How do you do Santa when at Disney??

[Zoemakes5]

I'd like feedback from anyone/everyone, but especially would like to hear from people who have btdt.

We're looking at Christmas week trip down to Orlando. Have a GREAT deal with a townhouse off site, just put in my deposit today. I'm so excited. I'm planning this to be the kids' present, just Santa and maybe something small from us. Going to ask the in-laws for Disney Gift Cards again for Christmas (the kids really liked that this last year.) Planning not to tell them until we wake them up to go on the plane, to make it more a "present" rather than a planned vacation.

Anyway, anybody have good ideas on how to do Santa? We will be flying. I thought about maybe bringing their stockings and doing that, but having a note in the stocking for their "big" item, saying Santa left the big item at home. (Santa always brings stockings and one larger item, often the "most wanted" item.) But, I just don't know. Wouldn't be an issue with DS's who don't really believe in the real santa, more the spirit of Christmas, but might be with DD?

What have others done, either while at Disney or even when you've just been traveling elsewhere? Any thoughts or other ideas?
Thanks!!!

 

[bnhasak]

I think that is a great idea...the note.

We always have Santa leave a note for the kids.

This year we were in Orlando for Christmas and we told the kids Santa would bring some of their gift to the hotel, but others would be waiting for us @ home.

Worked great and was a wonderful trip full of memories!

 

[kelscross]

We left on xmas day one year so we had Santa on xmas eve morning. My girls are little so I could tell them it's xmas tomorrow and they would buy it...lol

 

[bennythepug]

Just this past Christmas we (my dh, myself and our 3 kids) drove to CT to visit my family. We spent Christmas eve and the following days in a hotel room. We actually brought a 4ft artifical tree and put it up and decorated it Christmas eve.
The hard part was presents. With 3 young believers and 1 sleeping extremly close to the tree on an air mattress on the floor- it was difficult to say the least. We brought all their presents in the back of the mini-van in big dark rubbermaid totes. When they were finally asleep my dh would bring in the totes and put them in the bathroom. Once they were all in, we covertly started putting stuff under the tree. With some light sleepers we had to abort mission a few times. Turn off the 1 light we were working with and start again a few minutes later!
A long process, we were finally done at 1am. It was stressfull - but we laughed together like we had'nt in a long time
I did'nt honestly think we would pull it off, but in the end we did and it was great- we will proboly do again

 

[ranthony]

Luckily, we'll be driving. I plan on bringing a small tree and putting it up in the hotel. "Santa" will deliver a few gifts at WDW but the majority of gifts will be waiting at home.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

In 2004 we drove down to WDW over the Christmas Holiday. We took the gifts from us, and let the boys open them along the way to WDW. It gave them stuff to do in the car and helped pass the time. We were actually at Universal Studios on Christmas Day. When the boys woke up that morning, there was a note from Santa explaining that he thought it was best to leave his gifts at the house. That there wasn't enough room in our car for everything (He checked himself to be sure) and we have so much stuff planned to do in the parks that the gifts would be a distraction. The day we left for the parks, we picked the boys up from school, so I was able to display the gifts before we left. Maybe a friend could help you with that if you can't? It really worked out well for us and the boys were even more excited to get home! Have a MAGICal trip!

 

[HookdonWDW]

When we flew down for Christmas, I went and bought a really large box from a moving company. I packed an artificial tree, decorations, stockings and gifts in the box. Then I took the box to Fed Ex (to the actual Fed Ex terminal... not a shipper), and mailed it to our hotel. The box weighed a little over 75 lbs, and it cost under $30 to ship it. When it was time to go home, we packed the box back up, and the front desk shipped it home for us for about the same price. It was very easy and much cheaper than buying stuff in Orlando!

 

[Princess Roo]

We plan to always do Christmas at my parents' or DH parents' (except this year, since we'll have a brand new baby - everyone is coming to us!) so that the whole family can be together. (We get together with the other side of the family for Thanksgiving and alternate years.) What we (including my and DH's siblings) do is to have the gifts from family and the stockings from Santa on Christmas and then a note that Santa left the other gifts at our house. DS2 was SO excited when we got home this year and there were more gifts for him, and there was no way we were traveling with a Little Tykes kitchen! As time goes on I think it will be something to look forward to after having to say goodbye to grandma and grandpa...or in your case, leaving Disney...and something to talk about on the trip home.

 

[DisneyFanatik]

We will be at Disney for Christmas too, and I was also thinking about the whole "Santa" thing. It is naturally not an issue for my DS14, but my DS8 is on the edge of not believing anymore - he is not quite sure yet! Nonetheless, what I decided to do is have our extended family Christmas celebration a week early. That is when we will tell the boys about the trip, which will be our gift to them. Since our Christmas tree gets set up in our basement, I will lay out the bulk of their "Santa" gifts the night before we leave. We will leave early in the morning and they will never know that anything is out down there. I plan on bringing a small tree and a few small gifts with us (we will be driving). On Christmas morning they will open the small gifts and there will be a note saying that there are more at home. I figure this way instead of being depressed at the end of the trip, they will have something to look forward to at home!

 

[AUBURNGIRL22]

We are going to Disney this Christmas, too. We are having a letter sent from the North Pole after Thanksgiving telling them that Santa has a special gift for the whole family this year "A trip to Disney". Then I am going to have a small tree setup in the room with Disney cards under the tree. We are staying 10 days so this is Christmas for us.

Is it really crowded at Christmas?

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We have been at Disney for Christmas Day. While we were already at Disney (their big present) I still felt it necessary for the kids to celebrate the holiday itself. We brought stockings and a small tabletop tree. Santa left a few small items and also left them letters with hints about gifts that were waiting for them back home (because Santa explained to them how he knew they were away and would have a hard time getting all those special goodies he had for them home on the plane). It helped build the excitement too about going home (instead of being all sad we were leaving Disney). Plus the experience of actually waking up at Disney and all the fabulous stuff that goes on there for Christmas...it definitely makes up for being far from home.