While watching videos on YouTube about Disney World, with my children when I stumbled across a video that two parents made for young their children while they were on vacation in Disney World without them.  They were there for their anniversary and left their kids at home with a family member but to make it up to their children they went to all of the character greetings and filmed the characters saying “Hi” to their children.  To show what great parents they were they put it on You Tube.

My favorite part of their video was when Cinderella said “You left them at home?  How sad!” Then she looked in the camera and said, “I hope your parents bring you to Disney World next time they come.”

There are many vacations you can go on as a couple that are not much fun for young children. Here are a few things that are not easy to do with a 3 year old: White water rafting, mountain biking, hiking and primitive camping, surfing, canoeing, relaxing on a beach, going to a spa, touring old churches, hiking ruins, clothes shopping, or Vegas is another place that really is not made for young children.

Disney World is a perfect place to bring your 3 year old. This is a vacation that is designed to be the most magical place on earth for little kids.  There are kids standing in awe gazing at their favorite characters from movies around every corner, shows set up to dazzle them, rides set up for them to remember in visions the rest of their life.  It is not only fun for parents, but brings tears to your eyes and warms your heart when you see how much fun and magic your kids are experiencing.

I will never forget my 2.5 year old son “driving” a race car and yet not being able to see over the steering wheel, he was so proud!  Only at Disney!  I will also never forget my daughter in her Cinderella dress and glass slippers when the princesses came out to meet her during dinner at Cinderella’s Castle.  There are so many memories and wonderful experiences my children have made each time we bring them to Disney World.

Disney World is a place that children are everywhere.  You will not be able to be in your hotel room without hearing little feet running down the hallway excited to go to the pool.   Everywhere you go you will not be able to forget that this place is made for families, nor will you forget that you left your kids at home and made them miss out on this experience.

You want an adult vacation?  Go to an adult vacation and do adult things.

You want to go to Disney World, bring your young children.  It is fun for adults, but the Disney magic is made for children!

My son brought home a present he made at four year preschool on the day before winter break,  and he was very excited to give it to me.   It was wrapped in a white paper lunch bag, stapled shut at the top, decorated with drawings on the bag, his name, and “Mom” carefully written on the top.

He carefully placed it under the tree and every day he checked to make sure it was not moved and that nobody peeked inside.  He asked me every day leading up to Christmas if I wanted to open it yet?  I told him that it was really special to me, so that I wanted to save it and open it on Christmas day.

One more time on Christmas Eve he checked his present was okay before he went to bed.

When his sister woke him (and me) up at 6:55 a.m on Christmas morning to go see what Santa brought, she took off at a run downstairs, he took off after her but suddenly he stopped,  picked up his present for me, and started to run downstairs with it.

As he was running he slipped in his pajama feet and it he fell.  The present crashed with a loud thunk and a rattle sound as it hit the ground.  He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, “It is glass mom, I think I broke it!”  I said “It is okay buddy, even if it is broken, I will still love it.”  I carried it the rest of the way downstairs and set it down on the table next to where I was sitting to watch them open up their hoard of presents.

He made it through unpacking his stocking and opening one more present before he looked at me and said “Mom, why didn’t you open your present yet?”  I said, “Okay buddy, I will open it now.”

He was perfectly content to stop opening his own presents to stop and watch me.  I opened it up, I pulled it out, and he saw that it was not broken he sighed in relief.  His gift was a baby food jar decorated in tissue paper squares, that were painted on with glue,  and a small tealight candle sat inside to create a candle holder.

I told him I loved it, and thought it was beautiful and asked him how he made it, he told me he did it all by himself but the teachers cut the pieces of paper for him to put on.  Then he said, “Can you light it?” I went and found a lighter and lit it.  He stood and looked at it a full minute before he was content to go back to opening his own presents.

The most important present for my son this Christmas was not the plasma car,  not the General E. Lee, it was this handmade gift that he created with pride and love for me.   It sits in a special place on the center of our kitchen table.