This past Thursday I had the pleasure of taking my son Thomas to the Disney Store in Times Square and attending the Star-Studded Top 10 Holiday Gifts Reveal.  Being able to be a part of the excitement of the upcoming holiday season was so much fun! I normally wouldn’t want to be in Times Square at 9 months pregnant with a toddler but the promise of Mickey and Minnie and seeing some fun toys was just something I couldn’t pass up.

The event was held on the upper level of the store and when we walked in we were greeted by this sign:

After giving my name and letting them know I was from Chip and Co, I was given a $50 Disney Gift Card. Cha Ching! You know how much loot I can get with that? Of course being the savvy Disney shopper that I am, I knew to pocket that bad boy and hold off to use it online where the merchandise is much cheaper and I’d probably wind up with some good sales deals too.

We headed up the elevator and along the twinkling blue path and were greeted by cast members with goodies!

This cast member was first and offered some beverages for the adults – mulled cider and sparkling water. Very fancy! And the kids were not forgotten because next up was the juice box tray:

And best of all was this lovely cast member and her outstanding Christmas cookies!

Goodies in hand, we set out to look around at all the great merchandise. There are so many fun places to play and things to do in the Disney Store and we managed to find them all. The make-your-own-cars section was a favorite for my son as well as the mini Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In fact, most of the kids were packed in there playing. They could care less what the hot toys are – they just wanted to play in the big tunnel!  For the first 45 minutes or so, we looked around and played and waited for the presentation to begin. The kids sat on the floor (well, sorta…as much as a bunch of toddlers can be expected to sit) and we listened to all the great things that were going to be available for purchase this season. The top 10 toys are:

1. Animators’ Collection princess toddler dolls(Family Fun Toy of the Year Winner)

2. Cars 2 Remote Control cars with turbo speed – Note: I’m TOTALLY buying this for my little guy!

3. Muppets plush assortment featuring all your favorite characters from the new Disney film “The Muppets” opening on Nov. 23

4. Cars 2 Siddeley Spy Jet

5. Enchanting Princess 5 in 1 wardrobe set

6. Vinylmation Villains 2 and Jingle Smells Vinylmation

7. Singing Rapunzel doll with the voice of Mandy Moore

8. Disney Store’s exclusive fragrances Imagination, Winter and Pixie

9. Wish-A-Littles by Kidada for Disney Store

10. Disney Princess 10-pack dolls

I was able to snap a few pictures of the great toys during the presentation – all of which can be found on at the Disney Store’s website.

After the presentation is where the real fun began! A really fun cast member read the kids a Christmas story, chock full of all our favorite Disney characters. In attendance at the event were some celebrity moms, including Kelly Ruterford and her daughter, La La Vasquez and her son, and Daya Vaidya and her daughter. Of course, I had no idea who they were at the time (apparently I don’t read enough celeb rags!) but my little guy did wind up in one of the promo pictures!

After story time the cast member asked the kids what characters they saw in the story. “Donald! Goofy!” ….”Mickey!!” Once the kids yelled Mickey, the ultimate surprise came! Out walked Mickey and Minnie dressed in their holiday best! My son was ecstatic and started chasing them to the picture area. We waited not-so-patiently in line while the celebs took their photo ops. When it was our turn, Thomas ran right to them and showed them the toy he had picked out. They spent a great deal of time with him. It was definitely a change from being at the parks and having to rush through each character because of the long lines. Thomas got to sit on his buddy’s lap and even stole a kiss from his very first crush.

The event really was a wonderful time. I’m so happy I got to be a part of it. What touched me the most was the fact that for each holiday Mickey or Minnie plush sold from October 31-December 11 at Disney Store and DisneyStore.com, Disney Store will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I will be sure to purchase one of my own!