Disney Holiday Gift Guide 2.0
How is your holiday season going? With Thanksgiving earlier in November than usual this year, Black Friday is sooner than you probably realize. You need to get a jump on your shopping to beat the crowds. Otherwise, you’re either going to get stuck searching for a parking space in a crowded lot or reduced to checking Amazon several times a day to find that special gift in stock. MickeyBlog wants to save you that headache. Here’s the second in our series of holiday gift ideas!
Disney Ornaments
Since we’re still quite early in the holiday season, you can kill two birds with one stone by shopping for Disney ornaments. With literally hundreds of wonderful Disney characters as options, you can collect enough of these gorgeous creations to popular an entire Christmas tree.
I speak from experience on this subject. My family usually decorates three trees each holiday season. One is the “regular” tree with basic ornaments, another is an all-white tree we use for background ambience, and the most popular one is the Disney tree. All of the ornaments on this tree are Disney characters. When guests visit, it’s the one that receives the most compliments.
The ShopDisney website lists several of our favorite ornaments. I can personally recommend this Up house, this Grumpy log, and this Mickey Mouse balloon. This year, we plan to add this Lilo & Scrump ornament, this Moana action pose (complete with singing!), this Buzz Lightyear in The Claw, and the truly elegant Enchanted Rose Light-Up. Feel free to join us in spending a lot of disposable income on a shiny Disney holiday tree!
Disney Luggage
My wife and I are not hard to find at an airport. We’re the shamelessly touristy couple that owns matching luggage. Specifically, we own this luggage, and we are NOT the only ones. This set is on display at several Disney stores, including BVG at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Since we visit this store a lot, a kind of insidious subliminal marketing persuaded us to pick up the collection.
I suspect that this strategy is quite effective. Since we started buying the luggage, we’ve noticed its popularity at airports around the world. And at Orlando International Airport, I have to believe it’s one of the most popular luggage sets. We see lots of folks dragging their luggage, although not enough that there’s a worry that you’ll have a baggage mix-up. A sighting of Mickey Mouse luggage always makes us want to walk up to strangers and fist-bump them for their impeccable taste. Buy your own set and maybe we’ll randomly fist-bump you one day!
Porg Plush
Star Wars: The Last Jedi isn’t even out yet, but there’s already a breakout character from the new movie. Porgs are some sort of owl/penguin alien critters that have fans of Kawaii culture obsessing. On Star Wars Force Friday II, Porgs were the in-demand toy on a day predicated on commerce. Their popularity was so immediate and overwhelming that Disney sagely added one to the final trailer for The Last Jedi. You can buy a Porg Plush for $20 and thereby warm the heart of a child of any age. These things are so fuzzy that they threaten the very existence of the teddy bear.
Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghai
Disney books are always a great idea for Disney fans. The depth of available subject matter leads to a lot of interesting discussions. Maps of the Disney Parks is more of a coffee table book than a great work of literature in that it’s exactly what it sounds like.
This 144-page book consists of park maps from all Disney theme parks. It’s a kind of recorded history of the evolution of Disneyland and the places that came afterward. Every major expansion at each park is included on these maps. You can look at the concept art that Imagineers doodled as they plotted the future of the Happiest Place on Earth. It’s a wonderful book to flip through, and it should delight diehard Disney fans.
Minnie Mouse Earrings
Sometimes in life, you remember strange details for no particular reason. For example, when my father died a couple of years ago, I remember little about the funeral save for something completely random. A cousin whom I hadn’t seen in a while walked over to offer her condolences. For whatever reason, my mind locked on something happen in that moment: she was wearing an adorable pair of Minnie Mouse earrings. It was a happy thought during a week where I didn’t have many, and that memory has lingered.
I believe that this is the power of the Mickey/Minnie Mouse brand. It represents happiness and the purity of childhood innocence. In times of darkness, Disney merchandise is a source of comfort, a remembrance of simpler times. Now, that’s admittedly kind of heavy for a holiday gift guide suggestion, but there’s a purpose behind it.
When you buy Disney jewelry for a loved one, you’re doing more than giving them a gift. You’re also providing a happy conversation piece. Everyone can make small talk about Disney characters, and there’s literally no social situation where such talks are inappropriate. Plus, these earrings are the perfect combination of shiny and cute. Even better, they’re relatively inexpensive as far as holiday jewelry goes, but they look nice enough that they don’t seem cheap.
Zero Pet Home
In 2015, Hot Topic introduced a more upscale version of their main stores. This new retailer, BoxLunch, has an impressive business concept. When you buy products here, a portion of your purchase goes toward meals for the needy, the titular box lunch.
Keeping that in mind, Disney fans can and should shop here, because it’s a guilt-free way to load up on merchandise. And BoxLunch has a tremendous collection of Disney stuff. They even stock gifts for your furry family members.
For example, you can buy a holiday-appropriate The Nightmare Before Christmas Zero Pet Home for $50. It’s basically a dog house that has fabric and pillowing instead of wood. The mattress inside is even machine-washable. Since it’s designed for indoor use, you can give your dog (or cat) its own little room, a hidey hole when he or she needs some well-earned alone time after entertaining your family all day.
A Disney Vacation
You’ll notice a recurring theme in our gift guides. MickeyBlog understands that the greatest gift a family can give or receive is a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. It’s right there in the lexicon that such a vacation will bring joy to the whole family.
There’s no more certain way for you to win the gift unwrapping competition than providing the details for a Disney vacation. While kids forget about many of their Christmas toys by New Year’s Day, a trip to Disney is something that will keep them excited all the way up until the departure date. Even after they return, they’ll have memories that last a lifetime. Kids never forget their childhood trips Disney. You can give them that lifelong recollection this holiday season. And you should.
Fill out the form below or contact our friends at MickeyTravels for a free quote on your Disney vacation. It will surely be a magical holiday season for you and your family!
