Three things that I really get excited about are Disney, creativity, and saving money. When I can combine all 3, it is a red-letter day in my book.  Today, we’re going to talk about how to have your own red-letter day by helping your child make their own Disney World autograph book.

Yes you can buy a generic Disney World autograph book when you get to the parks, or even at home before you leave but really, why? Why spend as much as $11 on a way to collect your child’s character autographs, when you can make one for less than half the cost…and have a blast doing it! So get your scissors and glue sticks out and get ready to have some creative Disney fun.

(Important note before we go further: DO NOT PANIC if you feel like you are not creative! The great thing about a project like this is there is no right or wrong, and no one is judging you! Creativity is all about what your child…and you…like. So no worries, and just have fun with it, ok?   )

So, let’s get started! First, you will want to buy a small spiral or post-bound book, and cut out Disney pictures that your child can glue on, use some letter stickers to say whatever you want it to say (or print out from your computer and cut them out if you want), give your child markers, glitter pens, whatever you have at home, and allow them to decorate as they like. Add anything you have at home: tie ribbons to the spirals, add buttons, stickers, gems, you name it. Voila. A Disney masterpiece.

There are two keys here to making this successful:

1. Use items you have at home. Yes, you can buy all kinds of fantastic items in the scrapbooking aisle of your local craft store….but that is not likely to save you money here. It will look great, and be a lot of fun, but it will not be cheaper. (Note: The autograph book shown in the photo does use scrapbook supplies and is pretty elaborate, but don’t feel like yours needs to look like that…..just use it for ideas and inspiration!)
2. Allow your child to be creative. There is no right or wrong way to do this. As I used to tell my preschool art classes (and their parents) it’s about the process, NOT the product. It really doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect. Really. Does your child like it and are they proud of it? Then it IS perfect.

To finish it all up, you may want to invest in some sort of fixative to protect pictures on the cover, if your child uses a lot of these. Be sure to read the label of what you are buying, or talk to a craft store associate FIRST, to make sure that the fixative will protect the pictures, and not destroy them.

But other than the notebook, and maybe fixative if you need it, there really is no other cost. Isn’t that awesome?

Beyond that, the thing I absolutely love about this kind of project, is it channels all that “when are we going?” energy that kids have into something that helps them get ready to go to Disney too. Creating your own autograph book is something that your child will bring to Walt Disney World with them. Imagine how proud he/she will be when giving it to Mickey to autograph!

Nancy, her husband and college-age daughter live in the Baltimore MD area, but consider Walt Disney World their second “home”. She started her site, The Affordable Mouse, as a way to share ideas about how to plan affordable Disney vacations. Her favorite things at Disney World (in no particular order) are Soarin’, most of the food in World Showcase, Illuminations…and that special “Disney magic” found in the most unexpected places.