Christmas Surprise - 2010 WDW Trip!

[pixarmom]

I hope I'm posting in the right place! We weren't planning a return to WDW until 2011, but with a pin code and a great rate at All Star Movies, we're returning in spring of 2010! It's going to be a Christmas gift for our 3 boys, and I would love ideas for how to package it up as a present under the tree. We were going to incorporate a Disney gift card for each of them to spend while we're there, but I'm trying to find a fun way to present it to them. Any ideas???

 

[LynnTH]

We've done this before and we are doing it this year again (but with a Cruise). What I did was get each of the kids a carryon for the plane and put in it Disney Brochures (that someone was nice enough to send me from the parks) and the Birbaum Disney for Kids book. We also put in stuff to do on the plane as well as Disney Gift Cards. It took them a minute and then they realized what it meant. I may do a scavenger hunt this year with clues just to do something different.

 

[tinker-belle]

How old are your boys? We did this when my boys were almost 3 & 7 and a half. I bought a poster board and in the middle in bubble letters I wrote "we are going to disneyworld" and around the border I drew lots of disney characters (peter pan, mickey, aladdin etc.).
I then drew puzzle pieces and cut out the poster and hid the pieces all around the house and made it into a scavenger hunt of sorts. The kids then put the puzzle together and voila!

 

[pixarmom]

I love the scavenger hunt and puzzle! (Next year, they will be 3, 10 and 11 so the older boys can help the little one understand.) That really increases the suspense and the fun - makes it an activity in addition to a gift - thank you! Lynn, we're in your boat - they have Disney luggage, recent Birnbaums and stacks of brochures (they collect and keep them from every trip) - let me know if you think of more things for the package at the end of the scavenger hunt! (Although you have the cruise, which is very cool, and lends itself to fun new Disney cruise and water-related stuff!)

 

[AngelBabyJana]

We just recently took our very first trip to Disney this past October. Since then, our kids keep asking when we can go back again. Yes, we ALL fell in love with Disney.

My hubby & I plan to surprise the kids with a trip to Disney in December of 2010 (we enjoyed Halloween this year ... so now we want to go for Christmas next year). This is our plan as of right now. We always decorate for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend ..... so next Thanksgiving after we put the tree up, we plan to put one big wrapped present under the tree and tell them that this "family present" needs to be opened early (Walmart has really cute Mickey Mouse paper this year). In the box will be a handmade countdown calendar (counting down the days until we leave), some Disney Christmas shirts for the entire family, and Disney dollars for each of them. Party City has big Mickey head & Minnie head balloons .... so we will get one of each, attach a weight to the balloon so they will pop out of the box when opened (without flying to the ceiling). I can't wait to see their reaction! I know our kids (& nephew that lives with us) will be thrilled about going back again!

This past trip, our kids knew about a year in advance (we did a countdown calendar about 3 months out), and it was a really long wait for the little ones. Next year, they will only know about a week in advance ..... the hard part will be keeping the secret for that long! At least I have hubby to talk to until then ... and of course, my DISboards friends.

 

[Tinker_]

One of my friends just sent her DD on a fun scavenger hunt around the house with a present that had something to do with Disney at each clue- at the end she had a countdown chain in a box, and a sign that said- MERRY CHRISTMAS WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY!!

A few of the gifts she did were Mickey Santa ears, ornamants, A backpack, and of course- Mickey Tie dye! The end result was amazing, her daughter was in TEARS! I would love to post a pic of her for ya, but don't want to do it without her permission! But- I can show you what the shirts looked like-

 

[sharlon]

We surprised our kids with a trip last Christmas. I went to the Dollar Tree and Big Lots and got a bunch of Disney stuff, things like a photo album, journal, pens, etc. I also gave them each a disposable camera. (some of the gifts varied depending on the age of the child, 11, 9, and 3 at the time) That way they had lots of little gifts to open that cost very little. I then had them open a guidebook that I had picked up at Big Lots. And finally the confirmation with a picture of the Polynesian.

 

[jtopp]

Last christmas, we found a large gift bag with a voice recorder. We put small disney items inside, along with a gift tin from the disney store with the park passes in them. When they opened the bag, the message said " You're going to Disneyworld! How fast can you pack?". Needless to say, it was a great surprise!

 

[pixarmom]

In the box will be a handmade countdown calendar (counting down the days until we leave), some Disney Christmas shirts for the entire family, and Disney dollars for each of them. Party City has big Mickey head & Minnie head balloons .... so we will get one of each, attach a weight to the balloon so they will pop out of the box when opened (without flying to the ceiling). I can't wait to see their reaction! I know our kids (& nephew that lives with us) will be thrilled about going back again!
)

Thanks so much to everyone for sending more ideas! I'm combining lots of them for our package. The countdown calendar is great! Our older boys love to help plan for months in advance, but the littlest will have trouble understanding the timing, so this will help. And I couldn't figure out something big for the boxes, so the balloons will be perfect!

Tinker, thanks for the great t-shirt pictures - wow!