Today's post is different from my norm but I'm so excited to be sharing it with you all! My sister and one of her besties went on a "grown-up" girls trip to Disney World this May. Their trip was the week after her birthday so I made her a Disney Care Package/Gift Basket. She turned 28! If you or someone you know is headed to Disney, this DIY basket is a great gift idea and has lots of great Disney essentials ;) I'm sharing everything I put in the basket + how I DIY-ed the tulle skirt. Get ready for lots of photos and Minnie & Mickey overload! I had SO much fun picking everything out... now I want to go to Disney! PS- have you all seen the new Aladdin movie? It was amazing!
I had to rush to snap these pictures with my phone on her birthday (hopefully they aren't TOO blurry) but I can't tell you guys how happy I get when I look at my lil' Minnie basket. I always think of Minnie & Mickey as "Classic Disney" so I chose them for my theme but any of the characters or princesses would be super cute! Love the idea of a Little Mermaid basket. I decided up front that I wanted to make a basket with a mix of "Disney essentials" she could take on her trip - practical items, fun Disney-themed items + some snacks! I pulled both my own ideas as well as a few from this Ultimate Disney Guide. If you're planning for a trip, this one has great ideas!
I love sharing my personal style with you all. Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I’ll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)
WHAT I PUT IN THE BASKET
PRACTICAL ITEMS
Let's start with some practical items. I wanted to include necessities such as sunscreen, bug spray, band aids, tissues and wet wipes/huggies. Can't forget to pack on that SPF! ;)
Haley kept talking about this Blue Lizard Sport with SPF 30+ sunscreen so I picked that one up for her but my all-time favorite is the Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen with SPF 100+. I use the spray for body (super easy application) and the cream for my face. It has never failed me over the years!
For bug spray I picked up this Buzz Away Bug Repellant. I love that this one is natural, deet-free and comes in both a standard size and a travel-size.
Okay I couldn't help myself with the band-aids and wipes! I had to get these cute Mickey-themed ones! You can find the Mickey band-aids here. Haley also purchased a travel-size first aid kit which I'd definitely recommend. Throw in the Mickey band-aids and you're good to go. The Mickey tissues are also a nice travel-size pack that can easily clip onto a backpack. I'm not sure that Haley ended up using the wet wipes (LOL) but I think with hot weather and being in the park all day they would be handy. I would use them ;)
The last "practical" item I picked up was this portable fan. It runs off of batteries, is travel-sized and clips onto a bag for easy access. She said it came in handy!
DISNEY ITEMS
On to fun Disney-themed items! The great thing about Disney is that you can find it literally anywhere you go. I went to a ton of different stores from Target to the grocery store and there is always something Disney there. Love that because it's easy to find things and there is so much variety. PS- My Minnie Mouse birthday card is available online here!
Disney Ears - These are by far one of my favorite things that I bought. The Disney ear headbands are an iconic part of visiting Disney World/Disneyland so they are a definite must-have. I had a really hard time choosing which ones to buy because there are SO MANY cute options. You can find them from the Disney store, major retailers or hand-made versions on Etsy. I ended up purchasing these hand-made Little Mermaid ones from an Etsy seller named LeBownitte. They have so many amazing designs, I wanted to buy all of them! A few of my other favorites from them are these and these. I'll link some of my fave ShopDisney ones below too!
Tees - Mickey Shirt // Aladdin Shirt // Hakuna Matata Shirt // Haley also bought this Minnie one, this Mickey one + this Lion King one too.
Socks - Who doesn't need cute Minnie and Mickey socks to wear at Disney??? Haley told me her sneakers were her most comfortable shoes so the proof is in the pudding. I may or may not have bought these Minnie ones from the girl's section.... perfect if you have little girls or wear a women's 11.5 or smaller ;) Be sure to look up the size conversions online to double check they'll fit you! I also bought these women's Mickey ones which I love.
Socks - Who doesn't need cute Minnie and Mickey socks to wear at Disney??? Haley told me her sneakers were her most comfortable shoes so the proof is in the pudding. I may or may not have bought these Minnie ones from the girl's section.... perfect if you have little girls or wear a women's 11.5 or smaller ;) Be sure to look up the size conversions online to double check they'll fit you! I also bought these women's Mickey ones which I love.
Minnie Pandora Charm - Haley collects Pandora charms so I also wanted to buy her one to always remember this trip and her birthday. There are SO many cute Disney ones that I also had a hard time choosing! I ended up picking the Minnie Headband charm because it was so her and she was excited about getting to wear the ears on her trip. I thought it would always remind her of the trip and wearing the ears there! I'll also link a few more faves below (I couldn't pick just a few! I love them all so I pretty much linked the whole website.)
Impress Nails - These aren't "Disney-themed," but Haley loves these Impress Press-On Nails. She has a whole basket of them! She kept talking about wanting red nails to wear at Disney so I grabbed this pair for her. They have a cute little accent nail too and are way more affordable than getting your nails done. A great option to save a little money for the vacation! ;)
**I almost forgot about my little Minnie plush! As I was buying this my bf asked me what Haley was going to with this.... lol. I had to have her to tie my basket together, obviously. She did too ;) I originally wanted one like this but didn't find it until after her birthday. I ended up buying this one which has total birthday vibes so it was perfect!**
SNACKS
Snacks are a must-have for any trip. I think small, pre-packaged snacks are the only way to go as they're easy to carry with you at the parks. There are tons of food options you can also purchase there but these will save you some of that coin and are convenient for waiting in line or snacking on in your room.
DIY TULLE TUTU BASKET
While searching for basket inspiration, I ended up finding this blog post from Organized Chaos on how to make a tutu/tulle skirt to wrap around a basket. I followed most of the steps in this tutorial, however I do have a few highlights as well as some tips to share!
- As suggested in her post, I found my basket from Goodwill for only $1! I'll be honest with you guys that I'm not much of a thrifter, however I decided to pop in before hitting up Michael's. I was surprised that I able to find one that I liked in great condition! Baskets are usually expensive so I would check there first.
- Buy more tulle than you think you'll need. Halfway through I ran out and had to make a second trip to buy more.
- Instead of wrapping the tulle directly on my basket, I attached it to one long piece of ribbon and then tied the finished tutu to the basket afterwards. It may be a little easier to do it her way, however the weaving on my basket was very tight and the tulle snagged when I tried to thread it through.
- Glitter tulle is VERY VERY VERY messy. I thought it would be sooooooooo cute to add some glitter tulle (WHICH IS WAS) but it is also a lot messier. I had black glitter lingering around my house for weeks after! TBH there's probably still some here now. If you're going to use glitter - be prepared for the mess or craft outside. You also get less per roll so it's a little bit more expensive.
- Give yourself several days to DIY... it takes a little bit of time to cut everything out and make all of the loops.
I think that's it, you guys! This might be the longest blog post I've ever written. It feels like an eternity. Hehe kidding but I hope you all enjoyed reading this and found it helpful! Let me know if you're planning a trip to Disney in the comments below! I haven't been in years so I'd also love to hear your favorite places and things to do there!
xx,
Kristen
