Countdown to Disneyland {Days 17-24}

Day 17:  Make Mickey Cupcakes

By this point in the countdown I was starting to find ways to make things easier.  My initial plan with these cupcakes was to make them actually look like Mickey Mouse.

like this one from Erica's Sweet Tooth

Then, as the days approached, I found myself wandering the aisles of my local dollar store and I found some cute cupcake liners with toppers included.  I bought them and decided to K.I.S.S. this project.  (K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Stupid)

So me and the kiddos baked up some chocolate cupcakes, frosted them, and placed the toppers on.  It was super easy and super delicious.  Bonus - kids don't care if you keep it simple, in fact, they sometimes prefer it.  :)

Day 18:  Draw Disney Pictures with Chalk Outside

We took what little chalk we had left over from the summer months and headed outside to draw some of our favorite Disney characters this day.  I wrote out We Love Disneyland and had the kids pose around it...for the scrapbook.

Then, they were set off to draw their own creations.  My boys were not as into this as my girl, though I believe it had more to do with age than anything else, so I helped them with their characters.

As you can see, perfection is not what is important here.  Drawing a character's likeness is all that is necessary.  The kids loved this activity!

Day 19:  Have Disney Dinner and a Movie {Finding Nemo}

This was our menu.

The recipes we used:

Seanut Butter and JellyFish Sandwiches -
Just made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which we then cut out with a fish cookie cutter.

Anemone & Cheese w/Goldfish -
We whipped up a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and sprinkled Pepperidge Farm Goldfish on top.

Green Bean Seaweed -
Canned Green Beans.  Simple.

JellyFish Cupcakes -
So mine didn't really end up looking a ton like jellyfish...they were even mistaken for anemone.  Oh well. 
I baked up a box cake mix into cupcakes, then I took a large marshmallow and cut it in half.  I placed the halved marshmallow on top of the cupcake and covered it with pink frosting.  After the marshmallow was completely covered, I attempted to make jellyfish tentacles floating down from the marshmallow body. 
Here are mine.

Here are some that look more like jellyfish and might even be easier.  Making them 2 dimensional instead of 3-D.

can't find source...let me know if this belongs to you.

This is how we decorated our table.

With some of these dinner and a movie nights my kids were reintroduced to certain movies.  We hadn't watched Finding Nemo in such a long time, it was like watching it for the first time.  Afterward, they were quoting the movie and acting it out.  They fell in love all over again with this family favorite!

Day 20:  Sing Disney Songs

If you have a Karaoke machine, you can break it out, or if you are like us, you can just sing and dance along with some favorite Disney soundtracks.  We don't have too many soundtracks, so we headed to our local library and checked out some of their Disney soundtrack CDs.  The kids had so much fun dancing around and hearing some of their favorite music from some of their favorite movies.

Here are some possible music selections:

Now Disney:  That's What I Call Disney

Disney Princess:  Ultimate Song Collection

Now That's What I Call Disney 2

Ultimate Disney Box

These are compilation CDs, meaning that you can listen to a variety of music soundtracks put together on one CD.  These were the ones my kids liked best, because you could listen to some of the bigger hits from certain movies, while skipping over instrumental pieces.

Turn up the music, sing full voice, and dance around the living room...you won't regret it!  :)
 
Day 21:  Have a Very Merry Unbirthday Tea Party

My kids LOVE tea parties.  Even my son.  Especially my son.  It's an excuse to act fancy, dress up, drink punch from tiny teacups, and eat cookies galore.  :)  We had to include a tea party, since we were definitely planning on riding the teacups at Disneyland.

This is how I decorated the table.

My daughter received this tea set from Santa a few years ago...luckily, I know where Santa bought it...IKEA. 

We have used it over and over again.  The only trouble is that it didn't come with a teapot.  Weird right?  My mom bought one for her, but it was a bit large.  Then my sister-in-law bought one for her and it was the perfect size.  I bought the paper plates at my local dollar tree in the springtime, and the large white plates at Target during Christmas a few years ago.

We made these cookies.

recipe here

Tea was just Kiwi Strawberry Punch.  I do actually fill the creamer with heavy cream and the sugar bowl with sugar.  This is one of the big reasons my kids love tea parties.  Sugar.  It's a main theme of the event.  :) 

The kids invited their aunt over to enjoy tea with them.

If you want to go all out for this one, you could decorate like the actual Mad Hatter's Unbirthday Tea Party here.

Time for Tea!!

Day 22:  Eat Dinner on Disney Plates

This was an easy one.  I bought Disney themed plates from Target and themed napkins from my local dollar store.  We just had our regular dinner, only on Disney plates.  It amped up the whole dinner.  The kids loved it!

Day 23:  Have Disney Dinner and a Movie {Mulan}

Here was our menu.

These were the recipes we used:

Po's Chicken on Rice -
I bought a stirfry packet that comes with rice in the freezer section of my local grocery store.  Easy and delicious!

Mushu's Mandarin Oranges -
Just a can of sliced Mandarin oranges.

Lettuce Wraps -
I used this recipe from tasteofhome.com

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 TBSP plus 1 1/2 tsp peanut oil, divided (I used vegetable oil)
3/4 c chopped fresh mushrooms
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and diced
1 TBSP minced fresh gingerroot (I used 1 tsp ground ginger)
2 TBSP rice vinegar
2 TBSP reduced sodium teriyaki sauce
1 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I only used a dash...we can't handle the heat...haha)
1 1/2 c shredded carrots
1/2 c julienned green onions
12 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves (I used Iceberg lettuce...since my husband did my shopping.  :) )
1/3 c sliced almonds, toasted

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken in 1 TBSP oil for 3 min., drain.  Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and ginger; cook 4-6 min. longer or until chicken is no longer pink.  Drain and set aside.

In small bowl, whisk the vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and remaining oil.  Stir in the carrots, onion, and chicken mixture.

Spoon onto lettuce leaves; sprinkle with almonds.  If desired, roll the lettuce leaves around mixture to eat.

Rice Pudding -
I used this recipe from allrecipes.com

3/4 c uncooked white rice
2 c milk, divided
1/3 c white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c golden raisins, optional (I did not use these, because I do not like raisins)
1 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Bring 1 1/2 c water to boil in saucepan; stir rice into boiling water.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. 

In a clean saucepan combine 1 1/2 c cooked rice, 1 1/2 c milk, sugar and salt.  Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes.  (Mine got a little burnt because I was trying to do other things while it cooked...watch it and stir often.)  Stir in remaining 1/2 c milk, beaten egg, and raisins(if you used them); cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. 

This is what our table looked like.

Day 24:  Play Disney Games Online

I allowed both my kids 30 minutes of play on the computer.  They love playing on the computer, so this was a win for them.  I just went to games.disney.com, and let them choose which games to play during their allotted time.  There are plenty of games for all ages!

These were some of my kid's favorites that can be found by clicking the link above.

Check back for more fun in a few days!

Valerie