We Packed the Disney Santa Hats

Packing began yesterday for our trip that is weeks away.  Actually, the packing list was made a while ago, but the suitcases came out yesterday.

The husband and the boy decided to browse at the local Target—the boy got gift cards for his birthday and wants to check all his options before purchasing.  And, they stopped at Dollar Tree before heading home and bumped into the Disney Santa hats, shown above.

I was in our extra bedroom ironing for the trip when they arrived back home and the boy told me to close my eyes as they had a surprise for me.  Then, they both entered the room wearing the hats with one to spare.  The husband said we could wear them on our way to the ship and throughout our vacation.  Only a Disney husband would even see these hats at Dollar Tree, buy them, and have a plan as to when they could be worn!  And, yes, they are now in the suitcase.

How is the packing going?  Faster than I had anticipated.  The list helps. . . a lot.  Since we keep our matching sets of Disney shirts in the suitcases, already ironed, all I had to do was set aside the ones we weren’t taking with us.  Again, the list made this easy. 

The tricky part, for me, when packing for a Disney cruise is the dinner attire. . . cruise casual to semi-formal.  All of us have nice clothes to pack but my need for coordination for photo opportunities adds complexity to the process.  We’ve learned that 4 pairs of nice pants for the boy and 3 pairs for the husband suffice on a 5 night cruise, as the pants can be worn again sometime in the cruise.  My evening wardrobe consists of a brown, black, and navy set of “slinky” knit material outfits.  Great for packing and easy to wear.  I am considering packing a nice dress for the trip—holiday red, maybe. 

Rather than packing swim cover-ups for me this trip, we will wear matching Disney t-shirts with shorts (over swimsuits) for me and with swim trunks for the guys.  I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before, but it will actually save packing space.

The packing list also has directions as to items that need to go in certain bags.  For example, one of the carry-on bags will have swim suits and pajamas for our overnight at the Hyatt prior to our cruise.  This makes getting to the swim suits fast and eliminates the need to open all of the checked luggage.  Then another carry-on that goes with us on the ship will have swimsuits, sunscreen, hair brush, dinner attire for our first night onboard including shoes, and pajamas, just in case our bags arrive to our stateroom later in the evening.  This attention to detail and organization prior to our trip helps the rest of our trip go smoothly.

We have yet to reserve a “park ‘n fly” stay prior to our flight.  This will depend on weather predictions when our trip gets closer.  Should we make the decision, another bag will be packed that will contain our needed items just for that overnight stay.  Again, making the process easier without opening all of our larger bags.  The bag used just for that stay would contain our dirty clothes in the morning and be left in the car for the duration of our vacation.

The packing will continue, right up until the morning we leave, as toiletries will be the last to go in the bag.    

I know some people find this task daunting, and it certainly can be.  Especially when packing for others, a wide range of weather possibilities, and multiple destinations (both a cruise and Disney World in this instance).  This is why a packing list helps so much.  When I told the husband that I was going to start packing on Sunday his reply was “Do you mean WE are going to start packing?”  Packing is something he doesn’t like to do.  And, yes, he may be asked to gather socks, undies, pajamas, shoes, etc.  Maybe this is why he took the boy to Target and left the house!