Perry demonstrates how I like to celebrate!

I still like birthdays.  Mine, I mean – even though I’ve had quite a few and many people my age (49 – yes, I admit it!) don’t want to celebrate them much anymore.  I still get excited for my big day!  I think it’s because at our house, birthdays are always treated as holidays.  You’re made to feel special, gifts are always carefully guarded secrets until the big reveal, and you get to choose how you want to celebrate the day. 

When I think back about the Disney gifts (and there have been many) that I’ve received on my birthday, two stand out as particularly special.  Maybe because they were from Raymond or maybe because I see/use them everyday (or both) – they’re great because they help keep the Disney magic alive and well in our home between vacations.

The Mickey plate stand.  I saw this in one of the Contemporary Resort’s gift shops and just fell in love with it.  It’s not too big, can be used to serve small treats or just as a decoration and is classic Disney.  There was really no way at the time I saw Mickey that I could justify buying him for myself.  So, typical of Raymond’s gift buying ways, when we got home from vacation he made it a quest to procure Mickey in time for my birthday.  It wasn’t easy.  He looked online at The Disney Store and – no luck.  So, he called the Contemporary and managed to find a helpful Cast Member in one gift shop that was willing to go to all the resort’s gift shops for Raymond, find Mickey and ship him to our house. 

More recently (last year) I received my other most favorite Disney gift.  Mickey dinnerware.  I admired these plates while we were at Disney World…several times, in fact, because we saw them in several different stores.  I liked the simplicity of them and how well they would go with our red kitchen.  Also, matching other dishes to them would be pretty easy.  This time, it was a little easier for Raymond since these were available online.  These plates are of excellent quality and are holding up very well after many cycles in the dishwasher and nukes in the microwave.  If you can think of any place I might find some red, red and white, or black bowls that would go with my Mickey plates, please let me know – I’m having trouble finding just the right ones.

What was YOUR favorite Disney birthday gift?