Christmas Day (need advice)

[mrsap]

Hey guys. So, we were thinking of doing Christmas/NYE week this year. My family is on board, (just gave kids a hypothetical situation), and I went ahead and booked my resort reservation... but for some reason, I can’t 100% be all in yet. My DD is 12, so I don’t really have to worry about her, but DS 9 still fully believes. For those that were there with kids on Christmas Day, how did you handle things? Did you decorate your room? Did you get a small tree for the room? Did you bring your kids presents with you? Did the resorts do anything special for the kids Christmas Eve or Day? Did it feel any less like Christmas not being home? (we’ve never been away on Christmas.) I should also note, we go for Thanksgiving as well, so I worry about overload (although, I’m sure for the kids, that wouldn’t be an issue!), but we drive, and it’s a lot of driving in such a short period of time. Thank you!!!

 

[reluctantredhead]

We have been at WDW for Christmas several times -- twice when DD was little (6-7 years old), and four times when she was 13+. What motivated our first trip was that my father had passed away in September, and I just couldn't face a Christmas at home without him yet...so I proposed it to the family and they liked the idea...and we all enjoyed it so much we returned for Christmas the very next year!

I was worried about presents and Santa being able to find us too (and so was my daughter). So the first thing we did was to have DD write a letter to Santa in early December explaining where we'd be this year, and asking him if he'd please bring her present to WDW instead of our house (Santa gives one present, and mom and dad give the rest in our house). We mailed it in one of those "letters to Santa" boxes at Macy's. Then we had our DD pick out a mini-tree (I'm talking maybe 12-18" tall and skinny), some string lights, and a few strategically sized/shaped decorations that we could put up in our room. The final thing we did was discuss that for our presents to each other, we would just bring 1 or 2 small ones, and then the rest would be waiting for us when we got home (and since we got home on the 27th, waiting 2 extra days wasn't a big deal).

That first year, Santa brought our DD an American Girl doll, which "he" strategically and carefully packed in its box in a carry on suitcase, hidden under some clothes . Other than that one, the gifts we chose to bring with us were small in size, and the rest were left at home. Our DD got a kick out of bringing our little Christmas tree in her own suitcase, and setting it up and decorating the room all by herself (winning!). At 19, she still has that little tree, and set it up in her college dorm room this year. We also allowed our DD to choose a souvenir on the day after Christmas so she'd have that to look forward to as well (instead of focusing on all her presents that were at home waiting for her). I have also heard of some people shopping for gifts while they're at WDW as they notice their family admiring certain items, and I think it's a great idea too.

One of the accidental discoveries we made that first year was the "x days 'til Christmas" countdown sign near the park entry for MK. On the first day, we had our DD pose for a photo near it, and it made such a cute shot that we came back every day and did it. The expression on her face when it was finally 1 day 'til Christmas is priceless, and DH and I cherish that photo! We did the same thing the next year, and our DD was even game to pose in front of it for our last Christmas trip in 2019.

I honestly don't remember if the resort did anything special for Christmas day, but I've always made favorite or extra-special ADRs for Christmas eve dinner, Christmas brunch, and Christmas dinner...and in the past few years, we've also done the Christmas eve Candlelight processional (gives me chills just thinking about it!), brunch at Ale & Compass, dinner at Minnie's holiday dine at H&V (though we love LTT for it as well), and JBJB on Christmas night.

Honestly, despite the crowds, we think Christmas at WDW is the best thing ever. No cooking, no cleaning, so much holiday cheer everywhere with the decorations and music...it's just the absolute best! And another win -- there aren't as many leftovers sitting around, so I don't gain any weight! Sorry this is such a long post...but we were so sad last year when we had to cancel our Christmas trip due to Covid, and I actually just booked our Christmas trip for 2021 yesterday, so all of this is very much at the forefront of my mind! Hope this was helpful to you in some way, and good luck with your decision.

 

[mrsap]

We have been at WDW for Christmas several times -- twice when DD was little (6-7 years old), and four times when she was 13+. What motivated our first trip was that my father had passed away in September, and I just couldn't face a Christmas at home without him yet...so I proposed it to the family and they liked the idea...and we all enjoyed it so much we returned for Christmas the very next year!

I was worried about presents and Santa being able to find us too (and so was my daughter). So the first thing we did was to have DD write a letter to Santa in early December explaining where we'd be this year, and asking him if he'd please bring her present to WDW instead of our house (Santa gives one present, and mom and dad give the rest in our house). We mailed it in one of those "letters to Santa" boxes at Macy's. Then we had our DD pick out a mini-tree (I'm talking maybe 12-18" tall and skinny), some string lights, and a few strategically sized/shaped decorations that we could put up in our room. The final thing we did was discuss that for our presents to each other, we would just bring 1 or 2 small ones, and then the rest would be waiting for us when we got home (and since we got home on the 27th, waiting 2 extra days wasn't a big deal).

That first year, Santa brought our DD an American Girl doll, which "he" strategically and carefully packed in its box in a carry on suitcase, hidden under some clothes . Other than that one, the gifts we chose to bring with us were small in size, and the rest were left at home. Our DD got a kick out of bringing our little Christmas tree in her own suitcase, and setting it up and decorating the room all by herself (winning!). At 19, she still has that little tree, and set it up in her college dorm room this year. We also allowed our DD to choose a souvenir on the day after Christmas so she'd have that to look forward to as well (instead of focusing on all her presents that were at home waiting for her). I have also heard of some people shopping for gifts while they're at WDW as they notice their family admiring certain items, and I think it's a great idea too.

One of the accidental discoveries we made that first year was the "x days 'til Christmas" countdown sign near the park entry for MK. On the first day, we had our DD pose for a photo near it, and it made such a cute shot that we came back every day and did it. The expression on her face when it was finally 1 day 'til Christmas is priceless, and DH and I cherish that photo! We did the same thing the next year, and our DD was even game to pose in front of it for our last Christmas trip in 2019.

I honestly don't remember if the resort did anything special for Christmas day, but I've always made favorite or extra-special ADRs for Christmas eve dinner, Christmas brunch, and Christmas dinner...and in the past few years, we've also done the Christmas eve Candlelight processional (gives me chills just thinking about it!), brunch at Ale & Compass, dinner at Minnie's holiday dine at H&V (though we love LTT for it as well), and JBJB on Christmas night.

Honestly, despite the crowds, we think Christmas at WDW is the best thing ever. No cooking, no cleaning, so much holiday cheer everywhere with the decorations and music...it's just the absolute best! And another win -- there aren't as many leftovers sitting around, so I don't gain any weight! Sorry this is such a long post...but we were so sad last year when we had to cancel our Christmas trip due to Covid, and I actually just booked our Christmas trip for 2021 yesterday, so all of this is very much at the forefront of my mind! Hope this was helpful to you in some way, and good luck with your decision.

Thank you so much for your response! I like your idea about writing a letter to Santa. We actually do the exact opposite, one gift is from us and everything else is from Santa, so what I could do is bring the gift from us, and leave everything under the tree so it’s something to look forward to when they get home. Just don’t know if they would be disappointed not opening presents on Christmas morning itself. Wanted this to be a surprise trip, but I feel like I need to ask them how they’d feel about these things. It’s probably more me worrying than it will be them. Ugh, I can’t make a decision to save my life.

 

[Disneylover99]

Years ago, when the kids were young, we’d just bring our stockings to Disney. The kids didnt know I’d stuffed them and packed them. I put them out after they fall asleep.

There‘d be a note from Santa in the stocking saying his present was waiting for them at home. We’d be out the door at 5am heading to the MK anyways, so the kids never had time to care.

We usually plan a nice lunch ADR somewhere and then head back to the resort to open stockings and relax. Sometimes we’d make it back Christmas night to the MK for fireworks.

There’d usually be a few characters in the lobby taking pictures Christmas Eve. I think sometimes (a few years ago anyways) they’d give out cookies or have a tray of cookies, but they’d go quick.

 

[mrsap]

Years ago, when the kids were young, we’d just bring our stockings to Disney. The kids didnt know I’d stuffed them and packed them. I put them out after they fall asleep.

There‘d be a note from Santa in the stocking saying his present was waiting for them at home. We’d be out the door at 5am heading to the MK anyways, so the kids never had time to care.

We usually plan a nice lunch ADR somewhere and then head back to the resort to open stockings and relax. Sometimes we’d make it back Christmas night to the MK for fireworks.

There’d usually be a few characters in the lobby taking pictures Christmas Eve. I think sometimes (a few years ago anyways) they’d give out cookies or have a tray of cookies, but they’d go quick.

Thank you so much for your reply! I like the stockings idea!!!!

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

We don’t do Christmas at WDW but we have had Christmas morning at three different places than our home—so Santa has to be a detective to find my 7 year old sometimes! This year we were in a rental house at the beach. I second the letter—we also left a note at our house before we left so if Santa did go to the wrong house he knew where to go next to find her. This resonated more than the letter for whatever reason. We also brought a tree to the rental and she decorated it.

We did do less presents than other years because of the logistics but it turned out okay. She asked for books so she got several of those because they were easy to bring.

Also-if your daughter needs things for the trip (a new bathing suit, new sneakers) you might convert those to Santa gifts. We’ve done that when we are immediately heading to the airport on Christmas Day because it helps with clean up to just throw the gifts in her bag and keeps our budget down! But in your case it’ll save room in your bags to have things you need anyway as some of the gifts.

 

[mrsap]

We don’t do Christmas at WDW but we have had Christmas morning at three different places than our home—so Santa has to be a detective to find my 7 year old sometimes! This year we were in a rental house at the beach. I second the letter—we also left a note at our house before we left so if Santa did go to the wrong house he knew where to go next to find her. This resonated more than the letter for whatever reason. We also brought a tree to the rental and she decorated it.

We did do less presents than other years because of the logistics but it turned out okay. She asked for books so she got several of those because they were easy to bring.

Also-if your daughter needs things for the trip (a new bathing suit, new sneakers) you might convert those to Santa gifts. We’ve done that when we are immediately heading to the airport on Christmas Day because it helps with clean up to just throw the gifts in her bag and keeps our budget down! But in your case it’ll save room in your bags to have things you need anyway as some of the gifts.

We definitely need to figure out the gift situation. I really like the idea of putting a letter in the stockings for the kids from Santa, saying their presents will be home waiting for them when they get there. We can always bring a couple of their small gifts, from us, so at least they are not empty-handed on Christmas morning. We also have to bring DD’s birthday gifts, as her birthday is NYE!!! So a lot of extra packing! The only thing that’s great is that we drive, so if we need to shove some extra things in the trunk, we can. Thanks for your reply!

 

[Donna M]

Thank you so much for your response! I like your idea about writing a letter to Santa. We actually do the exact opposite, one gift is from us and everything else is from Santa, so what I could do is bring the gift from us, and leave everything under the tree so it’s something to look forward to when they get home. Just don’t know if they would be disappointed not opening presents on Christmas morning itself. Wanted this to be a surprise trip, but I feel like I need to ask them how they’d feel about these things. It’s probably more me worrying than it will be them. Ugh, I can’t make a decision to save my life.

I think the 9 yo might be disappointed not to see all the presents when he wakes up.

We were always away at Christmas when the kids were young. We wrote Santa a note asking him to come to the house early so the kids were in their own house to open presents. We planned it so the kids didn´t have school after opening the presents. Kids want presents, I don´t think a 9 yo will really care when.

 

[mrsap]

I think the 9 yo might be disappointed not to see all the presents when he wakes up.

We were always away at Christmas when the kids were young. We wrote Santa a note asking him to come to the house early so the kids were in their own house to open presents. We planned it so the kids didn´t have school after opening the presents. Kids want presents, I don´t think a 9 yo will really care when.

Thanks so much for sharing! I appreciate all the great suggestions.

 

[tgropp]

Hey guys. So, we were thinking of doing Christmas/NYE week this year. My family is on board, (just gave kids a hypothetical situation), and I went ahead and booked my resort reservation... but for some reason, I can’t 100% be all in yet. My DD is 12, so I don’t really have to worry about her, but DS 9 still fully believes. For those that were there with kids on Christmas Day, how did you handle things? Did you decorate your room? Did you get a small tree for the room? Did you bring your kids presents with you? Did the resorts do anything special for the kids Christmas Eve or Day? Did it feel any less like Christmas not being home? (we’ve never been away on Christmas.) I should also note, we go for Thanksgiving as well, so I worry about overload (although, I’m sure for the kids, that wouldn’t be an issue!), but we drive, and it’s a lot of driving in such a short period of time. Thank you!!!

We have been to Disney over Christmas many times (first time in 1994) and have adjusted our trips according to what we learned.
First thing was that it really gets crowded after the 25’th so we would go for eight days and leave on the 26’th. Other times we would go from the 22’nd to the 26’th and then come back on the 31’st for four days . New Years Eve is fun also. Now we go for eight days from Dec 18-26 and then Fort Lauderdale for a week.
Our youngest was eight years old when we first went and still believed. It was no problem as Santa left a note on Christmas morning telling what the children received at home. The Wilderness Lodge always hung Christmas stockings filled with candy etc on the doors of people who had children in their rooms
Fast forward to now and our family includes my wife, myself, two children, two spouses and three grandchildren. We go to Walmart and get a four foot Christmas tree with lights on it and a few decorations. This usually costs about $50 and then we leave it for a family who will be staying the next week. Just post on Disboards.We now celebrate Christmas morning opening gifts with the Grandchildren. Christmas Dinner at Whispering Canyon has always been tradition as well as Candlelight Processional on the 23’rd. There is a little entertainment on Christmas Eve but it has been scaled back from the earlier visits
A sleight ride at Fort Wilderness looking at the campers decorations is always fun. There used to be so many Christmas happenings at the parks but not sure what this year will be like
Having said all of this, my children are now 40 and 35 and they always tell me that the Christmases down at WDW were their fondest. ENJOY !

 

[Deb & Bill]

Santa left our son a few smaller presents and a message that most of his gifts were left at home because Santa was worried it might be too much to bring them home with us. We had put all the presents out under the tree before we left and picked up our son at school, so he didn't get to see the house before we left. We arrived home on Christmas night and he had a ball.

 

[mrsap]

We have been to Disney over Christmas many times (first time in 1994) and have adjusted our trips according to what we learned.
First thing was that it really gets crowded after the 25’th so we would go for eight days and leave on the 26’th. Other times we would go from the 22’nd to the 26’th and then come back on the 31’st for four days . New Years Eve is fun also. Now we go for eight days from Dec 18-26 and then Fort Lauderdale for a week.
Our youngest was eight years old when we first went and still believed. It was no problem as Santa left a note on Christmas morning telling what the children received at home. The Wilderness Lodge always hung Christmas stockings filled with candy etc on the doors of people who had children in their rooms
Fast forward to now and our family includes my wife, myself, two children, two spouses and three grandchildren. We go to Walmart and get a four foot Christmas tree with lights on it and a few decorations. This usually costs about $50 and then we leave it for a family who will be staying the next week. Just post on Disboards.We now celebrate Christmas morning opening gifts with the Grandchildren. Christmas Dinner at Whispering Canyon has always been tradition as well as Candlelight Processional on the 23’rd. There is a little entertainment on Christmas Eve but it has been scaled back from the earlier visits
A sleight ride at Fort Wilderness looking at the campers decorations is always fun. There used to be so many Christmas happenings at the parks but not sure what this year will be like
Having said all of this, my children are now 40 and 35 and they always tell me that the Christmases down at WDW were their fondest. ENJOY !

I loved reading this!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

 

[mrsap]

Santa left our son a few smaller presents and a message that most of his gifts were left at home because Santa was worried it might be too much to bring them home with us. We had put all the presents out under the tree before we left and picked up our son at school, so he didn't get to see the house before we left. We arrived home on Christmas night and he had a ball.

That’s great to hear! My FIL takes care of our cats while we’re gone, so we can have him set the presents up for us, if we decide to do that. Thanks for sharing!

 

[pavicich]

We always had a letter to Santa letting him know we would be gone so he came the weekend before we left. Then packed her stocking which hung in the resort room that he filled Christmas morning along with some gifts bought there wrapped in park maps. We always prefer being “home for Christmas”.

 

[mrsap]

We always had a letter to Santa letting him know we would be gone so he came the weekend before we left. Then packed her stocking which hung in the resort room that he filled Christmas morning along with some gifts bought there wrapped in park maps. We always prefer being “home for Christmas”.

Thanks for your reply. I think, if anything, we will wait till after. Don’t want it to be suspicious if we do Santa’s gifts prior to Christmas.

 

[twinboysandalulu]

Hey guys. So, we were thinking of doing Christmas/NYE week this year. My family is on board, (just gave kids a hypothetical situation), and I went ahead and booked my resort reservation... but for some reason, I can’t 100% be all in yet. My DD is 12, so I don’t really have to worry about her, but DS 9 still fully believes. For those that were there with kids on Christmas Day, how did you handle things? Did you decorate your room? Did you get a small tree for the room? Did you bring your kids presents with you? Did the resorts do anything special for the kids Christmas Eve or Day? Did it feel any less like Christmas not being home? (we’ve never been away on Christmas.) I should also note, we go for Thanksgiving as well, so I worry about overload (although, I’m sure for the kids, that wouldn’t be an issue!), but we drive, and it’s a lot of driving in such a short period of time. Thank you!!!

We went a few years ago and our youngest still believed. Before we left(we always drive) my husband said he had to run back in for something and then I said i just want to make sure i shut everything off. I had all the gifts wrapped and ready to go in the basement at the bottom of the steps, we brought all the gifts upstairs except for the few small ones that i had already packed for xmas am. We put them under the tree and went on our way. Xmas morning we opened our nest app which is the camera system we have in the house and our daughter could see that santa came and left all the gifts under the tree. It worked out really well but in hindsight I actually could have asked one of my friends to stop over and bring them all up.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

Hey guys. So, we were thinking of doing Christmas/NYE week this year. My family is on board, (just gave kids a hypothetical situation), and I went ahead and booked my resort reservation... but for some reason, I can’t 100% be all in yet. My DD is 12, so I don’t really have to worry about her, but DS 9 still fully believes. For those that were there with kids on Christmas Day, how did you handle things? Did you decorate your room? Did you get a small tree for the room? Did you bring your kids presents with you? Did the resorts do anything special for the kids Christmas Eve or Day? Did it feel any less like Christmas not being home? (we’ve never been away on Christmas.) I should also note, we go for Thanksgiving as well, so I worry about overload (although, I’m sure for the kids, that wouldn’t be an issue!), but we drive, and it’s a lot of driving in such a short period of time. Thank you!!!

When I was a kid, we only ever went to Disney over Christmas, including when my brother and I were 3/6 and 6/9. We always did presents from family before we went, which was a nice excuse for my parents to get us our Disney accoutrements as Christmas presents. We stayed at FW in our camper and had a tiny tree that sat on the kitchen counter area as well as lights on the outside of our vehicle and garland up around the inside cabinets. And of course presents showed up "from Santa" on Christmas morning. I remember being very concerned as a child that Santa would know where to find us, so we always put in our letter for the year that we would be at Disney World so we would kindly like him to deliver our presents to us there - surely enough, he did, so we were happy! Obviously as an adult, I understand that we had an advantage by driving down, thereby making it easier for our parents to pack presents...but at the same time, we were all in an enclosed space for awhile before the holiday and never found the presents in advance, which took hiding skills on my mom's part! Now I would imagine it would be even easier, since you can Amazon prime things to the resorts.

(The only thing I would advise NOT to do is try to hit MK during the Christmas parade on Christmas day. It was a madhouse! We usually took the day itself fairly slow after that...incident...and would have a nice breakfast and play with our new toys. Then hit the parks running the next day.)

And yes, it absolutely felt like Christmas to us: we had presents and we were at Disney World! What could be more magical than that?