Christmastime is here.
Happiness and Cheer.
That instantly familiar refrain from A Charlie Brown Christmas instantly defines the holiday season for several generations of people. It does for me and it does for my children and I surmise it will for their children as well. Some things never change. Some things just feel like Christmas. It's usually a simple thing, like a song lyric or the intoxicating smell of a fresh cut pine tree or the delicious taste of my wife's Christmas cookies. It's all of these things combined, both the tactile and the intangible, that make Christmas come alive each year.
There's a certain amount of magic involved in conjuring up that Christmas spirit. Magic, of course, always brings me back to, where else, Disney. As we begin to unearth our vast collection of ornaments and decorations, there are several treasures that I can't wait to find. They define my holiday season. They define Christmas.
It could be my grandfather's old ornaments that I faithfully find prime real estate for on the tree each year. Or, it could be that box of Rudolph toys that the kids collected over the years. They don't play with them anymore, but they don't exactly want them stored away either. It comes as no surprise that many of these Christmas treasures come from the wonderful world of Disney. There are many (and I've written about most of them before), but today I'd like to combine the two columns that I typically write here on MousePlanet. I'll narrow down the best of my holiday things and present a Top 5 article about my Disney Christmas Stuff.
5 – Mickey's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol with Mickey as Bob Cratchit. ©Disney Enterprises
We have a pretty vast collection of Christmas movies; everything from Its A Wonderful Life to Arthur's Perfect Christmas. Still, to this day, one of my all time favorite Christmas specials is the wonderful Disney retelling of the Charles Dickens classic. A beautifully produced short film from 1983 in all its 2D splendor, Mickey's Christmas Carol seems to be a hard one to find nowadays. It is in the lineup on the Disney owned ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, but it's not a major player. You can find it on several different DVD collections. For me, it's not a holiday season unless I watch this little piece of Disney Christmas magic.
4 – Classic Pooh Porcelain Hinged Boxes
Pooh and Piglet decorate the Christmas tree on this porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
My wife has a wonderful collection of these porcelain boxes, some for every season. The Christmas ones usually find their way to the mantle early on in December and begin to set the tone in the house. They're a small subtle touch, but they make a big impact. Along with her amazing set of handcrafted German wooden angels, they signify the beginning of the Christmas season in this house.
3 – Hidden Mickey Ornament
This blown glass Mickey ornament was bought on Main Street U.S.A. Photo By Chris Barry.
It's hard to call this a true Hidden Mickey because it is, in fact, quite large. What I love most is tucking this ornament deep into the branches of the Christmas tree so that it's not too obvious. That way it has to get discovered, just like any real Hidden Mickey.
2 – Disney Christmas Lenox
A varied collection of Tinker Bells includes one with a Christmas theme. Photo By Chris Barry.
We have many different Disney Lenox figurines. My wife has a collection of her favorite character, Tinker Bell. Many aren't Christmas at all, but there are a few of Tink with a Santa hat on like the one pictured in the center above. There's also a cute Santa Kermit, Pooh on a sled, and Mickey skiing.
A cute Santa Kermit, Pooh on a sled, and Mickey skiing are some additional holiday-themed Lenox pieces in our collection. Photo By Chris Barry.
The ones I like best though are “Merry Christmas Minnie” and “Holiday Mickey” both from 2003.
The 2003 Mickey and Minnie ornaments each sport a Santa hat. Photo By Chris Barry.
Due to the popularity of Disney Lenox figurines, we'll be able to add to this collection for many years to come. That's a good thing because I get very happy when I see these appear on the shelves in the living room.
1 – Disney Village Christmas Collection
The Main Street train station is first building to greet you at any Magic Kingdom, including my own. Photo By Chris Barry.
I never stop getting emails from readers about this collection. That's only fitting because I never ever tire of setting up these Christmas houses year after year. They're my favorite holiday decoration of any kind. There are five of them in our house and each one represents one of the five members of my family. My son Casey gets Casey's Corner. His twin brother Alex gets the Main Street Cinema. Our daughter Samantha and her love of animals gets the Main Street Firehouse and all its dalmatians. My wife, the Tink fan, gets Cinderella Castle with Miss Bell flying overhead. And me, I get Mickey and the Main Street Train Station. These houses mean the world to me. They're next to impossible to come by anymore and my guess is that's because people just don't want to part with them. I can't blame them. Once these are set up and lit in their special place in the house…it's officially Christmas.
I hope you enjoyed my favorite pieces of Disney Christmas Stuff. I'd love to hear what your favorite ones are. Maybe we share some of the same? Maybe you have some amazing ones of your own. Whatever the case may be, I'm sure they give you much joy and I hope they define this wonderful time of year for you as much as they do for me.
Have a wonderful holiday season and I'll see you soon with more Top 5s and more Disney Stuff.
