giving a disney trip as a Christmas Gift

[jkjjhuddle]

We just booked a trip for Jan 16-23. We are making this part of our boys Christmas present this year. Looking for some creative ways to tell them on Christmas morning that we are going to Disney!!!

 

[sah95]

I took my son, now 12, to WDW for his 7th birthday. We finished supper and gave him 1 wrapped gift. It was a suitcase! The look on his face was priceless!! Like, did I just get a suitcase for my birthday???? Then we told him what is was for! It was the best surprise ever

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

We are doing something similar! Our Dec. trip is part of their Christmas gift. We have told them they will have to ask Santa if they can go in December or not. SO our plan is on the day before we leave have them wake up to a very large present by the tree left by Santa.

In it will be helium Mickey balloons (I saw them at Wal-Mart) and all sorts of park stuff, I preordered the maps you can make, Guide to the Magic for Kids, Autograph books etc. And then have a note in there from Mickey and/or Santa inviting them down the next day!

I am nearly as excited for the surprise as the actual trip! This will be the third time we have surprised them...we enjoy it

 

[seals]

We were going 2 weeks after Easter. For Easter I put in their basket a chocolate bunny, one toy and a note that said "Instead of candy and toys, we are going to Disney World in two weeks. Love, Mom and Dad" They read them and weren't terribly excited. So I asked them "aren't you excited to be going to Disney World?" and they said "Ohhh, we thought you meant you and Dad were going to Disney World in two week." Sheesh! So, my advice is to be clear

 

[jkahne9]

...from the Disney website. I personalized them on the website with the things we want to see and do. The maps are delivered in the mail. I give one to each of my kids and they look at it thinking I'm teasing them about Disney. But, when I tell them to actually read it, The French family trip to WDW, their eyes light up and I wish them a merry Christmas and tell them we're going to Disneyworld 12/6 - 12/13. Better than buying a bunch of stuff they will never get as much enjoyment out of. DD 17 DS 11

 

[TunaSled]

Our DS9 is getting a WDW trip for Christmas. We leave Nov. 30. He will find out Thanksgiving night, by coming home from T-day dinner at his grandparents' house to a Christmas tree fully decked out Disney-style. I have already begun gathering ornaments. On the tree will be an envelope with an "invitation" to WDW along with his plane ticket and maps. I also have tix to MVMCP that I may save for one last bang, they're for our last day. But since we won't have our KTTW until check-in, maybe I will give him his MVMCP ticket at that time... I can't decide!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We did that last year with our nieces...we went Jan 20-25 and we kept it a secret forever.

On Xmas Eve we did a scavenger hunt with all kinds of Disney clues and the the gifts were Disney tee shirts, little Disney toys and coloring books..nothing expensive. Hanging on our tree were Disney Mickey Mouse gift card holders and we bought them gift cards (they thought it was for the local Disney store).

The final gift was 2 (one for each kid) Disney planning videos and we watched it but I had them look at the Poly resort part first and said we are staying there..they thought I meant me and DH but then we had to tell them they were too!

They were so shocked!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Could you get some of the little Mickey beanies (toy aisle with othe Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuff ~$7.00/ea), make a sign that says you're going/invitation to see them, wrap that in a box and have the boys open it together? You could go further and use a REALLY big box, put some balloons in it with a stuffed Mickey with the invitation and have them pull off the lid together.

 

[Cant wait for Disney]

My husband surprised me with a Disney trip last Christmas so this idea is all his. On Christmas morning there were four shirt sized boxes under the tree stacked up and wrapped together in ribbon. He told me I had to open them one at a time from the top down. Well by the time i opened the first one i caught on and started crying my eyes out haha! He had downloaded Disney font and written one word on four separate sheets of paper that were placed in the four separate boxes. So opening them up one at a time went: "We're-Going-To Disney!"
It was awesome. Then after i freaked out he busted out the maps and what not. Worked great for me!

 

[wmharley]

I'd do a scavenger hunt around the house...

1) 1st present would be a t-shirt with Mickey on it. then on a sheet of paper (I did a riddle for the next clue) it would lead to the next clue.

2) could be a small suitcase of theirs somewher ein the house.. The sheet of paper could say put the shirt in the bag and take both items to the next clue.

3) a toy airplane... again, clue could include take the airplane and bag to next clue..

4) stuffed mickey dolls... clue says if they've figured it out... if not then proceed to clue 5 which would be a calendar with the dates circled...

I bet they figure it out then..

I did something similar with my DD for her birthday last year and she still talks about the hunt she did and stating I need to do it again.. she's 4.

 

[jkjjhuddle]

great ideas!!! Now it has me on the right track to get to thinking about it. Just what I needed.

We were in Disney last October and the boys have talked non stop about going back. They are 10 and 6. They both got really into pin trading last year and I have their lanyards put up. I think I might put them in the bottom of their stocking with some new pins, but then we also want to wrap something up for them. We will be leaving Jan 16 so I think they might unwrap a countdown calendar type thing where they will get something new for the trip each day until we leave. (small items of course) I know my oldest was way more into the hidden mickeys than we expected so the hidden mickey book will be perfect.

Keep the ideas coming. I love how creative everyone has been at announcing the news!

 

[shannn]

I'm giving this trip to my BF as her birthday present. I'm planning on wrapping a bunch of helium balloons in a box so they'll come out when she opens it (like on the commercials...) Then there will be a Mickey tie dye in the bottom of the box.

 

[jkjjhuddle]

Ok.. I think I figured out what I am going to do...

Christmas morning with their other presents there will be a present for each child wrapped. In the box will be 22 small wrapped gifts. One for each day leading up to the trip.

The first "gift" will be the custom maps. That will be our way of twlling them along with a note. Then each day they will have a little present to open for the trip. Most things will be inexpensive. A few will be nicer things that I would be buying for the trip anyway. A travel game for the car ride, hidden mickey book, and a Disney sweatshirt.

That will be a good way to tie the trip to their Christmas and continue the gift giving through until the trip. So now I will be looking for deals on anything related to disney and get these put up now.

 

[RCMommy]

We are going Dec 13- 20 and this is my plan to surprise our 6 yr old twins....

(they knew all about the trip last year and drove us batty asking if it was time yet!)

On Dec 1st when I give them their advent calendars I will have a little clue on a note for a hidden 'gift' The gift will be one of the customized Disney maps that you can do online. (big bummer is b/c I live in Canada they will not ship it to me so I have to print it myself) Anywho I will print it off, add our family name and then have it laminated. Attached to the map will be the MVMCP tickets!

The suprise doesn't have to be big...after all you are going to DW !!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Disney Dollars in the stocking.

 

[Sarahboo]

Our trip is a Christmas present for our kids this year too (I'm trying to keep it a surprise, but I keep wanting to talk about it or almost say something, it will be a small miracle if it stays a secret!), but we aren't going until late January. These are great tips everyone!

I already ordered the maps, and I love the idea of the big box with helium balloons.

 

[minniebeth]

We gave a January Disney trip to our kids one year for Christmas, it was when they were doing the Pirate and Princess parties. We did a scavenger hunt and had our DDs dress up like princess pirates and DS dress up like a pirate to do the hunt. They still didn't get it since a lot of treasures were pirate and princess related. The last "treasure" was puzzle pieces divided up for each kid. It was a craft/make your own puzzle. I wrote in sharpies "We're going to see Mickey in Disneyworld" (or something like that). The kids had to work together to put the puzzle together. They couln't say anything until it was all put together, as they are different ages and obviously the older one caught on first. It was SO fun to see their reactions when it was complete!
The next day we did a Disney everything breakfast (partyware, cereal, balloons, etc.) and watched the planning videos. It was one of the best Christmases we ever had!

 

[amyj1024]

I like the balloon idea, as we are surprising the kids with a trip in Feb. and we will tell them at Christmas, but how do you keep the balloons from not deflating in the box. They usually only last less than 24 hours....I would have to sneak away to fill balloons and wrap the box that morning?