father’s Day, Daddy Smiles xxx
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RedBalloon have already put together some ideas that they think would make perfect Father’s Day gifts.
Maybe a flight in an Ultralight Aircraft? Or a Deep Sea Fishing Trip Adventure? Or a Beer and BBQ Cooking Class?
There are so many experiences that will appeal to the special Dad in your life.
GIVEAWAY
To celebrate Father’s Day, RedBalloon would like to offer you the chance to win a $200 Voucher to put towards the experience of your choice! The Voucher will be valid for 12 months from date of issue so you will have plenty of time to plan the perfect adventure.
Just follow the details in the Rafflecopter below, including leaving a comment telling me, in 25 words or less, which of these Father’s Day Gifts would be perfect for the special Dad in your life (hubster, Dad, or father-in-law!) and why. Australian residents only. Competition closes at midnight Sunday 26th August. Please see Rafflecopter for full T&Cs.
A SPECIAL DISCOUNT JUST FOR YOU
Offer: Spend $129 or more on any RedBalloon experience, and receive $30 off.
To redeem: Visit www.redballoon.com.au and enter the promotional code at the checkout to receive your discount.
Discount code: REDMUM03
Terms and Conditions: Offer valid until 31/12/13. Promotional Code can only be used once per person. All purchases are subject to Red Balloon T&Cs, for full details see: www.redballoon.com.au/help/terms-conditions
Disclosure: Thanks to the team at Digital Parents Collective for inviting me to be a part of the Red Balloon Experience Program. I will be sharing my awesome experiences with you over the next 6 months. Stay tuned! As always, all opinions are my own however the experiences are complimentary.
Definitely the V8 Race Car Driving experience! Hubby is a pure racing car fanatic and I swear he has petrol in his veins!
My husband deserves the V8 racing course in country vic because he is constantly working to better our family life without thought for his own wants. This would not only make his day but the brownie points would be fab!
Anything out of the ordinary actually. A bit of adventure would be great
Anything to do with boating as my dad is a fanatical fisherman and loves the ocean
Dad deserves the Darrell Lea Favourites Box because he’s sweet, but mostly full of nuts!
Dad would love the
Hands on Trial Flight – 30 Minutes at Jandicot airport, the would have the trill of his life.
Three Course Seafood Indulgence Dinner For 2…but it would be all for him..i dont like seafood!
Beer brewing for five, right up my hubbies ally!
‘Brew 50 litres of your own beer’- ahhh the simple things in life,
and I’m sure to be the most amazing wife!
My Hubby would love the helicopter flight training in Brisbane. After visiting the aviation Australia expo yesterday that is what he has decided he wants!
My hubby works so hard for our family and would love the v8 race car experience or the tandem parasailing experience.
My husband would definitely love the experience of learning to fly a helicopter. He’s always loved them and that would be the ultimate rush for him.
My husband would love to have the use of a boat for the day
The v8 racing car ride for sure
My husband would absolutely adore a deep sea fishing adventure – keen fisherman is an understatment! Rain, hail, shine OR deep sea
A flight in an Ultralight would be perfect for my dad!
Fishing trip , no, he gets sea sick, sky drive, no, they would have to throw him out. A dinner cruise on the Broadwater is ideal, as one of his favourite pastimes is enjoying food
Massage all the way for my stressed-out, overworked hubby
oh he’d love the fishing trip… I’d be pushing for the seafood though
Dad loves his coffee so the Barista Course would be perfect, and next time I visit I’ll be guaranteed a great cup of coffee!
hard to choose
My hubby would go nuts for the V8 race experience. As a family we love our racing so to see him experience this would be fantastic and our boys would love watching daddy fly around the track!!
I’d suggest my wife buy me Indoor Alpine Ski lessons so I could upgrade my skiing from “Cruise the Blues” to “Max the Blacks”.
Hubby would love the deep sea fishing adventure as he is really into fishing at the moment
A cruise on a Tall Ship with dinner for two. He’s always going on about boats and sailing (and how he should have been a smuggler in the 1800s!), but he’s never done it. It would just make his day (mind you, I’d never hear the end of it! – maybe not such a good idea)
Oops – Just read it should be 25 Words or Less. Here is my second go:
Cruise on Tall Ship with dinner for two. He’s always going on about boats and how he should have been a smuggler in the 1800s!
A V8 Car Driving Experience is something every Dad should experience; he’d love that!
Beer and BBQ cooking lesson would be fantastic. Two of his passions and a luckily his family would love to eat the creations.
I would love for my hubby to win the Beer and BBQ lessons or the Massage package.
My hubby would definitely like the V8 car driving experience! He misses his noisy V8 statesman that we outgrew when we became a family!
I’d love to win this for my husband as he actually booked to do something like this (driving a ferrari – voucher bought on cudo) but was told he was not old enough. He was quite dissapointed. I’d love to surprise him with a voucher from Red Balloon.
Definitely the aerobatic Tiger Moth flight! His Grandfather flew planes in the war & he has always had a need to know what it was like.
My Hubby would love to fly! But I would let him choose in what!
My hubby works so hard and a lot so I would love him to have somethimg that was really exciring and thrilling like the v8experience.He really deserves it
.Thanks Nat
Hubby love to live life in the fast lane so a V8 Race Car Driving Experience would be the perfect give for father’s day