Disney Holiday Gift Guide 4.0
Okay, I won’t lie. We’re not at the point in the holiday season where the situation’s getting tense. If you don’t buy something online soon, you’re in trouble. UPS and FedEx stop guaranteeing Christmas arrival around December 18th. You need to get serious about your shopping. Otherwise, you’re going to wind up shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve. Literally nobody on the planet deserves that fate. Let me help you avoid the doomsday scenario with the fourth set of Gift Guide selections. (You can find the first three guides here, here, and here.)
Classic Disney Watch
Did you have a favorite Disney watch when you were a kid? Disney’s been in the business of selling wristwatches for almost as long as they’ve been in the business of, well, business. An internet store has celebrated the legacy of Disney’s decades of merchandising. They’ve stocked their store with dozens of models, many of which are difficult to find otherwise.
The website has a name that’s easy to remember, also. It’s DisneyWatch.com, and you can browse their collection to see if one of their products might appeal to someone you love. While kids will like the silliness of the devices, let’s be honest that theirs is a tablet culture. Watches aren’t really their thing. You’re more likely to find something here that reminds an adult of a simpler time or a perfect Christmas gift from way back when.
Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service
Speaking of gifts for grown-ups, do you have a loved one who is business-obsessed? Finding a gift for such folks isn’t easy, but I have an outside-the-box suggestion for you. Be Our Guest is a book that researches the success story of Disney customer service. It reveals the methods in place for Disney’s cast member training. By reading the book, a person will appreciate exactly how much money can be made by getting back to a basic business principle: pleasing the customer.
When you give the gift, your friend/family member might look at you funny. Months from now, they’ll thank you for the insightful read, though. I’ve had the pleasure of reading this book, and I say as both an economics expert and a Disney lover that it’s a true page-turner, a rarity in the business world.
Disney Sketch Zip Satchel
I’m a man and not a fashionable one at that. As such, the words Dooney & Bourke mean absolutely nothing to me. I am, however, happily married, which means that I’m smart enough to have done the right thing. I’ve purchased a Dooney & Bourke bag for my wife. At least I think I have. All purses look the same today.
Now, you’re rightfully questioning whether you should take gift-giving advice from me about fashion given the paragraph above. That’s totally valid. I do have some expertise in this one area, though. I’m self-aware enough to know my limitations. When I see my wife shopping at the Disney Store, I discreetly write down the names of the products. When she really likes something but seems annoyed by the price, I take a picture of the product. That way, I can remember it for anniversaries, birthdays, and Christmas gift-giving.
And I know for certain that women like this bag. I say this because I witnessed several women at Disney Springs line up to examine this bag. They looked at that bag in a way that no woman has ever looked at me. I’m not taking this as a personal slight, though. If Mick Jagger had traveled through time from 1964 to visit Disney Springs, he would not have garnered the attention that this particular bag did. The only negative is the price of $268.
Loungefly Disney Minnie Mouse Denim Saddle Bag
Do you like the idea of a purse but don’t want to spend $268? I get that. If I ever bought a wallet that cost $268, it better come with a Bitcoin code inside it. The good news is that a BoxLunch Exclusive Saddle Bag will please your loved one roughly as much at 20% of the cost. As I type this, the Minnie Mouse Denim Saddle Bag (which I’m stubbornly calling a purse) costs $41.93 because it’s on sale. The regular cost is $59.90, which is still more than $200 less than the Dooney & Bourke bag.
I can also tell you from experience that this particular saddle bag is a crowd-pleaser. My wife and I celebrate the holidays differently than most. She gets a present a day throughout December. She’s already opened this gift and squealed with delight. It’s absolutely adorable, works well as a smaller purse, and a fun chain link for the shoulder carrier.
Cakeworthy Disney Capsule ‘17
Cakeworthy doesn’t sell cake! I KNOW! It was a huge surprise to me as well. Okay, they may sell some cake, but it’s not the main part of their product line. Instead, they are waaaaaay into flannel shirts, so much so that we wonder if they know it’s not the 1990s…or Seattle.
Despite the stubbornly retro fabric choices, they make extremely great clothing. They also lean into the fact that their merchandise isn’t always on the cutting edge. The Disney Capsule line is a new venture wherein they celebrate some of the greatest moments in Disney animation. These shirts, many of which are flannel, include quotes from Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. They also have adorable images such as Elvis Stitch, half of Ursula’s face, and an action shot of the flight to Neverland. You can see the entire clothing line here. I’m confident you’ll find something for a Disney fan or two in your life.
Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection: Disneyland
Do you have a Disney fan who laments every second that they’re not at the Happiest Place on Earth? Well, I have a solution for you, one that’s proven successful in my home. This Walt Disney Records collection features an amazing total of 54 (!) songs from the various Disney attractions.
You can listen to The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room until you literally go insane, you can laugh your way through eight minutes of the Splash Mountain medley, or you can enjoy the entire musical score to Fantasmic! This single $14.78 compilation has several hours of music included. While it comes in standard audio CD form, don’t worry! You also get the MP3 versions of the songs with purchase. It’s actually cheaper to take the CD than to buy the MP3 album on its own, as that version costs $18.99. Also, you can’t wrap a digital album.
An Adventures by Disney Vacation
Have you ever dropped your finger on a globe and imagined that you were there? Well, thanks to Disney, you can play a personalized kind of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, scratching out her name and replacing it with your own. Yes, through Adventures by Disney, you can travel to countless tourist destinations throughout the world, relishing an extended getaway somewhere fun.
Adventures by Disney is one of the most reputable travel services on the planet. Disney’s extended their customer service expertise beyond the theme parks, helping fans of the mouse celebrate dream vacations at places like London and Paris. If you fantasize about somewhere more exotic, other options include the Amazon and Galapagos Islands, Vietnam, Australia, China, Peru, and South Africa.
You go anywhere you like, trusting the Disney brand to guarantee an unforgettable but safe and family-friendly vacation. It’s the ultimate holiday gift, and all you need to do to get started is contact your friends at MickeyTravels!
David Mumpower is the author of the Disney Demystified series. For only $4.99 each, you can read book one about Disneyland or book two about Walt Disney World. The softcover books also make amazing stocking stuffers this holiday season!