Time to Give Back

It is the season of giving! We thought it would be nice if we gave all of our amazing readers a few ideas of how to give back.  After all Christmas is not all about the gifts, at least that is what the Grinch tells us!

The first thing way to give back is to volunteer.  Giving back doesn’t have to mean money. Volunteering at a soup kitchen or shelter can be just as rewarding as donating gifts or clothes, possibly even more.  This is a great website that lists 25 ways you can donate your time.  

Probably the most popular holiday donation is toys!  Nothing makes you feel better than knowing you are helping a child.  There are a couple of ways to do this.  

• You can go to a local school and donate toys
• Visit Toys ‘R’ Us website here and chose from a huge donation list
• Drop off toys at any Toys for Tots location.  The huge list of locations is here.

Another great donation is clothing, especially coats, gloves, scarves, and hats.  Many communities and stores offer coat drives at this time of the year.  Burlington Coat Factory has a huge coat drive right now and you can find a local donation spot here. 

Hopefully this blog was helpful in providing you all with basic information about giving back during the Christmas season. Feel free to let us know how your donating activity went.

A Big Disney Anniversary

If I say the word ‘Disney’, what comes to mind? Of course, you immediately think about Mickey and Minnie mouse, an AMAZING children’s store, wonderful theme parks (or lands) ,and the man who made it all possible, Walt Disney. The name is so well known that I attempted to write Disney with a lowercase ‘d’ and it immediately capitalized it. No squiggly red line, nope. Microsoft Word simply knew what I was talking about. Yesterday marked the anniversary of the opening of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Being the only theme park designed and under the supervision of Walt Disney himself, the opening day was a disaster. The day the park opened, it was a hot day, with a shortage of food, a gas leak, and high traffic.

Another fact about Walt Disney is that he was the creator and first voice of Mickey Mouse. Mickey first appeared in 1928 as Steamboat Willie.

 

It is amazing how he has changed throughout the years and is still holding strong. The latest appearance of Mickey had to be in the children’s show “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”. Sporting the catchy “Hot Dog” tune, this show is sure to keep the children quiet for a while, engaging them in tasks and the interactive set up of the show. If I were to make an educated guess, Mickey is here to stay.

I don’t know if you have heard, but soon we will be able to experience one of the many victories Walt Disney has had. I am referring to the movie, “Saving Mr. Banks,” the story of how Disney turned a book into a classic movie, including the challenges he faced. Disney is played by Tom Hanks, who sports Disney’s classic mustache and attitude throughout the film.

 

See any similarities? Are you going to go see “Saving Mr. Banks?” You have got to let us know!

So, in the memory of Walt Disney, remember who you grew up watching and remember who started it all. As Walt once said, "I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."