A Mommy Story

Disclosure: I received free products to assist with hosting a #DisneySide @Home Celebration.

We wanted to get the kids excited about our late February trip to Disney, so we decided to host a party to build some anticipation for our vacation, and bring a taste of Disney to our friends as well. Since we planned the party the week of Valentine’s Day, we thought a Villaintine’s theme would be a lot of fun.

When Aaron and I spent a week at Disney to celebrate our first anniversary in 2004, Disney had a Villaintine’s Day event going on, with a set of Disney trading pins to obtain by hunting down the clues and answering trivia questions. We enjoyed exploring all of the Walt Disney World resort and parks to find the pins, and met a few villains along the way, too.

some of the Villaintine’s Day pins from 2004 in our collection

Disney and their partners sent us some supplies to help with the party, and then we supplied the remainder of the decorations, food, and entertainment. I let the kids plan out much of the party for their friends. It’s no surprise that I’m not skilled in the art of decorations or baking, but I think we still managed to pull together a nice event with some yummy snacks.

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate for us (it’s the never-ending winter!), so several friends couldn’t make it to the party. That didn’t stop those of us who were here from having a great time, though. Once everyone arrived, we invited them to pick out a villain pin from our trading pin stash to wear and try some of the snacks.

  The Queen of Hearts cupcakes were especially popular.

In-between activities, the kids snacked while watching clips from Mickey’s House of Villains. We started with a trivia game, with the winner receiving either a Disney villains bracelet or an Ursula mirror.

We then moved on to Disney Parks bingo, which was a fierce battle for who would win each round, and a few guests completed the Disney Villains puzzle that we had set out. The bingo activity and more can be found at the Show Your DisneySide site, along with recipes and crafts by theme, too.

Gaston made an appearance, too.

When it was time for refreshments again, we introduced our Magic Potion Fizz drink, which was the highlight of all of the snacks. The kids loved pouring the liquid (Sprite) into the cup until it was half-full, then adding one spoonful of the magic powder (aka powdered Jello) to see the potion develop right before their eyes.

The drink bubbled and foamed up to the very top of the cup. At first they weren’t sure how this magic potion would taste, but one sip had them convinced they were all capable of making tasty magical drinks.

For the adults, we had a more soothing Twinings herbal tea selection.

Mad Hatter’s (Herbal) Tea Party

At that point we gathered everyone around the table for a craft project. We have a friend who makes bottlecap jewelry and accessories, and she gave all of the kids a tutorial in how to make their own Disney villains magnets and keychains.

Everyone loved selecting their favorite villains, cutting out the images, and putting together their own villain crafts.

While the magnets and keychains dried, we wrapped things up by playing a round of Disney’s Scene-It DVD game. Aaron served as the game host while all of the kids played the game.

Before leaving, everyone took home a goodie bag filled with Disney treats, Disney Parks luggage tags, an HP CMYK (Create Memories You Keep) Pack with photo paper and envelopes, more Twinings tea, buttons and stickers from the Disney Store, a button promoting the new Cinderella live-action film, and nail accessories to create their own villainous nail art.

It was the perfect way to get us excited for our trip to Walt Disney World, show our #DisneySide and share our love of Disney with our friends and family. Thanks to HP, Twinings, Mom Select, and all of the Disney crew for our supply box to get the party started!

Giveaway!

Because the weather kept several guests away, I had a few leftover gift bags. I gave out a few of them to others, but still have one stuffed full of Disney magic to send to one lucky reader!

This bag contains a button for the new Cinderella movie, Twinings herbal tea, Tinkerbell fruit snacks, nail polish and a nail file, a Disney Villains bracelet, HP photo paper, a Disney Parks create-your-own luggage tag, Disney Villains jelly beans, plus stickers and buttons from the Disney Store. I added some extra magic, too, to make this a fun prize for any Disney fan. (I’m not telling what the extra magic might be, but you’ll like it!)

To enter, leave a comment below telling me who is your favorite Disney villain. One entry per person, duplicates will be deleted. US mailing addresses only, please. I’ll accept entries until Saturday, March 14, and will randomly select a winner shortly after that date.

Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a box of supplies from Disney and their partners to help in planning my DisneySide @Home party, some of which are seen in the photos,a nd all other items were supplied by me. All opinions expressed here are my own.