
Traditions – they are what make your holidays and events special. Adding Disney to those traditions can make your holidays even more magical. Even if you have a tradition that has been passed down for generations, it’s never too late to add a few new fun ones! This month, we will highlight some of our personal family traditions that show off our Disney side. Want to share yours as well? Read December – Holiday Traditions or email NDM130 for more information today!
Pssst….there’s a Mouse on our Christmas Tree. You’ll want to come close and look.
See! There he is. And there. Over there he’s hiding on a totem pole with some bear, but it’s totally him. And his hat is over there, you can tell by the ears.
My husband and I went on our first trip together twelve years ago. Our destination was New Orleans and we traveled by train for our first adventure together, not knowing then how it would become part of our story. In honor of our trip, we bought a Christmas ornament for his tree. It was a tradition he had started on his travels before we met, but over the years it became ours. There’s a handblown glass Santa on a gondola from Venice, carried carefully in a backpack during our trek. A Santa on the Eiffel Tower. A rather grand looking Sinterklaas honoring our visits to the Netherlands. The tree celebrates the travels, adventures and milestones we’ve shared together.
Naturally, Mickey makes several appearances. Our first Walt Disney World ornament was purchased on our honeymoon.
And others have joined the collection over the years, like this one from our trip in 2008.Our son was born in 2012 and we started a new tradition, borrowed from my family, of selecting an ornament for him every year. His second ornament was Crush and Squirt from “Finding Nemo,” in honor of his attachment to the word “turtle” when he first started talking and his affection for the movie.
This year marked a new milestone as our son was allowed to pick his own ornament for the tree and he couldn’t have done a better job. We’re happy to welcome Fireman Mickey to the family and look forward to reliving the memory of picking him out on Main Street USA every year when we decorate the tree.
These special ornaments from our travels, adventures and times together help create a record of our family that we can share and celebrate in a special way every Christmas. Knowing that Walt Disney was a great storyteller, I think he would approve.
I was incredibly lucky to be introduced to Disney at an early age, with a Winnie the Pooh bedroom, complete with a red shag carpet (please forgive my parents, it was the 1970’s). I visited WDW as a child and clearly remember Goofy skiing up to the beach at the Polynesian Village Resort Hotel and that it was just after a dance recital, so I posed like a ballerina in almost every family shot! (My poor brother was mortified.) When we got a VCR, I became a huge fan of all the Disney shorts that were available on video watching them over and over again. However, it wasn’t until my husband and I honeymooned at Animal Kingdom Lodge and then a couple of years later participated in our first runDisney event that I became a fan at a much broader level. We now have a toddler who believes the cartoon Cinderella is “momma” and I am not going to correct him! I am so lucky to be able to enjoy Disney as a couple, a runner, a daughter and a mom. Raising our little boy to be a Disney fan makes everything more magical.