Show Your #DisneySide with a Disney Side @Home Celebration

How many of you have a Goofy side?

I know that, for most people, we all have our serious sides. You know, the go to work, handle the bills, manage finances, be the strict parent, responsible side. However, while that may be just fine and dandy, we all have to let loose from time to time and, yes, let out our Goofy sides. And for those of you wondering, yes, the capital “G” was intentional because, after all, our wacky and silly sides are indeed our “Goofy” sides – our Disney sides! Whether you’re going all out for a trip to Disney, sporting a favorite character on your shirt for the day, wearing a good ol’ pair of mouse ears, or even just dancing around your living room to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Dog song, your #DisneySide is always there.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this…

That excited, giddy, child-like feeling simply overwhelms you.
You smile instantly and, sometimes, for seemingly no reason at all.
You’re happy.
There are butterflies in your tummy.
It’s like being a kid all over again… at the happiest place on Earth.
You catch yourself humming tunes like “Whistle While You Work,”
Or you go all out by screaming “Let it go, let it gooooo!” at the top of your lungs.
Another foot of snow on the way? No need to get grumpy about it.
Heck! “The cold never bothered me anyway!”
You let your inner princess gleam.
You’re ready to battle Captain Hook.
You are… and always will be… a kid at heart.

And that, THAT, is your Disney side!

Disney describes it as such:

It’s the side you simply can’t wait to share. It’s the side of you that laughs more, screams more, and just plain lives life to the fullest. It’s the side of you that comes out to play the moment you and your family step through the gates of a Disney theme park.

We haven’t been able to get to the parks recently but, alas, hints of Disney can be found within our home at any given time. Recently, however, I had the chance to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration.

A giant Disney party at our house?! Who could ever say no to that? When the opportunity came up, I jumped all over it like a Disney princess riding away on a beautiful horse with her prince at the reigns. Okay, maybe not so much. I’m much more of a Princess Merida kind of girl – give ME those reigns! I’ll handle this! From there, we let the celebration of “happily ever after” and all things Disney begin!

Disney Parks, in partnership with MomSelect, sent me a wonderful box – no, suitcase! – full of goodies to get me started.

American Touristeris the official luggage of Disneyland and Walt Disney World parks. In addition to the cute little Disney luggage tag that they threw in this suitcase is one of the greatest I’ve used thus far. Not only is it quite light (huge bonus for air travel!) and on sturdy wheels, but it features multiple carrying options making it super easy to travel with. And, of course, where better to travel to than Disney?

Unfortunately, we don’t currently have plans set just yet for our next Disney vacation but, when we do, you can certainly bet that I’ll be packing up and bringing this little fella along! For now, though, having it filled to the zipper with all kinds of Disney fun is certainly a plus! After going through all of the goodies, we got set to host out very own Disney Side @Home Celebration.

Of course, there were all kinds of exciting things for, both, adults and kids alike. We invited over our family and friends so that they, too, could share in the celebration. Here is how it went…

The evening before our party, we prepped our home and got everything all set up. This was the cute little display and snack bar that we had created in our kitchen. It screamed Disney and rightfully so. Just about everything featured the adorable fan favorite, Mickey Mouse, and the rest of the Fab Five. Snacks, utensils, plates, napkins, and even some great party favors all made an appearance here. The party favors went out to each kid in attendance and included everything from Disney Craisins, lollipops, and whistles to stickers, wristbands, pencils, and temporary tattoos – all fitting the Disney theme of course!

We had plenty of food to go around including rainbow cookies and a colorful pasta dish to match the Disney and Mickey Mouse party theme. But, of course, the sweet treats are always the best at any get together so we were sure to include those as well. The kids helped me make the equally colorful cupcakes donned with sprinkles, both, inside the batter and atop the icing! Their favorite part was getting to top all of them off with fun Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Daisy cupcake picks. Just look at how delectably cute these turned out!

Add to that, the fact that a good friend of mine and Disney Vacation Club (DVC for we seasoned Disney folk) enthusiast, even brought along some Mickey Mouse topped brownies! To all of the fun that was Disney that day, we opted to add in our own celebration, and surprised one of our guests with a Disney themed ice cream cake to boot! As a mom in the planning stages for her own son’s birthday party, she was quite shocked to have a surprise of her own. But, really, who wouldn’t want a Disney birthday cake? Regardless of age, Mickey Mouse and his friends will forever top the “cool factor” scales.

Now, no celebration would be complete without games. So, of course, we had those, too! All of the kids in attendance had an absolute blast with the Pin the Nose on Mickey Mouse game and one of the little ones even managed to get his nose right on target, exactly!

We even had Disney themed trivia and bingo, some awesome signs to color to support the athletes of Run Disney and favorite teams in partnership with ESPN Wide World of Sports. The kids had a blast decorating these and even used some Disney cookie cutters as stencils!

One of my favorite crafts, however, was the inclusion of Valentine’s Day crafts. Along with the massive amount of goodies and gear that Disney sent me, they included some super sweet (and giant!) Valentine’s Day cards to color on, write on, and mail out just in time for the holiday. And, of course, these sweet cards featured none other than Disney’s ever so lovable mouse-eared couple – Mickey & Minnie!

Lastly, there was an abundance of HP Photo Paper to go around. Part of showing your #DisneySide comes in the form of photos. Whether they are from a wonderful adventure at one of the Disney parks or, simply, at a get together like our own Disney Side @Home Celebration, being able to have something tangible (like a photograph) to relive that moment is an incredible thing. We have an abundance of photographs from our own Disney adventures but, in this day and age, most of these pictures haven’t made it much further than my computer’s hard drive. However, now that Disney has partnered with HP, I can easily print out these photos right at home and even add in some exciting Disney designs while I’m at it! Because, after all, photographs like these deserve to be displayed and enjoyed.

Not wanting to leave our adult guests out, we sent them all home with their own package of HP Photo Paper so that they, too, could print and enjoy their Disney memories.

All in all, it was an absolutely spectacular celebration and we all had a mouse-tastic time! I loved being able to show off my #DisneySide and, better yet, being able to share that with our family and friends. Included in our Disney Side @Home Celebration kit was, also, a few decals and, with a bit of tweaking, I ended up adding it to my car. Now, we’re showing our #DisneySide wherever we go! You should, too!

Connect:
Be sure to stay up to date on all things Disney and find all sorts of fun ways to show your #DisneySide by keeping up with them via social media…

• Walt Disney World on Facebook & Twitter
• Disneyland on Facebook & Twitter
• Disney Cruise Line on Facebook & Twitter

*I received promotional items in a celebration kit from Disney Parks and Mom Select in order to help defray the cost of hosting a #DisneySide @Home Celebration party. All opinions expressed here are my own.