Twas the Night Before ... Christmas 09?! - 12/30 New TR! Please come join me!

[wigdoutdismom]

I forgot to wish everyone a happy Halloween! Just to brag a bit, here are my two cuties in their Halloween costumes:

How sweet is that? Too cute!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Happydog, I'm wishing you all Happy Hauntings tonight!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Happydog,

love your fall get away in Va...great photos...looks like so much fun...

If you don't mind me asking-where was it you stayed exactly-if you'd rather pm me I'd appreciate that too...

(I've been looking for a place like that to go away to with the kids since we did a little "camping" outside Santa Cruz (Costanoa) and Santa Barbara (El Capitan)-basically sweet little cabins with inside bathrooms and about as roughing it as I want to get......but a nice way to get in touch with nature...and be close to the outdoors...

How sweet is that apple festival......Nothing like a good apple festival...

We live outside Philadelphia so I'd go up into NY state a bit or down into VA...

Love your stocking from Target...seems like you always find great things there...

(Anita-I so want a Mickey Waffle Iron too...but you claimed the current one on ebay so I won't big...I hope you get it...I know I used to see them in the stores...hmmm....they need to start remaking them...)

 

[MeMom]

I forgot to wish everyone a happy Halloween! Just to brag a bit, here are my two cuties in their Halloween costumes:

So very sweet! Thanks for sharing that.

Oh, and hello to East Tennessee from Middle Tennessee!

 

[Happydog]

I forgot to wish everyone a happy Halloween! Just to brag a bit, here are my two cuties in their Halloween costumes:

Oh how very very sweet!!! I am so envious of the girls!!! LOVE the minnie inspired costumes

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I have a Mickey waffle iron. I use it a lot. If you want waffles that taste more like the ones in 'The World', try some malted waffle mix. You can get it at Williams-Sonoma or order it. I read somewhere a long time ago that Disney World uses Carbon's malted mix, which can be ordered. Beware - it is expensive. I got some at Williams-Sonoma and mixed it in with my regular mix. It was still good, and it lasted a good while like that. The Mickey waffles were better than normal. I'm out of mix right now and can't bring myself to pay the price again just yet, but I probably will as the holidays near.

Thank you soooo much! I will be checking out W-S!!!! I feel like no matter what we do to a mix or recipe we can never duplicate the wonderful taste of those Mickey waffles!

 

[raider97]

I LOVE those stockings!! I had been debating taking ours or buying some new ones for the trip, but didn't want to spend a fortune. I am going to go shop for some Mickey ones for our trip right now!!

Glad the planning is going well! And Yummmm! Mickey waffles are the best!

Stephanie

 

[aharbin88]

So very sweet! Thanks for sharing that.

Oh, and hello to East Tennessee from Middle Tennessee!

Helloooooo! It's always great to meet another Tennessee mouse fan!

Oh how very very sweet!!! I am so envious of the girls!!! LOVE the minnie inspired costumes

How sweet is that? Too cute!

Thanks y'all! I was just tickled to death at how cute they were, and I've shown that picture to everyone with eyes!

 

[Happydog]

I am planning to do this exact same thing! Of course, I'm doing it for SIX kids (my 2 plus SIL's 4), so I'm hoping to find them for even less than $9.99 after Christmas. I'm getting so into planning, though, that I want to buy them RIGHT NOW! I am SO not patient when it comes to shopping!

I think I missed the binder post! Ack! Do you remember which post it was? I'll have to search for it! I have a Carolina Pad folder holding my info right now, but I don't think it's going to be enough to last me the rest of the year.

HI! Don't worry this site is full of the biggest shopping enablers you will ever meet, so be careful! I have become a Vera fan because of the DIS! Good grief! And I have discovered a variety of must-have shopping items as a result of some friendly arm twisting!

Re the Binder, no, I will post that officially this weekend... have lots to share, but it is a busy week with evening activities for work this week... so it will have to wait until the weekend.

Happydog, I'm wishing you all Happy Hauntings tonight!

A Belated THANKYOU!

Happydog,

love your fall get away in Va...great photos...looks like so much fun...

If you don't mind me asking-where was it you stayed exactly-if you'd rather pm me I'd appreciate that too...

(I've been looking for a place like that to go away to with the kids since we did a little "camping" outside Santa Cruz (Costanoa) and Santa Barbara (El Capitan)-basically sweet little cabins with inside bathrooms and about as roughing it as I want to get......but a nice way to get in touch with nature...and be close to the outdoors...

How sweet is that apple festival......Nothing like a good apple festival...

We live outside Philadelphia so I'd go up into NY state a bit or down into VA...

Love your stocking from Target...seems like you always find great things there...

(Anita-I so want a Mickey Waffle Iron too...but you claimed the current one on ebay so I won't big...I hope you get it...I know I used to see them in the stores...hmmm....they need to start remaking them...)

Sure I will send you the details -- I have to get them from DH, but there are some great cabin deals in the Shennandoah valley area -- near the National Park if you google Shennandoah Cabins...

I didn't realize how popular my waffler was going to be!!

Thank you soooo much! I will be checking out W-S!!!! I feel like no matter what we do to a mix or recipe we can never duplicate the wonderful taste of those Mickey waffles!

Yes, MeMom was great to share that tip!!! And no, we can probably never TRULY duplicate the taste, but we can get fat trying!!!

I LOVE those stockings!! I had been debating taking ours or buying some new ones for the trip, but didn't want to spend a fortune. I am going to go shop for some Mickey ones for our trip right now!!

Glad the planning is going well! And Yummmm! Mickey waffles are the best!

Stephanie

Yes, I thought they were cute too! Definitely cheaper than the Disney Store stockings... Thanks! I have lots to share, just need some time to get my post all set up!

 

[Happydog]

Okay, so I was waylaid the past week with many work events, but am starting to catch up now! I realize I have not even posted any Halloween photos! But I will get those up here shortly! I also took a bunch of photos of my recent shopping and collecting of little items for the trip, so I will post these pics as well! I have to get my update all organized!


So according to my ticker, and I just have to live by ticker time ....

I am at 40 days until DISNEY WORLD!!!

I am still in total shock! I have been a busy bee thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas plans... Some of these plans are of course Disney related, but some are just what I plan/need to do here at home. One thing I have to work on with my DH is what or how we are going to share the trip with our two boys... We did a "mega hidden box with balloons surprise" for the June/July trip... staged a "get in the car we are leaving for Mickey's Halloween Party right now!" for our short September/October trip... and now Christmas. I am not sure where to go with this one.... sooooo... I will be tossing around a few ideas here on the boards and expect your help, of course!

After all -- ho ho ho! We have to have a little magic!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

40 days! That is just crazy. It's just around the corner.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

40 days!!!

How can that be?!?​

 

[Happydog]

So I have been shopping…

With my past few trips, I have really had fun trying to stuff as much Disney-related "theming" into the experience as I could possibly get! This trip is no different!

I am preparing trip goodie bags for my two boys again, an idea I must say came from the boards last year, as I was preparing for my summer trip. The goodie bags will have some fun items and toys to distract the kids on the trip down to Mickey’s World!

I started with the idea of a Disney Christmas Stocking... I fell in love with some fabulous stockings at the Disney Christmas store when we were there in October, but couldn’t justify spending so much money for stockings (which were just going to be the “bag” for the fun, and then be hung in our Villa while we were on our trip.) So I thought something might show up at Target (as I vaguely remembered this last year) and I was right! Before Halloween had even happened, I searched online and found them! I ordered two, and the beloved stockings arrived Friday! WARNING!!!! WigD bought out all the Target stores in Kansas, so if you missed the opportunity, or have not seen them yet keep an eye out! I ended up getting them online b/c they said they were online only, but the next day I did see them in the stores, and it was fun to see them in person – it just got me more excited to receive them! Here they are:

They are really nice, soft and good sized. They are perfect for my purposes!

Last summer, when I ordered balloons for our trip "surprise reveal", I found these cute Christmas Mickey balloons as well. Knowing we were going at Christmas, I bought them with the others I was getting at the time.

So these will become part of our surprise trip announcement -- not sure what form this will take, yet, but that is forthcoming! I also happened to find this adorable shopping bag at Target, too, and figured I could use it somehow -- it matches the balloons PERFECTLY!

Over the past few weeks or so I have been collecting bits and pieces…. Actually I bought some treats on our last trip (October) knowing I couldn’t get them at any other time! So here are some of those items, which will make their way into these trip bags. Also this is just the collection of Disney items that I have purchased – notice the great Target dollar bin stuff! And of course other items I have found.

I did get the junior novelization of Disney's Christmas Carol for my DS7 .. he likes these books, and we hope to see the new movie in the next few weeks, probably before Thanksgiving weekend...

As I mentioned, some of these items I got earlier, at WDW -- the Disney Racers, and the Lego men...

The Uno card game I found, and thought it would be perfect for the trip!

Now when I was browsing in the Christmas aisle at Target (where else?!) I found these.. there were several types -- Mickey, Goofy, Mater, Darth Vader, etc... But I thought this would be a HIGHlarious addition to our car during our trip... Mickey says some funny things.. about bumps in the road, etc. Will definitely drive my DH nuts -- which is exactly the effect I was looking for

My DMIL gave me this movie, she bought it for the boys, so I am saving it for the stockings as well... I am actually waiting for another movie to come out... "Santa Buddies" … my two DS’s love “Air Buddies” and the various spinoffs they have seen – "Snow Buddies", "Space Buddies", etc. It was seasonal, so I can't resist... it will be released on the 24th of this month! We already own the Muppet's version of A Christmas Carol, so we will just bring that one with us!

Another item I have been thinking about is my binder, and a trip countdown calendar. A trip to Michael’s and Home Depot helped me out tremendously … Here is my loot!

Now what it turns out to look like remains to be seen!!!

On the Disney Store site I noticed a Christmas music CD, and a few other items… I am still scheming about this purchase... there are a few items that might find their way into my mailbox at somepoint! HA! I heard it being played at the Disney Store when I went into one here locally. I can go and buy the CD or order it, this is only a matter of time, I am sure

Well, hopefully this post has been a good kickoff for my PTR again -- I just can't believe that Thanksgiving is coming up in a few short weeks! I am so conflicted about which holiday I should be paying attention to

We are doing Thanksgiving at our house this year -- my DBIL and Inlaws will be here... it will be very low key -- I have too many big plans for the next day!

I have been putting together lots and lots of lists, too, by the way... I have lists for packing, lists for shopping -- things like snacks, etc. to bring with us, and to do lists for here at home and for the trip.. crazy! I have to spend more time on TGM's site, and surfing the Christmas threads here on the DIS... SO much to do! Did I say 40 days!!?? Why did that seem like so much time when I started this post!!!???

Ah well... thanks for reading and thanks for sharing!!!
HO HO HO!!!

 

[Happydog]

40 days!!!

How can that be?!?​

Oh okay, okay...

It REALLY is 41 days.... BUT if my ticker says it is 40... I am not going to complain!!!

 

[Happydog]

40 days! That is just crazy. It's just around the corner.

YOU are telling me!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

40 or 41 days -- your trip will be here before you know it! Loved looking at all your recent purchases! What fun stockings/goody bags you are putting together! I am intrigued by your mention of the Disney Christmas CD -- I will need to go investigate that!

 

[Happydog]

40 or 41 days -- your trip will be here before you know it! Loved looking at all your recent purchases! What fun stockings/goody bags you are putting together! I am intrigued by your mention of the Disney Christmas CD -- I will need to go investigate that!

Yes! Do! I think it was called sounds of the season or something like that, I gotta go check it out again -- I noticed it this morning while I was snooping around the Disney Store site ... just lOOKING at a few things...

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yes! Do! I think it was called sounds of the season or something like that, I gotta go check it out again -- I noticed it this morning while I was snooping around the Disney Store site ... just lOOKING at a few things...

I have been over there a few times, but haven't seen that yet -- I am coveting the Mickey Christmas mug set. I keep having visions of serving hot chocolate in them.

 

[Happydog]

I have been over there a few times, but haven't seen that yet -- I am coveting the Mickey Christmas mug set. I keep having visions of serving hot chocolate in them.

YES those are cute!!! IF you go to the CD/DVD section of the "holiday store" it is there...

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Great update, I had the Donald dashboard topper in my hands just today, they didn't have Mickey. Baylor loves Donald so that may be just perfect for his stocking....
As you get your lists going could you post them please. I need someone to think for me these days.....

We'll soon be in the 30s! Wahoooo!