Mornings with Mickey - My Favorite Disney Souvenir

You have planned, saved, and waited patiently for your Disney World vacation.  You finally make it to the parks and are having a great time.  Eventually, the lure of the assorted merchandise locations will get the best of you and you will find yourself, mouth agape turning in circles in the Main Street Emporium, the World of Disney, or some other shop stocked full of every souvenir imaginable.

If you are like me, you become quickly overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of merchandise and dismayed by the hefty price tags.   Fortunately, for me, I tend to really enjoy the merchandise at the low end of the scale.  I am not one to wear a Disney themed shirt every day, nor to I decorate with Disney merchandise in my home, so that eliminates huge categories of items to peruse.

There are a few "standards" that always seem to make their way into my shopping basket....a photo album, a small photo frame, a magnet, a photo frame that is a magnet...  I also grab a few fun postcards - not to send, but to tack up on the bulletin board in my office.  Cheap and cheerful.  A little something for my own little princesses and I can escape relatively unscathed.

Last month, something else caught my eye, and I promise you it has become a family favorite.  It is a toast stamp.  Yes, you did read that correctly...a toast stamp.  A toast stamp is a piece of plastic with Mickey's cute little mug on it.  You place your bread on a firm surface, line up your bread stamp on top of the bread and push firmly.  Don't wiggle it, or your bread stamp will become a bread cutter.  When you lift off the plastic stamp, you have left an impression of Mickey's face behind.  At that point you can proceed with your sandwich making, or toast your bread to further highlight Mickey's features.  My 4 year old has become the hit of her preschool class, and now I am officially the "best mommy ever"...unless of course, I forget.  (But that is another story.)

The "stamp" and the pre-toasted bread.

By now, I bet you are thinking cute, but I am not going to pay a small fortune to "cuten" up a PB&J.  Truth be told, that is exactly what I thought while I was standing in the store.  But I checked the price tag anyway and was shocked to find that it was only $2.95!  And it is dishwasher safe!  It is the perfect little item to tuck away in your suitcase and bring back home with you.  It is a great way to keep the memories and magic of your vacation alive.  Starting your morning with Mickey will make you smile, and if you get the "best mommy in the whole world" award for the day, it's even better...

Happy, toasty, Mickey!