Welp. It is officially the holiday season in the Bricker household. Our decorations are out and ready to go up, I’m using my favorite Christmas coffee mug while typing this, and listening to the old Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Main Street background music loop as I scheme about what new ‘ugly’ sweater I’ll wear to the upcoming event.
Some of you might claim it’s too early, that Halloween literally just happened, “Turkey Before Tree” or something else of that sort. To that, we say: you do you! In our defense, we started celebrating Halloween on (checks notes) August 9 and attended the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party a few days later. When your life is immersed in Disney theme parks, the concept of seasons or even holidays becomes warped. We were “over” Halloween weeks ago.
At this point, Christmas decorations are already up at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland (and have been for over a week), and we’re counting down the days until the fun and festivities officially begin with the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Perhaps I’m getting into the spirit of the season a bit too early, but it comes with the territory. (And honestly, I love Christmas. Two months is the perfect amount of time to celebrate!)
Anyway, as head of the party planning committee, I’ve convened an emergency meeting to ensure we have all of the supplies needed for Christmas 2022 at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Last year, there was a sweatshirt I wanted–but I waited until Cyber Monday to see if it’d be on sale–and it sold out (and is still unavailable). This year, I’m balancing my desire for deals with a sense of urgency for a few key items to start wearing/using.
As with Halloween, there’s actually a ton of good holiday merchandise from Disney, but it’s not being sold at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Instead, there’s a HUGE Christmas Disney Shop on Amazon, most of which is being sold at significantly lower prices than what you’ll find in the parks. In this post, we share some of our favorite picks along with random thoughts.
Speaking of which, a handful of you have inquired about where we get our Christmas sweaters and accessories featured in photos throughout various posts. The short answer is all over the place. Amazon used to sell a variety of great classic Disney sweaters, now it’s mostly Star Wars and Marvel. Walt Disney World and Disneyland are another source, as is Tokyo Disneyland. If you want to see more of our huge collection of ugly Christmas sweaters and other items, let us know and we’ll do a post. (Fair warning, though, most of them are no longer available–so basically it’d be “showing off.”)
Also, please don’t take my clothing critiques seriously. Ugly Christmas sweaters are about the pinnacle of my style, so you I am not exactly a fashionista. To the contrary, I usually dress like someone who is in desperate need of the help from What Not to Wear. 
When it comes to these Christmas items, we receive a small commission from your purchases, so buying through these links helps support the site. However, neither the price you pay nor our recommendations are impacted by that.
You can tell I’m being sincere with these picks based on the total absence of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise. (In fairness, as compared to most of the in-park products, there are some NBC items that are not hideous on Amazon.) Anyway, let’s get started with some crowd-pleasers…
Christmas Mickey Mouse Santa Red Graphic T-Shirt — This is one of my go-tos for wearing underneath Christmas sweaters (since the weather isn’t usually right for those until the sun goes down). It’s cheap and looks far nicer than you’d expect for a shirt that costs less than $15.
Most importantly, I love the vintage look of this shirt, featuring pie-eyed Mickey Mouse as Santa Claus. This would be great with a simple “Walt Disney World” or “Disneyland” script below it; all of this year’s park Christmas clothes have way too much going on. (Side note: this has nothing to do with Star Wars. I don’t know why that’s in the product name!)
Disney Group Shot Christmas Wreath T-Shirt – This is the other shirt that I really like.
The design is even better than Santa Mickey, but the shirt is more expensive. Green is my favorite version of this, but I think the wreath blends in with the shirt a bit too much on that.
Disney Vintage Goofy Holiday Presents T-Shirt – I’m on the fence about this one.
The character model of Goofy is really cool, but I’m not totally sold on the shirt style and size of the graphic. Worth checking out, though. 
Disney Mickey Mouse Tangled Christmas Lights in Antlers T-Shirt – Another winning vintage style.
Disney Minnie Mouse Icon Holiday Snowflakes T-Shirt – Not my style, but simple and sweet. Amazon says it’s the best-selling Disney Christmas shirt, so people must like it.
Disney Storybook Collection Advent Calendar 2022 – We’re suckers for Advent calendars, and this is from the same product line as our recommended autograph book replacement for Walt Disney World.
This countdown to Christmas features 24 books, each of which are 24-pages. Unwrap a new tale every day from December 1st through December 24, 2022. Includes both holiday-themed and everyday stories featuring beloved Disney and Pixar characters.
Disney Princess Storybook Collection Advent Calendar 2022 – Exact same idea, but with princesses instead of a wider range of animated characters. 
Funko Pop! Disney Advent Calendar – I don’t rehash my thoughts on the dead-eyed Funko Pops. (Suffice to say, we will not be buying this!) Setting aside personal aesthetic preferences, it’s impossible to deny the quality of the Funko figures. It’s with that in mind that we recommend this.
Last year, Sarah’s mom bought us this Disney Advent calendar. While we aren’t the target audience, we nevertheless thought it was mediocre quality with too many stickers and paper items. For only a few dollars more, the Funko option appears to be much, much better. 
LEGO Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar – Now we’re speaking my language! The LEGO Advent calendars are my absolute favorite. Although not Disney-related, I’m particularly partial to the LEGO City Advent Calendar.
Other options include:
Baby Yoda Christmas Inflatable Lawn Decor – Christmas inflatables aren’t nearly as good as their Halloween counterparts, but this one is pretty good. I also like this inexpensive and simple-but-sweet Santa Mickey Mouse.
Sadly, I’ve been “banned” from buying more inflatables for a while now after one fateful post-Christmas clearance shopping spree at Target. So please enjoy these on my behalf, and allow me to live vicariously through your yards! 
Funko Pop! Chip ‘n’ Dale Christmas Treasures Game — As a huge fan of Pluto’s Christmas Tree, this was an “instant order” for me when this came out.
The fast-paced, easy-to-learn card game features beautiful illustrations inspired by the classic 1950’s Disney Christmas cartoons. It’s inexpensive and makes a great stocking stuffer, but we really recommend opening it before Christmas.
Stitch Merry Mischief Christmas Card Game – While still most well-known for the dead-eyed dolls, Funko has quietly put together a formidable game lineup. This is the newest entry into the lineup, and it sounds promising (we’ve yet to play it).
Here’s how Funko describes the card game:
Disney Christmas PJs — Nothing says “Christmas” like sitting by the fire and wearing pajamas. Another trend that’s growing in popularity is matching flannel Christmas onesies for the whole family to wear to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We love the idea of this, but it’s a big gamble that Florida weather will cooperate–even in November and December!
Thomas Kinkade Disney Collection Christmas Puzzles — Okay, so actually, nothing says Christmas like sitting by the fireplace in comfy pajamas, doing a puzzle. And there’s something about Thomas Kinkade art that just oozes warmth and coziness.
There are a bunch of other Kinkade Christmas puzzles, if you’d prefer a different design. I’m partial to this one, but your tastes may differ. 
Santa Stops at Disneyland (Little Golden Book) – Finally, a book suitable to my reading level! The Disney Parks Little Golden Books released thus far have been fantastic, with gorgeous art and cute stories. This mixes Christmas and Disneyland, making it a must-own for us.
According to Little Golden Book, the premise here is that on Christmas Eve, Santa stops at Disneyland to spread a little holiday cheer before flying around the world to deliver presents. It’ll feature art of beloved locations throughout Disneyland, and makes the perfect stocking stuffer. (On a related note, there’s a new box set of previous Disney Parks Little Golden Books.)
Disney 5-Minute Christmas Stories — Join in the festivities of the season as Mike and Sully race to light the big Christmas tree, Alice finds the Red Queen’s present, Peter Pan brings Christmas to Never Land, and more!
A Merry Christmas Cookbook — It’s lovely weather for cooking a holiday dish together with your favorite Disney characters. With simple instructions and colorful photos of each treat, spending time indoors has never been so much fun.
The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Illustrated Holiday Classic – If you’ve followed this blog around Christmas-time, you know we are huge fans of Muppet Christmas Carol. I’ve seen it more than any other film (the next closest is Terminator 2, for those keeping score at home).
Disney Christmas Storybook Collection — Join Ralph and Vanellope as they throw a Christmas party just for the Bad Guys; trim the tree with Woody, Buzz and the rest of the Toy Story gang; follow Elsa as she tries to create the best holiday ever for her sister, Elsa; and more.
Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks: Celebrations Around the World — This is an incredible deep dive into the holidays (mostly Christmas and Halloween, but also Easter and other seasonal events) with great photos, detailed information, and rich history. If you love the seasonal events, this is an absolute must-own.
For more on spook season in the parks, see our Guide to Christmas 2022 at Walt Disney World or our Guide to Christmas 2022 at Disneyland. We also have tons of content in our Christmas category of posts!
If you are planning a Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacation, check out our planning resources! The best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide or Disneyland Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Are there any must-have items for you on this list of Christmas stuff? Adding anything to your holiday wishlist or Cyber Monday shopping list? Any upcoming or recent releases that you’d add to the list? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Pretty sure you were quoted in NPRs Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me game. Something about Christmas already starting. They literally said “a blogger named Tom Bricker” said ….
Thank you for this list! I too prefer the simpler designs and we bought several things from your Halloween list! Looks like it’s going to be the same for this one!
And yes, even if we can’t buy most of them anymore, I’d love a Christmas sweater post! I’d also be interested in more “home goods”-type posts, like Disney kitchen stuff. Not sure if that’s even something you’re interested in, though.
One piece jammies make it kind of hard to use the ladies room too!
You ask my ‘wants’ from Disney-I am in UK and have not been to WDW at Christmas since 2018 and have bad withdrawal symptoms!!
I have been searching everywhere for a Mickey and Minnie Christmas tablecloth I cannot find any other than e bay direct from USA and the postage is more than the cost of the item so much too expensive. Going the , other’ way is nowhere near the prices quoted evwn given our disasterous exchange rate so will have to wait til 2023
Hi Tom and Sara,
YES please let us know about where to purchase the “ugly” Christmas sweaters and I (and I’m sure others) would love to know where Sara purchased the adorable red and white stripped dress with ribbon.
We decided to make a trip down 21st till 26, before heading to our place in Cape Coral. We have not done Christmas in Disney in many years. We LOVE Christmas too, and dressing for the occasion is a must. 🙂
Thanks as always , The Vandegrifts
Today I begin the exterior Illumination!!!
Very jealous!
Add putting lights on the roof to the list of things I’m not allowed to do—right there with using the oven, ha.
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