What if we took our kids for Christmas?

[KBecks]

The thought just crossed my mind --

What if, instead of giving the kids toys, we took them to Disney World (or Disney Land) for their Christmas gift? We have 3 kids, ages 12, 10 and 8. They have been to Disney World 2x before, I have to try to remember when -- last time was about 3 years ago and then 2 years before that?

Has anyone done this? Any suggestions for planning a holiday trip? I know holiday trips are more expensive and crowded. I would usually travel between Thanskgiving and Christmas when prices are good.

Just playing with the idea right now but if we go, I need to get in planning mode fairly quickly.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mjkacmom]

I think your kids are too young to appreciate the concept of a trip over gifts. I also wouldn't gontonWDaw Christmas week, especially if my kids were young enough to get away with missing school, enjoy it while you can. We did do a light Christmas this year, and the main gift was a cruise, but my kids range in age from fourteen to twenty.

 

[3SpoiledPrincesses]

We went this past Christmas and had an amazing time! My kids were 13,8,7. They got a few Santa presents that were Disney themed because my two little ones still believe in Santa. Then, we gave them each a Disney themed box to open that had Mickey ears, autograph book, pjs, etc... the trip and boxes were a huge hit. It took them a few minutes to figure out that we were going to Disney (we live in TX). I also gave each kid a $50 gift card to pick out their souvenirs.

We were not there on Christmas Day, but were there starting the 27th. It was busy, but we had a plan of attack. Rope drop, ADR's and utilized fast pass plus. We waited in line very little with our plan and got a lot done before lunch time. We had an ADR for lunch then had fast passes scheduled in the afternoon.

The highlight of our trip was being chosen as the family of the day. It was incredible.

My kids have been to Disney a few times before but never at Christmas, so it was special for them. We took a day and resort hopped too. They loved that!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I think it would be a great gift. As previous posters have pointed out, I would weigh the pros and cons of going over the actual Christmas holiday vs a little before or after due to crowds and price. Also, if I were to plan a trip as a Christmas gift for my kids, I would still do the stocking from santa and a couple of gifts so they are still able to open a few things. I would do some presents they could use for their trip or are otherwise Disney themed and see if other relatives would be willing to give Disney gift cards instead of presents. I'm sure whatever you decide, your kids will love it.

 

[Alexle2007]

We were initially taking DS10 to Disney last year but then opted for Punta Cana instead. I put all of his presents in his Santa bag and quickly put it out as we were leaving for the airport so they would be waiting when we returned. On Christmas Day he got his stocking since I had packed those with some smaller gifts. He didn't miss Christmas one bit as we were lounging in the pool all day. We've decided it is going to be our Christmad tradition.

 

[karalecia26]

We are actually doing that same thing this year with our 3 kids who are the same age (except our yougest Dd is 7) and they are so excited. The oldest 2 know and understand that this going to be their gift but our youngest may not quite get it but isn't selfish and will not be upset when doesn't get a whole lot from Santa. She already said that she was going ask Santa to help pay for Disney since she knows it is so expensive.
We are using a TA to get an awesome deal at POR over Christmas week and plan on early morning and breaks if we can. We have been a couple times before and know what we want to see and look for new things! "unfortunately" we were hit with the Disney bug our first time there and know that we will be back again if we don't get to see everything!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We have a 12 year old daughter who, I know, would prefer to be at home for Christmas. Perhaps maybe a day or two after? Maybe. I would love to not have to do all the prep work for Christmas and just go to DW but not anytime soon. I also couldn't do it because of family. I couldn't go to DW for Christmas and not spend that time visiting family out of state. We're apart more than we're together.

 

[katyjeka]

We spent our first Xmas away from home with our girls two years ago(not Disney). I thought we would have a hard time being away from home but the holiday was great. We have decided to go to WDW this year early December and will stay until after Christmas. We are renting at Bonnet Creek. We are planning on parks at the beginning of the trip to see as much as possible with smaller crowds. I know it sounds crazy but we are looking forward to visiting Christmas Eve as well and will just go with the flow. Of course it will be CRAZY busy but why not?? We have found a place to cut a Christmas tree in Orlando and are starting to make decorations for the tree.(all Disney themed) We still plan on gifts but have cut down in the recent years. With four girls its hard to buy something they don't already have and we are trying to break away from Christmas being about presents. This will be our longest stay to date but we are planning a lot of down time and resort time. I believe a trip can be good regardless of the crowds... Plan ahead and all is well.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I think it's a great idea. My kids are similar in age to yours and every year I struggle to come up with ideas for Christmas gifts. There just isn't much they need/want anymore. A family trip would be a much better use of money than buying random items that will likely be tossed out or donated within a year or two. As a PP suggested, you can still get them some Disney themed items (things you would buy for the trip anyways), so they still have gifts to open on Christmas morning.

 

[meohmy]

We are going for Christmas and my children 13, 9 and 6 will have gifts at Disney and some gifts when we return home.
My children are very excited about going to Florida and are aware, as much as children can be, that this is an expensive trip. However, I know they would be upset if they did not receive any gifts at Christmas, especially my youngest. Santa would have thought him to be a bad boy!
There will be no new bikes or Xboxes but they will still have gifts.
I guess it depends on who your children believe delivers Christmas.
I hope you have a wonderful vacation

 

[kniquy]

Like a previous poster - I would maybe consider giving them the trip as a present, but not actually going for Christmas. We did this for our at the time 9 yo twins and took them for NYE. I think it was a better surprise to tell them Christmas morning that they were going next week. It was real tough to keep the secret. We bought them some Disney inspired gifts, then a big box with a mickey balloon that popped up with a note that they were going to Disney next week. You really can't beat that kind of surprise. They still get to have Christmas at home (which they might actually miss). I have wanted to do a holiday at WDW, but i also think i would get a lot of flack from family if we were not around. Plus it is very busy the week between Christmas and NYE. We arrived on NYE it was busy, but the crowds died down towards our last few days. You still get all the Christmas feel with a slightly less crowds. They did miss 2 days of school.

 

[tinkerpea]

We are actually doing that same thing this year with our 3 kids who are the same age (except our yougest Dd is 7) and they are so excited. The oldest 2 know and understand that this going to be their gift but our youngest may not quite get it but isn't selfish and will not be upset when doesn't get a whole lot from Santa. She already said that she was going ask Santa to help pay for Disney since she knows it is so expensive.
We are using a TA to get an awesome deal at POR over Christmas week and plan on early morning and breaks if we can. We have been a couple times before and know what we want to see and look for new things! "unfortunately" we were hit with the Disney bug our first time there and know that we will be back again if we don't get to see everything!

Can I ask how you have gotten a good deal?
I'm literally finding it pretty expensive and this time we might have to be offsite for the first time in 11yrs.
Lol

 

[mousehockey37]

The thought just crossed my mind --

What if, instead of giving the kids toys, we took them to Disney World (or Disney Land) for their Christmas gift? We have 3 kids, ages 12, 10 and 8. They have been to Disney World 2x before, I have to try to remember when -- last time was about 3 years ago and then 2 years before that?

Has anyone done this? Any suggestions for planning a holiday trip? I know holiday trips are more expensive and crowded. I would usually travel between Thanskgiving and Christmas when prices are good.

Just playing with the idea right now but if we go, I need to get in planning mode fairly quickly.

Thanks for the help!

I'm sure someone has said it, but the week of Christmas to New Years is the ABSOLUTE WORST TIME to go. There are better times to go during the year.

 

[karalecia26]

Can I ask how you have gotten a good deal?
I'm literally finding it pretty expensive and this time we might have to be offsite for the first time in 11yrs.
Lol

I used a TA that has some amazing deals. I can't put the name on this forum, but if you Google TA deals for Disney World you should be able to find one to work with.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We are doing that this year...the older kids were asked if they would be interested in this idea a couple of years ago (they said yes) and they will still get gifts, but this will be their "big" thing. We have found that really, our younger kids play with toys for about 2 days and then thats it. With 4 kids, we have SO much stuff there is not much they don't have. We find that we buy things at Christmas just to buy things. We will get the younger ones a few odds and ends and the older ones will probably get some clothes and books, but their Christmas this year is at Disney.

 

[TwinkleKS]

That's what we do for Christmas every year. My kids are 6, 8, 8 now. They don't remember a Christmas when we weren't at Disney. We go with a guide so the crowd part doesn't bother us. We have a great time and have our own traditions that we follow at the parks - Candlelight Processional, Mass at the Contemporary on Christmas morning, a small tree on a table in the room, etc. It can be an awesome time to go and it is so much more fun to have experiences than piles and piles of junk.

 

[disneylovinmom3]

What we are doing is going 11/25-12/3 at CBR on FD and 11/23-25 at POR without FD. What we are doing is telling our kids that we're just going on a trip (3, 4 and 9). My oldest knows we're going to Florida but he thinks we're just checking WDW out an staying at POR for a couple of nights and if we're lucking going to Chef Mickey's for breakfast. So what we're doing is on the morning we're leaving POR to move to CBR we're going to give them a gift to open and let them know it's an early Christmas gift which will contain some disney gifts and let them know we're staying.

When Christmas comes we'll give them some small gifts, such as lego sets, American girl doll clothes and accessories, books those kinds of things. And we'll give them one big gift for the family but that's it for this year.

 

[MandLBee]

We are going mid-November and the kids understand it is their Christmas gift. We will buy ornaments and make picture albums and do some little remembrance things as well as stockings, but it's just going to have to be okay. I don't usually even spend $6K on Christmas, so this has to be it!

 

[Adkeesee]

We like the first week of December. Christmas decor is up, Christmas party is an option, but there seem to be less people. This year we are going on the second week of December and we have a feeling it's going to be more crowded (much harder to get reservations than usual). And I agree with some other posters. While WDW is a great gift, they may not be old enough to realize it. But you know your kids better than any ole keyboard warrior ☺

 

[cheerupem0kidx0x]

We are doing it this year! We have a cruise coming back to Miami on the 23rd and then going to Disney from 23-26. Our kids are 8 and 15, they already know about the cruise but Disney is going to be their Christmas present surprise. I will probably wrap up some mickey ears and magic bands, and maybe like a $25 disney gift card each for souvenirs, and have them open them the morning of the 23rd when we leave the cruise. I have been trying the past few years to get them more in to the "lets have really cool life experiences" vs getting a bunch of toys and junk they don't need for presents. They already get lots of presents from extended family anyways. And they love Disney enough to appreciate it as a gift for sure! So I guess it just depends on your kids. I know Christmas Eve/Day in the parks will be insane but I think it will be worth it. What better memory than Christmas in Disney with your family!