Showing the Polar Vortex our #DisneySide

I find there are two types of people in this world: those that cry during Disney commercials and those that don’t. I am of the former. Actually, just about anything Disney has the potential to make me shed the best kind of tears: tears of joy.

Disney has been a magical place for me since Mike and I went as a young married couple. We trained for the Walt Disney World Marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, in honor of his step-father’s sister. We ran the race and spent the next few days exploring the Magic Kingdom and Epcot together. Whoever says you have to have kids to enjoy Walt Disney World is flat out lying.

Sharing Disney with my kids, however, just multiplies the magic. We took Elena when she was four, and a little over a year ago we went back with Eli. I look back at the photos and I get that little chin tremble going from the sheer happiness of those memories.

I wish we had the means to make a trip to Disney an annual tradition, but we do not, and so I’m always on the lookout for ways to bring out our Disney side wherever we are. Chances are, if you’ve been on any social media site at all in the last few weeks, you’ve seen tweets, Facebook statuses or Instagrams tagged with #DisneySide. What’s your Disney side? For us, it’s the best part of our family. It’s the joy and the magic we find in each other, no matter where we are. It’s the part of Disney we bring with us wherever we go.

What better excuse to share our Disney side with some of our closest friends than a party in the winter that seems as if it will never end? The excitement started when our box arrived.

Inside it was filled with everything we needed to host a magical party. From there I filled a Pinterest board with ideas and inspiration for our gathering. Before we knew it, our party date had arrived. We welcomed our guests with some of our best Disney side moments captured in photos.