Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.

A couple months ago, Hulu started advertising "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." Of course, being a cheapskate and being a huge fan of Disneyland, I was very intrigued. Plus, a trip to Southern California is something our family takes pretty regularly, so we definitely wouldn't be going out of our way just for a trip to Disneyland. As soon as the year turned 2010 (you couldn't sign up any sooner), I got onto the website, found out some more information (go here for Program Terms and Conditions), and signed up everyone in our family for the program.

Here is some of the basic information:

• Receive free admission to one of the theme parks of Walt Disney World® Resort or the Disneyland® Resort when you sign up and complete a day of volunteer service with a participating organization.
• You must sign up for eligible volunteer opportunities for the “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” program through this site. Participation in volunteer activities outside of this sign-up process does not qualify for a free ticket.
• You must be at least 18 years of age to sign up, and you may sign up a maximum of 8 additional members of your same household. Children must be at least 6 years of age to volunteer under this program and receive a theme park ticket. Children ages 6-17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when volunteering. Other age restrictions may apply to certain eligible volunteer opportunities.

I found a great volunteer opportunity that didn't even require us to leave the comfort of our own house. We volunteered to make blankets for Project Linus. Each volunteer opportunity, even for the same organization, has different requirements, depending on each individual organizer who is in charge of the volunteer opportunity in your area. For instance, the Project Linus organizer just to the north of us required each adult to make only one blanket and children 6-10 only had to help choose the fabric or make a card to go with a blanket. To the south of us, the Project Linus organizer required everybody to make 2 blankets. Needless to say, I chose the easier, less expensive route.

Project Linus gave us a specific size and pattern to follow for fleece blankets. I researched fabric stores and Walmart to find the least expensive fleece. Eventually, I found the best price online at www.bunyworks.net. Upon entering the website, I clicked on the "Wholesale & Charities" tab. I purchased the Scout/Charity 12-Yard Mixed Bundle--12-Yard Collection (3 yd Cuts) in juvenile print. I paid $49 for 12 yards of fleece ($4.08 a yard). No tax. And, shipping was free and super fast! The only downside, that didn't bother me at all, was I didn't get to choose the fabric. On Thursday night, I sat down to make the first blanket. It took 2 hours. A little longer than I estimated. On Friday afternoon, I started making some more. I discovered I could cut out 2 at a time, and through the course of making the blankets, it ended up taking me about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours to make 2 blankets. Overall, it probably took about 9 hours to cut and tie all 9 blankets. Oh ya, I forgot to mention I decided to make all the blankets on my own for all 9 people in our family. Tyler and Susie (who isn't old enough to even participate) spent about 2 hours creating 9 cards to go with each of our blankets.

It really has been fun making these blankets. Yes, my hands are blistered. And, silly as this may sound, my knees and ankles are a bit rug-burned (from crawling all over the floor while cutting). But, when I look at the 9 blankets I made, I'm so excited that these blankets will go to children in Primary Children's Hospital. I decided to make all the blankets on my own because it seemed like a fun way to perform all sorts of service--blankets for kids, free (well almost free--everyone is paying me $7.41 for their blanket) Disneyland or Disneyworld tickets for everyone in the family--from me :)... And, best of all, Tyler has been a part of it and really understands what it is about.

So, if you are headed to Southern California anytime soon and want a free Disney ticket (it can only be used at one park--unless you pay the difference for the park hopper), I suggest you go to the website for Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. We can't wait to use our tickets!