HO HO HO. It’s the most wonderful time of year. Some of us are lucky (or crazy) enough to brave the crowds and revel in the Magic of Christmas at the Most Magical Place on Earth (like Lori). Others of us either couldn’t make that happen this year (like Jen), or just prefer to bring a Disney home for the Holidays instead (like Juliana). No matter where you spend them, we can all agree that the Holidays are best served with a…
MousekeCocktail
And the cocktail we all agree on this holiday season is the Winter Wonderland. You can find this tasty libation at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs. It’s made with Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, and White Chocolate Liqueur. Watch out! This one goes down very easily. Our MousekeMom Lori is hoping to grab one of these to-go later this month when she visits Walt Disney World, but the rest of us will have to make one at home. Check out our Pinterest page for the recipe.
Disney Holiday Merchandise
Once you have your Winter Wonderland in hand, you are ready to do some online Disney holiday shopping. There is tons of Disney holiday merchandise out there to bring Disney home for the Holidays, and not just Christmas. Jen has had a Mickey and Minnie menorah for 20 years. Donald may be missing a foot and Goofy may have completely fallen off, but those lovable characters are still bringing Hanukkah joy to her family all these years later.
You can also find Disney Hanukkah merch on shopdisney.com, usually well before the holiday begins. And, believe it or not, Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Magic Kingdom has a Hanukkah nook. It’s small, but thanks to some clients, we now know it’s there.
Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, located in Liberty Square, is my favorite gift shop in Magic Kingdom. While I may not have noticed the Hanukkah section, I do find my way in there for a souvenir Christmas ornament every trip. You can pick your ornament and have it personalized with your name and/or the year. Be warned however, in a shop full of Christmas ornaments (and some Hanukkah merch) you can lose perspective of scale. I have accidentally ended up with some giant ornaments that dwarf all of my normal sized ornaments at home.
One way around overwhelming your tree with giant Disney ornaments is to get a second tree dedicated just to Disney. Lori has an entire tree just for Disney ornaments, which she collects whenever she sees one she likes. We MousekeMoms can all get behind this plan.
For this Disney specific tree, everyone needs this topper pictured above. It’s battery operated and glows with multicolored lights. It does go through batteries quickly, but it’s beautiful whether it is lighted or not. And who wouldn’t love Tinkerbell lighting a star with her wand?
Some other Disney themed Christmas items include a Mickey and Minnie plate and cup set for Santa’s cookies. Lori got one of these on Main Street and it serves double duty. When it’s not holding Santa’s cookies on Christmas Eve, it holds the remote for her Christmas tree lights. Win-win.
Wax melts from the Magic Candle Company can bring the holiday scents of Disney home, but you already know these are a MousekeMoms favorite.
On a recent trip to World of Disney, I found a countdown to Christmas statue with Mickey and Minnie on either side of the Castle, holding a sign where you change out the number blocks each day. Sadly, I refrained. I could hear my husband complaining that Disney was tasking over Christmas, thought I don’t really see the problem there.
I also refrained from purchasing some Disney themes Christmas music boxes. There was a really cute Small World one with little toy soldiers in the theme of the ride, but even I couldn’t justify bringing that song home for Christmas. That one can stay at Disney. I did love the Mickey’s Christmas Carol themed one that featured the characters dressed as Scrooge, Bob Cratchett, and the rest of the gang.
I could not, however, pass up the ornaments. There were ornaments with every character you could imagine. They ranged from subtle to garish, and I procured a few of each, including my favorite of Tinkerbell putting a bow on the Eiffel Tower. I guess I will soon need a tree just for Disney too.
I found all sorts of items from Christmas sweaters to Christmas candies. You can get some of these treats and use them as gift toppers instead of a traditional bow. Pro-Tip, though, beware of the dog. Don’t put these out with enough time for your dog to get to it before the kids can unwrap. Lori learned that lesson the hard way.
Are you a family who likes to don matching Christmas pajamas each year? ShopDisney offers a new designs every year. While I tend to prefer subtle nods to Disney, I actually thought this year’s design was a little too subtle, and I couldn’t find anything better locally. I must not have seen the ones that Lori got, which apparently include zip-up onesies for adults. Can NOT WAIT to see those photos. I opted for some regular, non-Christmas Mickey jammies for my kids this year. Hope they like them!
And finally, what could be more Christmas-y than a train set. You can bring Disney home for the holidays with one themed in Disney. If you can’t make it to a World of Disney to snag one of these adorable toys, you can find a version at Target as well.
The Holidays on Disney Plus
The most cost-effective way to bring Disney home for the holidays is to make use of your subsrcription to Disney+.
To make you feel like you are actually at Disney, try The Wonderful World of Disney Magic Holiday Celebration, or Decorating Disney Holiday Magic. We especially loved the Disney Holiday Singalong. Keep your eye out for our highlights: Julianne Hough, P!nk, and Katy Perry.
There are lots of spin-off and original Disney+ Holiday shows. Lori especially loved the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, while Jen is a fan of Noelle and Godmothered. I have seen neither, but now I have to watch.
I personally am a fan of the animated classics: Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Muppet’s Christmas Carol. I also love anything with Olaf as well. Check out Olaf’s Frozen Adventure and Once Upon a Snowman.
Jen is partial to the live action Christmas movies, old and newish, from Miracle on 34th Street to The Santa Clause. I LOVE Miracle on 34th Street (the original with Natalie Wood). The Santa Clause, though? Must be a boy-mom thing. I was luke warm, but I’m willing to watch it again. I will not, however, watch the 1970s Babes in Toyland because the original (1930s) scarred me.
Of course, we can not forget The Arendelle Castle Yule Log. Check out my review of the 2019 version. And then, be sure to read the 2020 update. I think Disney+ heard me. Guaranteed to give you more laughs than the yule log, are every single Simpsons Christmas episode. Yes please.
Whether you like feature films or shorts (like Pluto’s Christmas Tree – a Lori family favorite), cartoons or live-action, old classics or newer, Disney+ has something for you to bring Disney home for the holidays.
Favorite Things Under the Tree
We talked about all of our Favorite Things in our Top Holiday Gifts post. This year, Jen will bring Disney home for the Holidays with Villainous (the game), the Disney cookbook, and the Forky building set. Lori will get her H2O bath products, but best of all, she is getting the gift of a trip to Walt Disney World. None of us can top that.
MousekeTip
Enjoy your holiday celebrations, but as we said earlier, be careful with those Winter Wonderland cocktails. Whether you partake in the cocktail or not, our very best advice for this and every holiday is do NOT engage in conversations about religion, politics, or family gossip. However tempting, just don’t do it. Instead, spend some time with your family reminiscing about your favorite Disney memories and start dreaming about your next Disney vacation.
In the meantime, take a listen to MousekeMoms: A Disney Podcast. If you have any Disney holiday traditions to bring Disney home for the holidays, we would love to hear about them. Drop us a comment below. We MousekeMoms would like to wish you all the joy of the season and the happiest of holidays this year.