For this WICKED AWESOME Family Fun Idea we decided to play a little game of make-believe, and we designed our dream house- Here’s what we did & how we did it…
I am straight up OBSESSED with all things DISNEY. I grew up in Florida, so Walt Disney World was like my second home, my escape, my happy place! I think my Disney obsession is all my mom's fault- she started this whole thing before my birth by decorating my entire nursery in Winnie the Pooh.
my nursery
Mind you, back in the day Florida Resident Passes were MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than they are today, so hitting the parks more than once a year (or a lifetime) was much more doable. (Now I feel like I have to sell my kidney on the black market to raise enough funding for a weekend Disney adventure with the fam). Needless to say, Disney has always been a VERY SPECIAL place to me, and now for Krista* & Kylie*, too!
(Eric has been a pretty hard sell)
some of my Disney adventures through the years
All that being said, the past several years I have been DREAMING of my very own DISNEY DREAM HOME that could be a magical place for my family, friends & I to have get-togethers, reunions, parties, and simply a MAGICAL place to run off to whenever we need a little recharge.
I've been playing the lottery- still haven't won it YET- but I KNOW I will eventually make this dream a reality (with or without the lucky numbers). So, I enlisted the help of my two SUPER CREATIVE and fellow DISNEY LOVING bonus-daughters to help me create this fanciful abode, and get the design options goin' for when it finally does happen.
*Fingers Crossed*
You can really use any type of media you'd like for this, but I had the girls use my i-pad app ProCreate to aid in the design process. I really like this app because you can do so much with it, and its super user-friendly. I also have an apple pencil which I LOVE! However, good old fashioned pen and paper works just as well.
Your project can be as simple as having your littles design their dream bedrooms, the ultimate play room, or even a top secret treehouse. The goal is to get them to use their imaginations... and lets face it- KIDS HAVE THE BEST IMAGINATIONS!
They only requirement my girls had: Let your imagination run as wild & as crazy as you want... after all, it's Disney-themed: where the impossible is possible.
the girls' 'Frozen' themed bedroom sketches
(I am to note that they are not finished with these renderings quite yet)
my 'Alice in Wonderland' themed living room & hallway sketches
(also not done quite yet)
This FriYAY Family Fun Idea is really simple, but can keep the kiddos occupied for hours. (I had my girls work on their pieces at a restaurant while Daddy watched his football games, and it helped pass the time with limited outbursts of the dreaded, "I'm bored!")
After your kids finish their sketches, you can save them to have framed as a housewarming gift for when they buy their first home; I bet they'd think it was pretty comical that they once thought having a dinosaur chair and neon pink drapes in their kitchen was a good idea.
The bottom line is, when we encourage our children's creativity, we are inspiring a new generation of people who are thinkers, problem solvers, doers and, most importantly, DREAMERS.
In the case of the Disney empire, "It all started with a mouse."
For this, you could say, "It all started with a house."
Happy FriYAY family fun day!
XO-
Ash
me as Belle circa Halloween 1992
Also- for total shits and giggles I have created a go-fund-me if you'd like to donate to turn our Disney Dream Home a Disney Dream Reality ;)
*names have been changed to protect the innocent