Cinderella's 75th Anniversary ✨

Today is the 75th Anniversary of Disney's Cinderella!!! 💖  

As many of you already know, Cinderella has meant so much to me through the years.  It's the first thing I think of when someone talks about your classic fairytale.  It's a story filled with wishes, dreams and ends with a fairytale romance.  Disney has produced many classic stories... but none of them have impacted me as much as Cinderella.

Fairy Godmother will forever remind me of my Nana and I'm not even sure why.  Nana meant so much to me.  She was like a second mother, but somewhere in my mind, that equated to a fairy godmother.  She was there when I needed her.  She listened when I needed someone to talk to.  She always knew how to make my day a bit brighter.  So maybe the reason they're the same in my mind is that my Nana was magic to me.

One of the main reasons that I always wanted to learn how to sew was from the scene with Cinderella's mice and bird friends making her pink dress.  I remember being in awe when my Nana showed me her sewing basket filled with stuff just like in the movie.  One day, my Grammie gave me my very own sewing basket filled with my first sewing supplies taken right off the store shelves of Dad's family's store.  I treasured that box... and to this day I've never used the supplies in it because they're so special.  Flash forward to today where both Eliot and I are taking adult ed sewing classes together.  I still haven't made myself a dress (yet) but it's on the list!  Hopefully someday... 

Eliot's and my Disney Wedding is obviously the pillar of my Cinderella dreams.  Our Disney Fairy Tale Wedding was literally that... a storybook fairytale come true.  There were so many little touches that we pulled from Cinderella- riding in the carriage, Major Domo with our wedding rings in the slipper, the pumpkin coach graphic, glass slipper place card holders, taking photos at Cinderella Castle... the entire thing was so magical and I’m forever grateful to have experienced my very own real life fairytale. ✨🏰✨ 

Finally, most recently 'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes' has been extra special to me... especially the part where it says, "Have faith in your dreams and someday, Your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, If you keep on believing, The dream that you wish will come true." 🌈  It's no secret that the past few years haven't been that easy on me.  But this passage of the lyrics reminds me of all the hopes and dreams that I had as a little girl and all the ones I still have.  On the harder days, it always gives me the strength to keep dreaming and believing.

Happy 75th Cinderella.  Thank you for being so special to me.  °o°

Magical Merchandise: Disney American Girl Dolls

Happy Monday Friends!  It has been SO long since I've done a post about Disney merchandise.  Although I've saved photos of products here and there over the past year and a half, there's absolutely no way that I'll ever get "caught up" with them.  But I would like to get back into posting about merchandise more regularly.  So today I've made a special selection to get back into my Magical Merchandise Monday blog segment.

I believe I've briefly told you about my obsession with American Girl Dolls when I was younger.  Felicity was my absolute favorite, but I also had Samantha and a doll that looked like me.  I would spend hours pouring over the catalog when it arrived in the mail.  I always loved the little miniature foods and accessories.  Even as I grew older, my American Girl Dolls were very special to me, and I've taken extra care of them.

So you can imagine my surprise when one day, I opened my email inbox to discover that American Girl was making Disney Princess dolls!  It's like a dream come true!

In July of 2023, AG released three limited edition American Girl Doll Collector Series dolls to coincide with Disney's 100th anniversary celebration.  (I had every intention of posting about the dolls on here... and then a few weeks later my world came crashing down.)  The first three dolls released were Rapunzel, Belle and Jasmine.  Swarovski partnered with AG for the collector dolls and they had tons of sparkle and details on their outfits.  The dolls were limited to 4,000 of each design and they retailed for $300.

At the time, I remember thinking that $300 was a little more expensive than what I would want to spend on one of them.  But looking back, I wish I had splurged and gotten Rapunzel.  The intricate details on her dress are absolutely stunning!

But thankfully, I didn't totally miss out as this was only the beginning of the Disney and American Girl collaboration.  Since the original collector series, AG has also made more standard play dolls for little girls.  So when I saw these... I knew I had to get them.

In February of 2024, they released the first general dolls: Tiana, Ariel and Cinderella... along with other outfits and accessory packs (with sidekicks!) for each of them.

In July of 2024, they released limited edition versions of Anna and Elsa as part of their Frozen American Girl Doll Collector Series dolls.

In August 2024, I was pleased to see that Rapunzel was back, but it was a simpler version of the doll instead of the Swarovski collector design.  However, I didn't care because I knew she would be mine someday.  She also had accessories with her release.  The only disappointing part of her release is that Rapunzel didn't come with another dress option like the original three general dolls did.

Back in November they released Moana to coincide with the release of Moana 2 in theaters.  The doll is beautiful, but Pua and Hei Hei really steal the show!

And this was where I thought today's posts about new Disney American Girl Dolls was going to end... but I happened to check my email less than 5 minutes before I had this post scheduled to go live at 2:30 PM and they have literally just released a general Belle doll.  (Talk about some good timing!)  So after a few quick adjustments and additions to my post, here's what the Belle doll released today looks like!

Aren't these adorable?!?!?  I'm obsessed... and I'm confident that American Girl will be releasing more of the Disney Princesses as time passes.  I can't wait to see who is next and what other outfits, accessories and side kicks she'll have available!

The reason I picked this for my first Magical Merchandise Monday post back, is that I am now the very proud owner of two of these Disney dolls.  For Christmas this year, I asked Santa for a lot of smaller paints and crafting supplies... but my "big items" were Rapunzel and Cinderella.  So Christmas morning, I was transported back in time 30 years as I delicately opened Rapunzel (from my Mom) and Cinderella (from Jeremy).

The dolls are so beautiful.  I won't lie, even though I knew what they were when I was opening them, it still made me a little bit teary eyed.  It brought me back to being a kid and feeling all of the wonder when I first opened Felicity and Samantha.  And the two accessory packs I got took my breath away.  Rapunzel's little paint set is perfection, and Cinderella's pink dress tugged at my heartstrings.  That scene of the mice and birds making her pink dress will always remind me of my Nana.

It's safe the say that American Girl has knocked it out of the park on these Disney dolls.  I am so happy they have partnered with Disney to bring these dolls to the current generation of little girls... and to those of us "big girls" who are still young at heart.  °o°

All photos are from the American Girl website, their facebook page or from marketing emails they sent me.  For more information, please visit their website.  (I also used American Girl Fandom Wiki to research information in this post.)

Wedding Wednesday: My Cinderella Moments

It's Cinderella's 73rd Anniversary today so I thought I'd do a special edition of my Wedding Wednesday blog segment.  For our Disney Wedding, Cinderella was one of the themes organically due to the location and what Eliot and I decided to include in our wedding day.  As soon as I knew we were getting married at Walt Disney World, it seemed natural to go along with the Cinderella theme. 

I think every girl dreams of being a real life princess at one point or another during her lifetime.  For some of us, that dream never dies... and that's why so many couples get married at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani and the Disney Cruise Line.

I was blessed to have many what I like to call "Cinderella Moments" during Eliot's and my Disney Wedding experience.  Today, I thought I'd share a few of those with you!

Riding in the Carriage- One of the things that I was most excited about was riding over to our wedding ceremony in Cinderella's Carriage.  Riding in the coach is one of those things you think you'll never be able to do, but with Disney Weddings you can.  It was one of the more indulgent parts of our wedding day, but the cost was worth it.

I've talked about my carriage ride before, but I'll reiterate my favorite part.  When we were leaving the Grand Floridian and heading over to Disney's Wedding Pavilion, a bus had to stop to let us out onto the road.  I'll never forget all of the little girls popping their heads up in the windows to catch a glimpse of the "princess" riding in the glass carriage.  I'm sure that I'm in plenty of random people's Disney vacation photos, and it's such a wonderful memory.  To some of those little girls, I *was* Cinderella and if that's not a true princess moment, then I don't know what else is. 

I even got to go into it twice.  Right after our wedding, they had Eliot and I take a short trip up to the road and back so they could take photos and some video footage.  It was the first time after our wedding that we got a quiet minute to ourselves, and it was nice to be able to soak everything in together.  Plus, it made for a great photo op!

Major Domo- Obviously this wasn't a necessity, but when you get married at Disney, you might as well make it as magical as possible, right?  And honestly, I've said it before and I'll say it again, when Major Domo walked down the aisle of the Wedding Pavilion with the glass slipper holding Eliot's and my wedding rings, that's the exact moment when it hit me that we were *actually* getting married at Walt Disney World and our dream was coming true.  It came over me all at once and I got emotional... having him there was 100% magical and something that I'll never forget!

Fireworks- Ok, so fireworks themselves aren't really a Cinderella thing.  But the experience of going into the World Showcase to watch IllumiNations from the France Pavilion definitely had a princess vibe.  From walking through the World Showcase in front of park guests (many who stopped to notice the girl in the poofy white gown), to having our own private location to watch the show, to all of the yummy treats at our Dessert Party, to taking spectacular pictures during the show, to dancing to "Promise" our wedding song after the show was over... the entire evening was a magical memory.

Slipper Photos- A few days after our wedding, Eliot and I had our photo shoot at the Magic Kingdom.  This was another must have... I mean, what's the point of having a wedding at Disney if you can't take advantage of the beauty the resort has to offer? 

I brought along a bag with a few photo props: my "glass" slippers and one of my pink parasols that Stephanie, our wedding photographer, told me to bring along.  One of my favorite photos of the morning was at the Cinderella Fountain that's tucked behind the castle.  Most people walk right by it without even noticing it.  Stephanie used it as a photo location so it would look like Eliot was putting the glass slipper on my foot.  We used the fountain so I wouldn't have to sit in my dress, and I also wouldn't have to keep my foot and leg lifted so long.  I love how the photo came out and I was thrilled to recreate this Cinderella movie moment!

Cinderella Castle Photos- I was so excited about the castle photos.  For months leading up to our wedding, I would become really overwhelmed with emotion every time I thought about Eliot and I having our own photos in our wedding attire with Cinderella Castle.  Thankfully, we got quite a few of them!

Our photos on the lawn didn't come out as well as I'd hoped they would.  (I think it was still too dark out.)  But we got a bunch of other ones that I could only have dreamed of.

I'm so glad Stephanie had me bring the parasol with me.  This is one of my favorites.

Eliot and I were also able to go inside of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for some photos.

My favorite moment though, was actually one that Eliot sat out of.  Stephanie had us go over to the walkway leading up to the castle where she and her assistant posed me with backlighting.  The result is something beautiful that I couldn't have imagined even in my wildest dreams.  It's the perfect princess moment... I felt like a real life Cinderella.

And to this day, I still have to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself that all of this actually happened.  Eliot's and my Disney Wedding really was a dream come true.  I am forever grateful to have had my own Cinderella Moments that I'll never forget.

Happy 73rd Anniversary Cinderella!!!  °o°

Magical Merchandise: Loungefly Stitch Shoppe

It's been exactly one month since Loungefly debuted their new Stitch Shoppe clothing line.  Loungefly has been a favorite of mine for years.  As of late, they're known for making the mini backpacks you see in shops all over both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.  However, they've been making other items like novelty purses, wallets, make up bags, pins and other accessories for years now.

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With Loungefly's somewhat new partnership with Funko, they're now able to produce items for so many more fandoms.  They've had many Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Harry Potter items for a while now, but more recently, they've also had Dr. Who, DC Comics, Pokemon, Coca-Cola, Stranger Things, Hello Kitty, Nickelodeon, Looney Tunes, Dr. Seuss and more.  And I'm sure they'll introduce even more brands soon!

A month ago, Loungefly launched their "Stitch Shoppe" and joined the clothing game with a collection of women's dresses, shirts, skirts, mouse ears and a handbag.  A lot of the items were Minnie and Mickey, princess or Up themed... and I was so excited.

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Not knowing how quickly things would sell out, I was prepared with a plan of attack to commence as soon as the collection launched at noon on Saturday June 20th.  I was home at my parents' house that weekend, so they were also in on my plan.  

Thankfully, Loungefly had placed guides to the sizing on all of their items the night before.  I meticulously went over the sizing charts and wrote down exactly what I wanted to get and what sizes I needed to order them in.

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When the collection launched, my Dad was actually on his way to pick Mom up from the hospital.  Nana and I were at home and I was in and checked out before 5 minutes had even passed.  In hindsight, the only items that sold out super quick this release were the Up handbag (they're making more of those to release anyways) and the smaller clothing sizes.  Everything I bought was still available hours, days and weeks after the initial release.  (That makes me feel a little better about next time!)

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I love, love, love everything I bought!  I was pretty precise with my selections this first time around.  Pixar Up clothing and merchandise usually sells out pretty quickly so I was sure to get the dress, shirt and skirt that I liked.  I also got the Cinderella mice and birds dress because I'm obsessed with all things Cinderella and her little bird and mice friends sewing her pink dress and those have also been very popular as of late.

I love all of the little details on the stuff I got.  The Up dress is covered in Carl's house with the balloons carrying it into the sky.  The belt is white and has the "Carl and Ellie" and their handprints- like their mailbox- as a detail on it.  On the back, it also has embroidery of "Adventure is out there!"  It's so cute!

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The Up shirt and skirt are also adorable.  I love all of the characters on the skirt.  The colors are so bright!  I'm so excited to have a shirt that matches it perfectly too!

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The Cinderella dress has pink ribbons, thread, buttons, measuring tapes and her bird and mice friends all over it.  My favorite part of this design is that the belt on this is reversible... and one side is the tape measure!  This dress also matches with three Loungefly bags I already own!  I can't wait to wear them together!

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There's also plenty of items from the initial release that are still available.  I love the Minnie Balloon skirt and matching shirt, as well as the Mickey and Minnie balloon dress!  I also love the Minnie polka dot set.  Maybe I'll go back for those eventually... I know I'll certainly be looking into asking for more Loungefly items for Christmas!

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They also just released their new Coca-Cola collection!  I love all of the cherry details on this collection.  My Dad loves Coca-Cola so I might have to get something from this collection eventually!  It would be perfect to wear to the store in Disney Springs!

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I'm really excited for all the possibilities with Loungefly's new Stitch Shoppe clothing line!  I can't wait to see what they have in store for this fall's collection!  These outfits will be so much fun to add a little more magic to my wardrobe!!!  °o°

Cinderelly, Cinderelly

On February 15th, Disney's Cinderella film celebrated it's 70th anniversary.  There has been a lot of merchandise released over the past month to celebrate the milestone.  

Yesterday, the Disney Store released their Cinderella key in stores and online.  We'd heard rumors while there last weekend that there were only going to be 48 of them per store.  (Disney was selling these ones as opposed to having them as a free gift with purchase like they usually do.)  After finding this out Eliot, Jeremy and I had decided to arrive at the mall around 8:00 am to get in line since the keys were so limited.

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Thus, Eliot and I started the weekend off by getting up at 5:00 am to travel down to the Burlington Mall to meet up with Jeremy.  We left our house at 6:00 am and had a smooth ride down to Massachusetts.  We arrived at the mall at 7:40 which was a few minutes after Jeremy.  (He texted and said he was about 18th in line at the time.)  Eliot and I hurried in and were three people behind Jeremy, so he ended up moving back to stand in line with us since he would still get one of the keys.

I was a little bit worried about boredom from arriving over two hours before the store opened, but the time passed by quickly.  Jeremy and I sat in Eliot's and my foldable camp chairs and talked for a bit while Eliot sat on the floor playing on his phone.  Then, Jeremy played a game on his phone while Eliot and I played some Emoji Blitz.

As usual, we made some friends while in line.  I went over to the girl a few people ahead of us and asking her if her lavender Disneyland Spirit Jersey was the new spring color.  She said it was and showed me the back with the glittery text.  I told her I was thinking about getting one but that I wasn't sure on the color.  Then, she showed me her new Riviera Resort Loungefly mini backpack.  It was really cute too.  Somehow we got talking about Disney Weddings.  Eliot and I told our new friends that we got married there.  I had a few wedding photos on our phone so I showed them to everyone.

We kept watching the line as it slowly filled behind us.  I was shocked that there were so many people showing up in the last hour.  But we kept track of the numbers and it looked like everyone would get a key.  Around 9:40, we put the chairs away and prepared for the numbers to be handed out.  

Before we knew it, the Disney Store cast members were coming out to greet us.  They made a few announcements about the "rules" of purchasing the key and then finally handed out the numbers.  We were numbers 22, 23, and 24.  Thankfully, everyone who had gotten in line early got a number.  There were a few people who joined the line right before opening, but I'm not sure if they were there for a key or just told that they had to wait in line behind everyone else.

The store opened and the three of us filed in behind everyone.  A lot of people went right to the registers for their keys, but since we had the numbers to guarantee us a key, I went straight towards the ice cream collection that we bought a few things from last week.  This time we didn't need to buy anything else since the key was for sale itself, but I wanted to get the ice cream treat tray that had already sold out online. 

After grabbing two trays, we made our way to the check out line.  Just like last week, it had already wrapped back around into the toy section.  The girl we were behind last week was behind us and we got talking to her again.  When we reached the plush display, Jeremy started playing with the Dalmatian and making him sit on my shoulder and beg to be bought but I said no more dalmatians.  (I have so many 101 Dalmatians plushes.)  Then, I spotted a Fairy Godmother plush and grabbed her.  As soon as I picked her up, I knew she was also coming home with us.  I bought my Nana a Fairy Godmother shirt for our wedding week and I always tell her she's my Fairy Godmother so the character has a special place in my heart.

Of course, when I exclaimed out loud "ooh the Fairy Godmother!" everyone in line heard me.  The girl behind us proceeded to take one and check her out and said that she needed to take one home too.  Then, someone else saw us holding ours and grabbed one.  Then, the girl in front of me heard us talking about her and she grabbed one.  Before I knew it, I'd unintentionally enabled everyone else in line and there were no Fairy Godmothers left on the display.  The girl behind us was teasing me like "oh gee, thanks Melissa!  This is all your fault!"  It was pretty funny.

After we checked out and got our keys, we made our way towards the exit.  On the way out, we talked to two different cast members about the Frozen 2 Anna and Elsa dolls that were being released next weekend.  The cast member told us that they had heard they were getting 35 of them in store.  We quickly did the math that if each Disney Store got that many, our odds of getting them online was going to diminish.  We asked a few more questions and left the store pretty much resigned to the fact that we'd be making yet another trip down to Massachusetts next weekend.

After leaving the store, I had to use the restroom so I headed toward the food court and the boys went to Newbury Comics.  We had decided to meet back up at the Lego Store.  I arrived at the Lego Store ahead of them so I killed time by checking out the Harry Potter, Star Wars and Disney Legos again.  The employees recognized me from the other Disney Store key weekends.  I joked with one of the guys that we'd be back for the Cinderella's Castle Lego set once we got our tax refund.  (We keep saying that we'll buy it, and at this point, we need to get one if we really want it.  Both Eliot and I are afraid that Lego will retire it since it's been out for a few years!)

Eliot and Jeremy arrived at the Lego store about 10 minutes later.  Eliot had a giant Newbury Comics bag in his hand and I immediately knew that he'd bought a few Funko Pop Vinyls.  It was no surprise since I expected that might be the hold up.  I asked him what he bought and he proceeded to say it was all for me.  Then, he took out a Fairy Godmother, Cinderella in her pink dress, and the Cinderella Carriage with horses!  I held them all up towards the Lego Cinderella Castle and said that they'd match my castle perfectly!  (The employees all chucked at me.)  After telling my Lego castle that I'd be back for it, we decided to head to our cars, joking with the employees and saying that we'd probably see them again next weekend!

I had parked our car right next to Jeremy's so it would be easy to exchange the stuff we had for each other.  Last weekend, I'd forgotten to bring his Star Wars crystals from Walt Disney World with us and he'd forgotten all about my Minnie Mouse key.  This time, we exchanged items, then said goodbye to Jeremy and hoped in the car.

Eliot and I had a few stops to make on the way home.  First, we went to the post office in Woburn to drop off a pair of mouse ears.  Then, I was starving so we decided to go to the Fuddrucker's in the Reading Jordan's Furniture.  Eliot and I enjoyed our burgers and split a bowl of bacon cheese fries.  We thought about staying for the 1:40 showing of Disney Pixar's Onward in the IMAX theater, but we decided against it because we were so tired from getting up early and it would probably be packed anyways.

I drove us home while Eliot went in and out of sleep.  Thankfully, it was sunny but it was also really windy out.  My car was all over the road as I tried to keep it in a straight line.  I was awake and alert, but I could tell that I was going to hit a wall eventually.

Around 2:30, we finally pulled into our driveway and brought everything inside.  Eliot started the 3D printer while I went to change into my pajamas.  I crawled into bed and he joined me a few minutes later.  It was a great morning and successful mission to MA, but the lack of sleep finally caught up to us.  I completely crashed and had a wonderful afternoon nap dreaming of fairy godmothers, castles and carriages.  °o°

There is Magic

"Have courage, and be kind."

While I never heard that exact quote until last year's live action Cinderella movie was released, I'd like to think that I've always strived to live up to it.  My parents taught me the value in being a good person, a loyal friend and showing everyone kindness.

Photo Source: Terrell Family Fun

Growing up, sometimes it seemed like the good guys always finished last.  I know I'm usually rainbows, unicorns and sunshine around here, but it hasn't always been that way.  Sometimes, it seems like life is taking me along for a wild rollercoaster ride.  And you all know how much I love those... not.  Fortunately, I've finally found my groove.

We all go through rough times, but in doing so, it makes the good times so much sweeter.  I've been reflecting about the past few years and I'm just so thankful for everything we have now.  A few short years ago, Eliot and I were living outside of Boston paying outlandish prices for our apartment.  I was miserable at my job.  I had great co-workers, but I felt taken advantage of and lost in the corporate structure.

Today, Eliot and I both love our jobs.  We have a beautiful new house that we are so blessed and grateful to have.  We have a loving family and great friends.  (We only wish we saw some of them more often!)  Both of us have been blessed with what seems like endless creativity.  (Something I thank my lucky stars for daily.)  Because of that, we both have wonderful side businesses that we've created and truly enjoy.

Photo Source: Daps Magic (edited by me)

And then today happened.  While I can't fully disclose what happened quite yet, I'm incredibly grateful and humbled by the acknowledgement I received.  I'm so thankful for my parents and for everything that they do for me.  I know that I've always made them proud.  They spoil me rotten, and I know it.  I'm forever indebted to them for all that they do for us.  But today, something clicked.  It felt like a personal triumphant victory.  An acknowledgement of all my hard work.  The prize for the fruits of my labor.

So tonight, I smile and look forward to the celebration to come.  When Cinderella "gets to go to the ball" if you will.  After all, "where there is kindness, there is goodness.  And where there is goodness, there is magic."  °o°

Hanukkah 2015

Ok, here's the last of my 2015 holiday posts!  (I'm finally caught up... yay!)  As I had mentioned in my Chicago post, Eliot's family spoiled us with Hanukkah gifts.  We got wonderful gifts and I wanted to make sure everything arrived home safely.  Eliot and I took two extra suitcases with us to make sure everything was packed safely and securely so things wouldn't get broken in transit.  Thank goodness for Southwest allowing two checked bags per person!  All of our gifts arrived home in one piece!

It was nice to spend time with Eliot's family on a few nights of Hanukkah.  It's the first time I've ever celebrated it with them.  During our gift exchange at the hotel, we lit a menorah.  The girls sang a bit of the Hanukkah prayers.  Then, we exchanged gifts.

Sara wanted everyone to open her gifts first.  She pampered me with Disney princess presents.  First, I got a Cinderella winter scarf, adorable gloves and a small wall art print.  They're all so cute!  Next, I opened some Disney princess bubble bath!  I can't wait to use it!  I also got a pack of Disney princess bowls.  The little containers are charming!  Finally, she got me a large princess coloring sheet pack!  I love to color!

Elissa gave Eliot and me our gifts next.  She had a shared theme with both of our presents.  She gave me an Olaf infinity scarf that I absolutely love!  It's perfection!

Elissa got Eliot a plush Olaf holding a San Jose Sharks blanket.  The Sharks and Olaf are definitely two of his most favorite things.  He loved it!

Eliot wanted to give me one of his gifts for Hanukkah and he insisted he bring it with him to Chicago.  I was thrilled when I opened a Hawaiian Minnie Mouse tsum tsum!

Rick and Nori got us each eight gifts, one for each night of Hanukkah.  I wasn't able to take pictures of everything, but I tried to get most of the gifts!  (Some of them, like my nutcracker Mickey, are breakable so I kept them packaged for Christmas storage.)  All four of us kids each got a fleece blanket.  I got Ariel and Eliot got Olaf!  Eliot and I got lots of holiday goodies including Mickey and Minnie Santa hats and plush.

Eliot got a Mickey snow globe and I got the matching Minnie globe.  We also got a few Christmas ornaments for our tree.  We definitely need a separate Disney tree now.  In fact, we might even need two to hold all of our Disney ornaments!

I got an awesome (not officially licensed) San Jose Sharks shirt that says "Sharks Fan By Day, Disney Princess By Night."  I love it and I'm sure Eliot does too!

Speaking of Eliot, he also got some Disney apparel in the form of two new Vans hats.

He also got an Olaf night light.  It'll go perfectly in our basement bathroom!

Can you tell we really love Olaf?  Haha.  Rick and Nori also got me these awesome Olaf earrings!  I've actually been admiring them online for a while now but I never ended up getting them!  They'll go perfectly with my new Olaf scarf from Elissa!

They also got me a Disneyland 60th anniversary photo album and a Winnie the Pooh Christmas Frame.  I love them!  We took so many photos at Disneyland!  And I love the picture frame.  I'll have to find a special Christmas photo of Eliot and me for it.

Eliot and I loved the Main Street Electrical Parade Mickey and Minnie shirts!

Finally, each of us kids received a Mickey Mouse blanket from the Disney Store while we were in Chicago.  It was on a special sale that weekend and it's so soft.  We definitely won't get cold during the long Maine winter with all of our new blankets!

Lastly, it wasn't a Hanukkah gift, but Nori was able to purchase the Disneyland Paint the Night parade ornaments that Eliot and I had really wanted.  I've always loved the ear hat ornaments and I wanted to put this set in a display case in my new office.  I figured it was a long shot since they were so popular, but she found them!  Yay!!!

Eliot and I are so thankful for all of our new gifts.  However, just like with Christmas, we're glad we had the chance to spend time with his family during the holidays.  We don't usually see them this time of year, so it was nice to have a few days together!  °o°