Has it been a minute or what. But truth be told, I needed the break from this. The holidays rolled in a lot faster than anticipated and before I knew it, all my best laid blog plans were put to rest.
As an example, you will soon see what I bought on Amazon all the way back on Prime Day rolled into Black Friday shopping which will now become a Christmas gift guide. Ta-dah!! it’s like a magicians slight of hand…but better and more rewarding.
So anyway, we are heading to Disney this coming weekend. Big surprise I know. We normally go to Disney on Thanksgiving and have been doing it FOREVER, but with the new annual passholder tickets and the new blackout dates we are now blacked out of Thanksgiving. As with any theme or holiday weekend, I try to compile a list of things I need to pack, will know I will need, and things I will easily forget….so basically everything.
I absolutely LOVE Christmas in Disney. From the decorations, to the christmas trees, to the holiday music that plays all throughout the park, all that marvelous snoap (IYKYK), all the characters decked out in their Christmas finery and of course my absolute favorite…Epcot Santa (there is no better, don’t @ me 😉 ).
Even though I always have outfits planned out to a tee. I kind of went overboard with the matching family Christmas outfits this year. Sean of course is thrilled because there is nothing he loves more than family matching shirts (if you know Sean, you know this is dripping in sarcasm). If you have never looked, Old Navy came through in a clutch. They had/have AMAZING Disney Christmas family shirts (non-holiday ones too) and I definitely not only bought ones for this year, but ones they could grow into as well. Because would you expect anything less. Plus, I rationed this when the Black Friday prices were sooooooo good and buying additiohal sizes just made sense. Unfortunately, the below tshirts were only in adults ( I got one for Sean and I).
However, It wasn’t a big deal as I had bought THESE from Reyn Spooner for the kiddos (type in Sithmas into their search engine to see the whole collection). Are these not the cutest Star Wars holiday outfits for Hollywood Studios?!
I bought the Commodore both this Toddler set as well as just the Hawaiian (boys size) shirt so that he and EV had an opportunity to wear these and match again next year.
We have dinner reservations at Mama Melrose and then cocktail reservations for Oga’s Cantina so these outfits will be perfect and of course I went ahead and packed their lightsabers as well since we will be in Batuu after hours and I can finally take pictures of them at night dueling, which I have been trying to do FOREVER and while there is no one around! I love that the decorations in Hollywood Studios take on a more vintage/retro inspired theme which is all the feels I get from these outfits.
Also at Old Navy, I bought THESE matching Family Mickey Christmas shirts that are perfect for the parks. I did buy the kids matching cute outfits (also at Old Navy) to take pictures with Epcot Santa, but I think I am going to opt for these instead. The weather has been beautiful towards the evening but in typical Florida fashion, hot during the day so being able to layer these shirts would be the better choice. Always for the Christmas season season….okay who am I kidding I do this more often than not, I tend to pack a little bit of everything, since it can be super hot one day and drop down the next and being able to still have Disney Christmas options is nice.
In true Mama fashion, I will admit (not as begrudingly as one would hope) that I over did my own outfits. MY BIL is doing Dapper Day on Saturday at Hollywood Studios and I began to get extreme FOMO and then proceeded to pack outfits that could still look dapper day-ish at Epcot (why do I do this to myself especially knowing that there is no way on god’s green earth that we are hitting three parks with toddlers in one day). But here we are. THIS green dress to the left I bought on Amazon years ago and I have worn it multiple times and used it both for Boo Bash and a friends Halloween party to do a 50’s inspired Loki (but it fits like a glove and you could wear it for a bunch of different bounds). These dresses have become insanely popular for Disney and bounding so it is a REALLY good price at $32 for the quality and fit, but I did get it for $13 when I purchased it, so the prices of these dresses fluctuate a great deal. I actually bought THIS red bow belt for a 50’s Dr. Facilier bound that I am planning, but paired with the dress it is perfect for Christmas. Strangely on Amazon’s site it looks really cheap, but it is so pretty in person and again the fabric is perfect and structured who doesn’t love a good bow waistband?!
I purchased THIS gingerbread skirt and it is a Stitchshoppe skirt so it is a bit pricey and honestly I am kind of regretting the purchase. It fits well and with all the stitchshoppe skirts, the quality is really nice and fits like a glove. However, it is just REALLY busy and pairing a solid shirt with it is necessary (at least for me and for my age who is already wearing a fab five gingerbread skirt lol). And by solid, I mean solid/solid…no writing or graphics because ON ME it looked ridiculous when I tried and believe me, I did…I even got the infamous Sean raised eyebrow when I tried, so I knew it was a no go). I doubt I am even going to wear it in the parks which is sad (especially because of the price), but it is funsies, so we will see. I am super extra and brought both a midi and short white crinoline just so that I had options. I think I bought the Mickey cardigan (seen above) last year from Target. I bought one for Sean too (another purchase that he adored lol), but it will be cute in pictures if the temp drops a little and goes really well with the Old Navy shirts. If you know me, you know I love a good tennis skirt for the parks because it not only looks cute,but has an easy access hidden pocket in the shorts for my phone and there is nothing better than that. THESE Joy Lab ones from Target are my fave (they are pleated and wash well…need I say more). They come in different variations (lenght and pleast style) and often new colors are rotated in and out so I suggest continuously checking. I loved the green, thought it was perfect for the holidays and then paired it with the Fab Five shirt from Walmart which was only $9!!!
We all know I love a good travel accessory and luggage is my love language, so during the Black Friday sales I went and bought THIS set of American Tourister luggage from Kohl’s. It was three pieces (the picture online not doing it any justice at all) for $125!!! I had a girl friend that I was talking to on the phone who was also in market for luggage and I was telling her that the pictures made the luggage set look so much smaller then they were in actuality, so for size reference, I sent her this…
For this trip I am using the large suitcase for Sean and I, the small suitcase for EV and the Commodore and the duffle will have our ears, purses/backpacks to change into (I know I know I am extra), hair accessories and toiletrie bags. We have a separate duffle that is basically a park bag where we take everything in it and dump it into the below area of our stroller (popcorn buckets, light sabers, sweaters, rain cover for the stroller, rain jackets, etc.).
My Instagram best friend (in my head) Juliana Clare, showed a garment bag that zips up into a duffle and then has slot to put said bag on the handles of ones suitcase and from that moment on I was sold. I have been in the market for a new garment bag for awhile. I have a cheap one from Amazon that I actually love and it holds a great deal of stuff, but it is kind of useless for the car as we do not have hooks in the back so I have to drape it over our luggage which kind of defeats the purpose. The duffle/garment bag is positively genius and I have no idea why more people aren’t showcasing it. She showed a light pink one that was super cute, but I was afraid that once it started getting dirty it would irritate me, so on Black Friday I did some research and NOT only did THIS one have better reviews and more of them, it came in other colors. I ended up paying $25 (on sale) comparative to the $50 of the other one. I will say that I would not suggest overpacking this. I put only the green dress, the Mickey gingerbread skirt and the cardigan and that was it. Everything else went into the suitcase including the crinolines. There are awesome packing videos on these bags to show how to pack them, maximize the space, and what you can fit in them.
Another great feature is the slot for shoes…I have a ton of space for shoes in our suitcase, so I just put them in a shoe storage cube and I will probably use this space for something else.
Once it is all zipped up, it looks like this. It is super easy to zip and is very structured, so I feel that the clothes in the garment bag are safe and will not be too wrinkled, but I have a plan for that anyway.
One of my favorite parts of the bag is the slot where you put it on your luggage handles. It actually has a zipper so that if you are just using it as a duffle and not for your luggage, you can close it up and it becomes a pocket for something else.
It truly is an awesome bag and Sean wanted me to be able to test it out and enjoy it for the trip so I got one of my gifts early and I am not mad about it.
Although I love my PARC bag for ears, I have been loving using my Stoney CloverXTarget large terry cosmetic bag. My ears and magicbands stay protected (see above), it still fits the same amount as my carrying case and it is one less piece of luggage as I can throw it into the duffel. I bought THESE hair bun clips from Amazon in both the peppermint (came in a set of two) and the Star Wars. I did not get any new Christmas ears as I liked the ones from previous years better and brought those (wreath ears), but I was able to snag THESE Santa Mickey hats again this year from Five Below. They are a steal for $5 even with the shipping cost.
In the pocket, I keep our magicbands and a card holding lanyard if I go sans purse one day.
Here are the ears we packed. I kept to Christmas themed, so that I didn’t go to haywire.
The felt Mickey and Pluto hats and the Mickey Santa ears are from Forever Dream Design on Etsy.
Packing for the kids is always easy when I use one suitcase and either I will use one side of a hard shell for the Commodore and the other for EV or they will be packed on on one side and I will use the other for something else.
My mom and I had purchased these Mickey and Minnie cosmetic set bags at Primark. I used the Mickey for Commodore an the Minne for EV.
The Commodore doesn’t really have ‘accessories’ so I used the big Mickey Cosmetic bag for his extra shoes. I absolutely hate dirty shoes touching clothes in our bag so I always have them in something.
In the smaller case, I put his briefs, socks, and a couple pairs of suspenders.
EV’s large cosmetic case is for her hair accessories, such as: plain headbands, clips, hair brush, detangler, etc. I never really have a plan for her hair, so I try to bring a little bit of everything. Especially if she gets annoyed with how her hair is, I want a plan for something else.
This large case, fit everything below and there is still tons of space for extras if needed. EV will not get close to wearing half this stuff in her hair, but as she gets older I like her beign able to make her own decision of what she wants in her hair, even if I am picking out said things to bring LOL.
I used the small bag for her little unmentionables and socks and then with the space still available, I am able to slip in her ballet flats, a pair of sneakers and her jellies!
I put both cosmetic cases on one side of the hard shell and use the other side for their clothes. It seems extra, but having everything separated by kid makes it so much easier to get out of the hotel in the morning.
Perfect fit
Now onto the fun stuff (or at least it is for me) and here are the outfits we packed for the kids (and by we, I mean me). The Reyn Spooner Star Wars outfits are not pictured since we are going straight from home to Hollywood Studios so they do not need to be packed as we are wearing them in the car.
The holiday Mickey and Minnie matching outfits are from Taylor Joelle. I have seen pictures from this year and Mickey and Minnie no longer wear this specific holiday outfit. But both them and their cousins have never worn this together, so we are doing it #throwback style regardless for Animal Kingdom (I am still playing around with these for Santa pictures though). The Matching Mickey t-shirts that go with ours are going to be for Epcot and Magic Kingdom and the extra Christmas Mickey Cookies and Milk is if we do a change and then my gingerbread skirt will go with EV’s dress here.
The kids have matching jammies for the trip and they all came from Target. The Mickey ones are from last season or the season before though. Again if I love the jammies, I will buy them in a couple sizes so they can grow into them. Unfortunately, the Blueys only came in toddler sizes as well as the Marvel.
I bought EV Frozen packing cubes from Target which are cute, albeit for the price REALLY small and don’t really allow for much stretching out room, but they are cute for the Christmas season and for small jaunts. I used a regular sized one for the Commodore of our FAVORITE blue ones and it fit his clothes and his pajamas (I use the one that is for tshirts as it is small but can still pack a ton, especially of kids clothes).
I pack a couple of velvet hangers especially if we are bringing nicer clothes so that I can hang them up in the closet when we get there. Hotels do not have kids/toddler hangers so this allows for me to not have to worry about stretching anything out while trying to put them on an adult hanger or using pants hangers. I am also bringing our travel steamer so that I will also be able too easily steam their outfits if they are hung by their hangers as well.
There is no way I am going to need them, but like I said, sometimes the weather during this time in Orlando is a little wonky so I packed a hat, gloves and a scarf. I figure even if it dips down a little and they fight tooth and nail over a coat or sweater,I can convince them of putting these on. Both Spiderman and Minnie were purchased as sets from Primark.
Everything fit really great in their suitcase,I didn’t need the extender and we are all ready to go. Well, at least they are.
As mentioned, I am bringing a steamer. The Amazon ‘rockabilly dresses’ because of the fabric, wrinkle really easily so it is just easier bringing a travel one rather than the spray as sometimes you have to wait for it to set and I do not have time for that. I got a really good deal during Black Friday for THIS one. I like the look, the collapsible handle and the fact that it does not sputter hot water everywhere like every single one I have ever owned. It is also a lot smaller than my other travel steamers I have purchased in the past as it It also fit nicely in my travel Baby Yoda cosmetic bag.
Most of my cute Disney cosmetic bags come from Primark unless otherwise specified so I apologize for not being able to ever link them.
As previously stated over and over, we used a Vera Bradley Weekender that is separate from our toddler bag that has essentials that are either for the hotel room specifically or are meant to get dumped into the bottom of our stroller. We keep this bag in the front of everything when we pack the car so that when we get to the parks, it is easy to take everything out and have everything we need in one place.
Recently I got the idea of the collapsible storage cube from one of the YouTube vloggers that I follow. I wish I had thought of this sooner as she uses it for when she goes to Disney or traveling and they have their baby/toddler’s toys around the hotel room and they can just throw everything into the bin or the babe can take it out when they want to play with themselves and put it back. I always hate leaving a messy hotel room for the employees to have to navigate when they are cleaning, so I though it was perfect to throw in everything like wipes, snacks, souvenirs, etc so that one, it makes the room cleaner and two it makes it easier to clean everything up and pack up when we are going.
We have our refillable popcorn bucket also known as the best deal in Disney and as Sean would call it our most essential and used piece of equipment. The kids really enjoyed when we looked at Halloween lights in their side-by-side city jogger stroller rather than the tandem. This is the first time we are bringing it to the parks, however, the storage is really limited and there are no cup holders in the front where we normally put their popcorn, so instead of bringing another popcorn bucket and it getting everywhere because of the size of it, we are using mini sand pails (shown above) that I am sure you could find at any Dollar Tree or something of the sort. Ours actually came from Dino Land in Animal Kingdom and it is what their version what a kids ‘Happy Meal’ is served in. They are the perfect little hand sizes. In addition, I always pack a laundry bag for dirty clothes (obviously) that I can just throw into the laundry when we come back. Both EV and the Commodore’s light sabers are in there with wipes, pediasure, their overnight toiletrie bag (shampoo, medicine, lotions, etc), phone tripod (I cannot find the link for it, but I absolutely love it even though it is slightly cumbersome, it is worth it) and a little makeup bag that I keep charging cords and charging plugs that have two or three inserts in them. I do not know about you, but there never seems to be enough accessible plugs to charge everything at night so bringing my own plugs with multiple USB inserts, has proved a 100% necessary.
We have rain jackets packed, but as mentioned if it does get chilly I wanted some cute family sweaters to wear for pictures and Disney at Christmas is the ONLY time I can convince Sean to do it, so I will take every opportunity and run with it…thank you.
Unfortunately, these particular ones are several years old from Target. Occassionally Target does a revival or brings them back out if they were not sold, so Commodore’s red one may still be available, but I have not seen the others in some time.
Normally I have a fairly small toiletrie bag for makeup and face in Disney since I keep it fairly easy with us sitting on the sun and all. However for Halloween and Christmas and the photos being a smidge more important to me during this time I like to have the option to do a little more. It is NOTHING in comparrison to some that I have seen people bring online, but it is more for me, so here it is.
Normally for makeup all I bring is a bronzer/blush/highlighter palette, mascara and an eyeshadow palette and I am done, but here we are. In no particular order because I am just too lazy to link everything at this point, so I will just cover the highlights and you can use Google for the rest or ask Siri…your call. The Sephora So Clean Glow foundation is beautiful and sits really well on the skin plus wears beautifully and looks great in pictures.. Also pictured is my absolute FAVORITE Mischa BB Cream. I have mine in medium and I buy it on Amazon. To me, this is the perfect BB cream and I will sit in a corner and rock if it is ever discontinued. The Revolution Cream bronzer is another perfect product, but cream bronzer doesn’t always wear throughout the day the way would like which is why I am also bringing the ELF contour palette. I actually really like this product. It is light and sets everything nicely without being cakey, but again in the Florida heat I am not over the top and I am only bringing this because of pictures and I can throw it in my bag. The Anastasia Beverly Hills highlighter in So Hollywood is definitelly a little over the top and not ANYTHING I would bring other than for the Holidays, but #christmas and that’s what we do….we glow like tinsel.
I have a face shaver…don’t judge, I ended up not bringing the Rare Beauty eyeshadow palette although I love it and just opted for the Hot Buttered Rum as it is compact and has all the warm caramels and burnt oranges I can want. I actually have two clinique sunscreens I bring. One is just regular face suncreen and my absolute favorite and the other is a primer that also has great SPF, but makeup goes on top of it beautifully so I usually bring this one when we are doing pictures or are going to Disney. I know that Clinique is old school and many do not like it, but their products have ALWAYS worked really well for my skin (here is looking at you moisture surge) and I always end up going back when I switch. The metal Minnie container was actually for qtips, but I keep everything I do for my ‘space buns’ in it (elastics and bobby pins of multiple sizes).
I bought THESE silicone makeup brush holders on Amazon during Black Friday. They come in a set of two and I love having a holder that I can just rinse down myself and the brushes wont get the makeup bag dirty.
For the size, it actually held a lot of brushes as you can see.
It is a little bit more open on the top, but I didn’t want to pack an extra silicone holder for one brush.
I bought THIS makeupholder based on every single lifestyle influencer that I follow and truth be told, I do not regret the purchase one bit. It comes in A LOT of colors. I love the fabric, it looks sleek and for the price it definitely looks like it costs more than it does. I actually purchased this during Prime Day so I got even a better price on it. Because Amazon prices fluctuate depending on the waning moon, the algorithim or whatever nonsense it follows to modify the prices by some crazy 27% if it is not something you need urgently, I would save it to a ‘wishlist’ and keep checking back. But truly, I can honestly say that even without the sale price, if you are a traveler, it is worth it (I don’t think you could beat the price for the quality and look anyway). It. Is. That. Good.
I have ADHD and the mornings in Disney can be really hectic so having everything organized by how I would use it is really important and this makeup organizer not only made it easy, but there was ample space and pockets for everything and more.
I even like the look of it when it is all folded up.
You can see how even though it is full it still appears so slim and compact, making it the perfect makeup organizer for travel.
I do not have any of my hair stuff in my makeup bag since when I travel to Disney I do not worry about travel sizes and just throw in the normal sized products of my dry shampoo and hair oil along with my hair brushes, Revlon round hot brush and my bang straightener ;).
The last couple things are obviously more because I am extra than anything else, but I do love and think that if you have the room for it, they are worth it. The first is THIS travel vanity mirror. It is USB so you just charge it and it is ready to go. It is a great size and doesn’t over magnify. The lighting has three different settings which I adore and it is so slim it can actually fit in the front pocket of the makeup bag. However, I ended up throwing it also into my bowband case since I did overpack the makeup bag more than normal and I did not want the screen to crack with the pressure. When there are four people getting ready in the hotel in the morning getting the appropriate amount of bathroom mirror time can be a struggle so I love that I now have this mirror that I can put on the desk, the bed, the floor or wherever and finish up getting ready without a hassle.
My best friend for my birthday bought me the above Minnie ring light for my cellphone. Is it over the top? Absolutely, Is it perfect for Disney where no one will judge (at least not to my face)? Also, absolutely! It is a lot of fun, clips on the phone easily, even a trqained gerbil could use it, but more importantly, it works well. Again, multiple lighting options and if you like to take pictures in Disney at night or in low light settings and are like me and anti-flash than this is the nugget for you. I think it is crass to look up the prices of gifts people got you just for the sake of the net, so I will let you go onto Amazon yourself and search ‘Minnie ring light’. Maybe add in the word ‘phone’ for good measure
Lastly, I use a more square medium sized makeup bag like below (again Primark) for my bowbands and I will probably end up throwing my hair oil in here too with the straightener since they are small.
Obviously Christmas ones were a necessity and I am more than obsessed with the BellaNotte ones. I highly suggest following her and her husband on Instagram. They are positively adorable, I love supporting a small and local business (they are based out of Orlando) and her bowbands are simply the best. If you are not an ear girl but want something fun to compliment a Disney inspired outfit or just something that will look cute with a mickey shirt and shorts, this is it!
I put all the organizers traditionally in a big tote like the Vera Bradey, but I used the matching duffle that I got with the American Tourister luggage (because if I am going to buy a matching luggage set, I am going all out). My only gripe with duffle is that there are no interior pockets where I would normally toss in my hair brushes. I shed a lot and the though of my hair with everything else kind of grosses me out, but c’est la vie.
With a day or so to spare…I know I know that a ton of other people can pack up until the last minute, but those that know me, know this freaks me out so this is quite the feat for me.
But here we have everything together in its final glory. The Spiderman (the eyes glow in the dark and it is the coolest thing ever) backpack/rolling suitcase is always an extra, but the Commodore loves bringing it so we use it for the kids lovies and it is his responsibility and one that he adores truth be told.
Does packing for the Holidays freak you out? Do you love it? Are you a last minute packer or get so excited that weeks before visions of outfits and accessories dance in your head?
