Gingerbread Party!

I’ve got the Christmas decorations packed, the New Year’s resolutions whispering in my ear and lots of fun New Year’s party ideas filed away. But before we get too far away can I share one more Christmas-y Winter-y type activity with you?

This year, I wanted to do homemade gifts for all Lydia’s friends. Well, that never materialized and instead I decided to do a Christmas playdate. I had been given a big box of magical toys and games from the Mickey Moms Club to do a big Disney World in home celebration but decided to add a little Christmas to the mix!

So, we had a Very Merry Gingerbread Mickey Mouse Christmas Party! Sounds fun, right? It was! And best of all, it didn’t break the bank, trash my house or stress me out! It was the fun of a birthday party with the feel of a playdate.

There were crafts…

I bought a cute gingerbread ornament craft from Oriental Trading Company. I set them all out before the kids arrived on our table…oh, wait. We don’t have a table, or any furniture in our big living room. So, I taped brown paper to the floor.

Disney had also given me some pre-printed Cootie Catchers. The kids were a little young to fold it by themselves, but after a little help, they loved them!

We had snacks…

With a gingerbread party, the snacks are pretty easy: GINGERBREAD. I bough a big bucket of gingerbread dough and let the kids cut out gingerbread boys and girls. Surprisingly they were not that into this. I think the spotlight was held by the Gingerbread house!

We even had lunch!

I made cheese sandwiches (no mayo) and cut them out to look like a gingerbread man. I coupled that with apple slices and Christmas shaped Goldfish snacks. We watched an old Mickey Mouse Christmas cartoon while the kids ate.

And of course, there were games!

We played Disney World BINGO. Each kid had to sit with their mom and use M&Ms as the markers for their card. My friend Becky and her daughter won an awesome photo album*! I would have never thought to play a mom-kid game at a playdate but it was so fun! I will definitely use this idea again. I wish I had a picture of the game.It was so cute with everyone playing a game as a family.

In the end, the kids played in the playroom (yes, all 11 of them, including 2 15-month olds) while the moms sat downstairs (listening in on the monitor) eating fondue.

And there were even goody bags…

Each kid left with a big bag of Disney toys and Gingerbread prizes picked out by Lydia herself (well, with a little help from me and Oriental Trading!)

A fun time was had by all! Including Asa, who had his first taste of 15 candy corn and 20 m&m’s stuffed into his mouth at once.

{{PS: Speaking of Disney, please come visit me at DisneyWorldMoms.com as the new 2010 Disney World Moms Panel launches TODAY! If you click “Meet the Moms” you should find my bio video! EEK!}}

*This post is NOT sponsored by Disney. I was given a box of  games and prizes from Mickey Moms Club to do a Disney World party in my home. The extra fun was provided by me and my friends. I am not a Disney employee. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent Disney’s positions or opinions.