Our Disney-Inspired Christmas Tree

It’s very close to Christmas at the time of this writing - I hope everyone is doing well and not stressing too much about getting it all done, or really getting ANY of it done, considering how different and downright tough this year has been for so many. Take a deep breath and remember that small shops and mail services are working their BUTTS off in this unprecedented season and things may or may not arrive on time, and that’s ok! It’s taken a lot of time and effort this year but we’re trying to just roll with the punches over here.

With my really-for-myself but in-case-you-need-it too ramble out of the way, let’s jump into some ornament ogling! The amount of ornaments that make it onto the tree is always kind of in flux in our house, especially as we’ve moved from a faux tree to real ones the last few years. Tall tree? Fat tree? Skinny tree? Wild toddler on the loose? All of it, plus my somewhat fickle design senses mean we end up with similar but different trees often. While I’ve never really done a full on “themed” tree, this year’s ornament selection was very heavily inspired by our love of Disney Parks over the years, even if it doesn’t look like it at first glance ;)

Our full 2020 tree in all her glory

First up, a little tiki love to represent a classic animatronic favorite, The Enchanted Tiki Room!

I also have this (soft, and therefore perfect for a kid-proofed tree…) swan that really reminded me of the Swan boats that were in the lagoon in the Magic Kingdom between 1973 and 1983.

This fun wool felted mermaid reminded me of the mermaids that hung out in Tomorrowland at Disneyland for a few summers in the 50s and 60s.

The It’s a Small World ornament is from Disneyland! Disney has a whole line of ornaments that have the facades of different attractions (both Disneyland and Walt Disney World) and the flip side showcases the interior.

Michaels had some clear ornaments a few years back that looked like Spaceship Earth! We have a set that I painted silver to more closely resemble the EPCOT landmark.

Speaking of EPCOT - we’ve always loved The Land (shoutout to Living with the Land, one of my favorite slow moving boat rides at Disney!) so I immediately snatched up these hot air balloon ornaments inspired by the seasons balloons in the center of the pavilion when I discovered them last year.

Traveling by monorail at Walt Disney World is one of my favorite modes of park transportation, and considering I met my husband on said monorail during our Disney College Program, a monorail ornament was a must ;) We got this one for our first married Christmas together! It’s another Disney Parks find, that is usually at the resorts this time of year.

They didn’t have any iguanadons, but our sparkly red dino nonetheless reminds me of the Dinosaur attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Likewise, the classic pull-toy style yeti adorning our tree doesn’t exactly look like the scarier counterparts on both coasts that inspired the pick, but I know that he represents both Harold and Disco Yeti in our hearts. (Those are very unofficial nicknames for the yetis found on The Matterhorn and Expedition Everest, respectively).

Finally in this not exactly quick but far from exhaustive ornament tour is our newest ornament this year - Santa Gertie! Inspired by the holiday styling given to the ice cream stand at Disney’s Hollywood Studios - that itself represents one of the very first animated stars (from 1913s Gertie the Dinosaur) - this ornament was crafted as a gift with donation to the Lake Buena Vista Historical Society, which works to preserve the history of Bay Lake, FL and the theme parks that reside there (Walt Disney World!)

I hope you enjoyed this grand circle tour around our 2020 tree. I would love to hear about your favorite or newest ornaments below - especially any unique Disney ones!

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