Maybe I splurge on early Mickey Christmas yard decorations — you know, the big blow up kind — and set them out in yard, put on my weddiing dress with an apron and wear a crown, and charge admission! We’ll have a blast in the neighborhood, no high priced junk to take home, and even do the light thing you talked about for the kids! What great ideas! Thanks.

Let me know what you hear on the items I’m hunting for… My budget? Under $250 for all!?! Thanks for keeping us laughing! And, again, kudos for the new assignment!

Keep up the great work!

For a backyard water park, tie a garden hose up in a tree, pointing down in spray mode–then let the kids run back and forth under it. Get one of those sprinker hoses (with lots of holes punched in them) and snake that across the lawn to run thru. Go to goodwill and pick up a bunch of old bras–3 cups will make a Micky Yarmulke!

Sorry I got stuck on that.

I learned the hard way. When ever I am in that souvenir/junk food/trinkets predicament, I give my kids each $40 and that is all they have to spend on that sort of stuff. You should see how they each weigh every purchase and decision now that it’s not a “free for all”.

I love stay-cations too!!

gee.. I’ve just turned my comment into a rant… sorry about that. Obviously your post is too good! *L*

All the best, Hal

Dear Jenny,

Thank you for your kind letter. I am not in the least offended by it, except that you might think that I am the sort of mouse who would flip you off if I had a fifth digit. Walt (may his conservative sole rest in peace) made sure that that could never happen, not only by limiting my hand to three fingers and an opposable thumb (which real mice do not have) but by creating within me a loving, understanding and forgiving nature. It was my friend, Donald, to whom Mr. Disney applied the miscreant kind of attitude for which he has displayed a propensity. I mean, be honest with me, have you ever, in over 70 years (not to imply you are that old) seen me upset or angry, or in any other way having been shown by Mr. Disney to be anything less than a role model to little girls and boys all over the world? If you have, it was by pirates, impersonators, and frauds, but not by either Walt Disney or me. And if you feel like you are being lured into spending a lot of money on Disney products, blame that on a strong marketing department who is just trying to help a bunch of stockholders feel secure in a down market, but please don’t blame me.

But enough about Mickey. I understand that many people cannot afford the kinds of vacations this year that they had last year. We all have to do what we have to do. If we don’t see each other in another year or two, we can only hope that the worst case scenario of that is that we each grow a little older and a little wiser, and perhaps a bit more compassionate about the plight of others. I am sure there will be other visitors to Disney’s theme parks, and the one day everyone who owns Disney stock will see it bounce back. In the meantime, there are plenty better ways to spend your money and still make your children happy. And if they really need a yarmulke with ears, you can probably find my hats on EBay. And I’ll bet none of the food we prepare and sell is made with the same love and special tastes that can only be added at home on chez patio. So please stay at home and spend your money wisely; come back and see us when you can. You and your children must be your first priority and no matter what the people who dress up like us might encourage you to purchase, please remember that we cartoons are really your friends, and we really, really, really want to be there for you when this mess clears up.

See ya’ real soon, boys and girls.