A man gave his best pal an amazing festive surprise when he flew him all the way to Switzerland for a Christmas meal.
Matt Nadin, 43, took his mate Andrew Thompson, 56, on the two-hour flight, as a way to say thank you for helping him with his creative project. Matt, from Sheffield, decided to surprise the Doncaster man by whisking him abroad without any prior notice.
The duo are content creators for their YouTube channel @FindersBeepers. Matt works full time on social media while Andy has a full-time job in sales, but still helps Matt a lot with the page.
The pair spent around £150 on flights and then £500 while in Switzerland, treating themselves to festive food and drink, including Swiss chocolate crepes and mulled wine.
Matt said: "I told him I’d pay for Christmas dinner for him, now this sounds quite underwhelming, what he didn't know is I stole his passport. We flew to Switzerland and I took him for Christmas dinner at the famous Geneva Christmas market in the shadow of Mont Blanc.
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"I’ve been planning this trip since October, putting a bit of money away each month and looking into things we could do while we were there. I made sure Andy had warm clothes as I knew we’d probably be cold and took a Santa hat to keep his bald bonce warm.
"The food and drink were amazing, from fondu to crepes with Swiss chocolate! However, the rain was torrential, but it didn’t spoil the day. I was lucky enough to go full-time on YouTube back in February leaving my sales job to make the jump into social media but unfortunately Andy is still waiting to make that leap.
"I wanted to show him how much I appreciate his hard work, working a full-time job in sales and then part running a YouTube channel, so I thought he deserved a massive reward."
In total the pair travelled around 2,000 miles once all the flights, driving and train travel are taken into account. Matt felt that the journey was worth it, given how much of a thrill it gave him to surprise his friend.
"I’ve been so excited to give him the surprise, he works so hard and is the best friend anyone could ask for. It was emotional seeing his face when I finally told him what was happening," he added.
The two best friends had the trip of a lifetime together and Andrew is incredibly grateful to his pal for rewarding him in such a kind way. He said: "I had no idea where he was taking me. It didn’t make any sense, especially with the time he was picking me up at - midnight - he just kept telling me things like be prepared to get wet.
"He also asked what size swim goggles do I want and that we were going on a pedalo, but I know from past experience not to believe a word he says until it actually happens. At first I was excited because it was a country I’d never been to, but there was apprehension because I thought he’d plan something involving a near death experience.
"I’m very lucky to have a friend like Matt, being able to do and see all the things we have together over the past five years - it’s been an absolutely amazing time."