We have been luck enough to have two different Disney World trips during the Christmas season: one was last November, when we stayed off-property at a Marriott, and the other was a few years ago in December, when we stayed at the Grand Floridian (which, by the way, none of us liked as much as either Port Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Beach).

Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian

One really fun about the Grand Floridian, however, is that they have a life-size gingerbread house in the lobby that stands 16 feet tall and features 40 window panes.

I did a little research and found that it takes roughly 400 hours of baking and is made with 700 pounds of chocolate, 600 pounds of confectioner's sugar, 35 pounds of spices, and 800 pounds of flour.

Animal Kingdom never stays open past 5:00pm, so they don't have any lighted Christmas decorations, but they do have an impressive animal-themed Christmas tree to greet you at the entrance.

One thing to keep in mind if you visit Disney World during the Christmas season -- it can be cold! Last November we all wore jeans and jackets to Illuminations at Epcot, and we were still chilly enough that I almost bought a hot chocolate just to try to keep warm.

We've never attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, but I've heard it's really great. Here's a video of some highlights:

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party -- Magic Kingdom

If you're a Disney fan, or planning a trip there, here's my other blog where I wrote about our latest Disney vacation:

Why We Love Tusker House at Animal Kingdom

Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort

Cool Things to Buy for Your Trip to Disney World

Our Favorite Snacks at the World Showcase in Epcot

I love bears.

In fact, I love bears so much that when I was pregnant with my first child, my mother suggested that I name it "Teddy" if it was a boy. (It wasn't, and I didn't.)

Ironically, I bought teddy bears more before I had kids than after. I guess because after I had kids, my need for more bears took a backseat. And, interestingly, my kids were into stuffed dogs and other animals more than they were ever into stuffed bears.

Here are a few Christmas bears I found, all at a pretty good price.

If I had all the money and space in the world, I'd set up a decorative bench in my house that was lined with teddy bears like the first two.

And while I'm imagining having all the money and space in the world, I'd also have a tree with nothing but bear ornaments (like the one on the right.)

Image by Simon Howden at FreeDigitalImages.net

Something made me share this story with a friend a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd share it here as well.

When I was young -- around first, second, and third grade -- my aunt and uncle and cousins would have a huge Christmas party at their house one Saturday in early or mid December.

We lived ... let's see, I'm just guessing an hour or two drive away, at most, and we would arrive mid-morning and stay til it was dark, then drive back home. (Their house always still seemed full of people when we left, which makes me wonder how long these parties went on!)

My relatives were obviously big party people (they still are), and I remember these get-togethers being an event where every room was filled with people. They were other relatives -- some who I barely even know who they were -- plus their neighbors, co-workers, friends, you name it.

Anyway, not surprisingly, we would exchange gifts at these yearly get-togethers. I remember, among other things, getting a game called Beat the 8 Ball, which I owned and used for many years after.

Image Courtesy of Amazon

I also remember getting a bracelet that had white beads. Each bead had a letter, and it spelled out my name -- a little bit like this, although not quite:

Picture this bracelet, but a version for a seen year old girl

The next week at Show and Tell at school -- remember, I was in about second grade -- I got up in the front of the classroom and showed them my bracelet. "I got this from my aunt for Christmas," I said.

My memory -- which may or may not be completely accurate -- was that there was almost a collective gasp from my classmates, they were so floored.

How could she have a Christmas gift? Christmas isn't for almost two weeks! How is this possible?

And then, as I went back to my seat, I heard kids murmuring to each other, "Is she Jewish? She must be Jewish!"

"Jenny, are you Jewish?" a few kids boldly approached me and asked after Show and Tell was over.

I told them no, I wasn't.

***********

There are two things I find amusing about this story:

1) That I actually remember it at all;

2) The idea that getting a Christmas present before December 25 must mean you're some other religion -- and that Jews, in fact, celebrate Christmas too, just on a different day than everybody else.

Do you have a funny story about Christmas from when you were a kid? Tell me about it in the comments!

I found these three different Christmas headbands at Amazon for less than $6 each. I think they snowmen are my favorite of the three.

Of course, these are perfect for a holiday party, but I'll bet there are plenty of other times you could get away with wearing these.

For example, depending on what your work environment is like, maybe you could wear it to the office the week before Christmas. If you're a teacher, you can definitely get away with wearing this kind of stuff at work, especially on the day there's some sort of holiday assembly.

I play the piano for several holiday parties every December, and so far I've never worn anything more "daring" than Christmas earrings. But now I'm wondering if I should wear something like this  ... probably not for the entire evening, but just to slap on for some photos or before playing some particularly fun songs.