Christmas at Disney World or Disneyland just isn’t in the cards this year? No problem! Here are 7 ways to have a Disney Christmas at home.
Each time the holidays come around, my mind instantly screams DISNEY! A Disney Christmas is so magical that it almost can’t be described. You have to see it to believe it! Spending Christmas at Disney World is my absolute favorite way to spend the holidays, and we try to go as often as we can during the Christmas season because it’s just that awesome.
If you aren’t convinced that you need to see Disney at Christmas time, read this post.
But sometimes, a trip is just not in the cards. My husband either doesn’t have anymore paid time off, our schedule is filled to the brim, or money is running low. And it really STINKS when that happens. In a perfect world where we had everything our way, we would be at Disney World every single holiday season experiencing that magic we dream of.
And then sometimes it works out that we’re going to Disney AFTER Christmas (I mean, Disney vacations make amazing Christmas gifts), but we feel like we just can’t wait any longer to go!
Even when a trip to the happiest place on earth isn’t possible right in the middle of Christmas time, we still like to bring a little Disney magic into our home to celebrate the holiday season! So if your situation is like ours, we’d like to help you make some magic at home this year.
1. Have a Movie Night
One of our favorite family Christmas activities is snuggling up with a fuzzy blanket, warming up some hot chocolate, getting our favorite snacks, and watching Christmas movies. If you like to do this too, give your movie night a Disney twist this year and pick out a holiday themed Disney movie! Here are some of our favorites:
- The Santa Claus movies
- Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas
- Disney’s A Christmas Carol or Mickey’s Christmas Carol
- Santa Buddies
- Frozen (not necessarily Christmas themed – but still a great winter movie!)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Noelle (new on Disney +!)
There are so many more out there! All you need to do is do a quick search on Netflix or Amazon and you’ll find a ton. Or, if you have Disney +, just watch any Disney classic and you’ll be set!
2. Have a Disney themed Christmas tree
We love to add a little bit of Disney into our decor at home. Our motto is the more the merrier because it makes it feel more like you’re in Disney World when you go all out! One of the things we’ve always wanted to do is to create a Mickey themed tree. This would be really fun for the kids because you could let them pick the Disney theme that they want to go with. Let them get creative with it and see what they can find to go on their tree! They could do a Frozen theme (an Olaf tree would be adorable!), the Jungle Book, monorail, Star Wars, or any other theme from a Disney movie they love. I’ll show you some of my favorites that I’ve seen!
Disney Christmas Tree by Southern Living
Nightmare Before Christmas Tree by The Keeper of the Cheerios
Darth Vader Christmas Tree by Woman’s World
The Little Mermaid Christmas Tree
3. Have a baking night
There’s nothing that I love more than holiday baking. I love it even more when I’m doing it with my family! Put on some Christmas music, grab an apron and get to baking those cookies! For a Disney twist, I recommend either making Mickey-shaped cookies, cakes, or pies. Or, to make it feel more like you’re in the parks, try to recreate your favorite holiday recipe that you like to eat at Disney World or Disneyland. Pinterest has great recipe ideas for this! Here are some that I’m going to try this year:
Disney Worlds Copycat Pumpkin Spice Waffles from Theme Parks for Grown Ups
Mickey and Minnie Holiday Donuts by Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Mickey’s Festive Hot Chocolate by Tater Tots and Jello
4. Have a craft night
The kids will have so much fun with this! There are so many options and you can make it easy for toddlers or more detailed for older kids. Here are a few ideas that I love.
Dollar Tree Rustic Mickey Ears Ornament by Elle Marie Home
7 DIY Mickey Mouse Christmas Ornaments by Overstuffed Life
Disney Mickey Mouse Paper Snowflake Craft Tutorial by Sand and Snow
Mickey Mouse Snowman Cards from Disney Family
5. Wear Disney Holiday PJ’s
Buy some Disney Christmas pajamas or better yet – make your own! You could go to your local monogram shop and buy them customized (that’s usually what we do) or you could look for some on Amazon or Etsy. You could even make your pajamas during your craft night if you are feeling crafty! Be sure to take some pictures for your Christmas cards!
6. Read Disney Christmas books before bed
Our daughter is at the age where she is really into books. She loves to point at the objects on the page and laugh at them. It’s so cute and we have so much fun reading together! This would be a great tradition to start with your kids. If you’re looking for Disney Christmas story suggestions, I recommend getting this book. It’s a huge collection of Disney Christmas stories that your kids are sure to love!
7. Help make someone else’s Christmas magical
Mickey and his pals are all about helping their friends feel special wherever they are. Take some time out to honor Mickey and help make someone else’s holiday season better! One of our favorite ways to bless people during the holiday season is by baking some treats and giving them to our neighbors (Mickey ear cookies anyone?). You could even take some to a nursing home, children’s home or homeless shelter and spend some time with the residents.
