In my previous post, I shared my Top 10 Viewed YouTube Videos of 2016 on beingmommywithstyle - in this post, I want to share my favorite videos of 2016! They are maybe not the most popular ones with viewers, but they are the ones I enjoyed filming, editing, and looking back on.
The Montages!!
Likely because I used to be a dancer in my younger years and always loved choreography, there is just something special about moving clips around and setting them to my favorite music. A bit of its own type of choreography in YouTube terms. This year I did a few montages that I know I will enjoy looking back on... even if they do tend to be some of my lower viewed videos. It's something I do for me.
Celebrating 15 million views on my channel... set to "Home" by Philip Phillips.
Looking back at our Disney vacations throughout 2016... set to "Good Time" by Owl City.
Vacation Memories!!
Vacation videos are always some of my favorites to look back on and this year we had a number of fantastic vacations to chose from! The cruise was truly unique experience for our family and I'm looking forward to trying one again in 2017. We also had our first on property experience at Walt Disney World that was a great milestone and a bit of local sight seeing as well!
I really enjoyed Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and would definitely love to check it out again sometime!
More great character experiences on our November 2016 trip, these are always fun videos to look back on!
Our Tusker House experience on our April 2016 vacation was stellar! One of my favorites to look back on!
The Hauls!!
Hauls are probably my favorite type of video to watch on YouTube myself, so I get why people enjoy them. These are some of my favorites of ours from 2016!
Our Firsts!
First days of school, first times at an activity, and first times trying new things... those are always fun vlogs for me as a mom to be able to watch after the moment has passed!
First Day of 1st Grade!
First Day of Pre-K4!
First time checking out Ann Arbor Hands On Museum!
Grand Opening of Chick-fil-A at Somerset Collection!
Legoland for Bella's 6th Birthday!
Heart-warming moments!
Some of the best rewards of vlogging are getting those moments on camera that you wouldn't have otherwise if you weren't a vlogger.
Lots of FUN!!
All of the fun projects, parties, and more!
Thanks for joining us in 2016!! I'm looking forward to seeing what 2017 has in store for us and bringing our viewers along with us!
** This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
2016, what a year! Lots of ups, lots of downs... and lots of YouTube videos documenting it all along the way! One thing for certain is that 2016 will be memorable, I'm just hoping at this point that 2017 is a bit more on the positive side. There were lots of great moments in 2016 though, and we shared a number of them on YouTube!
Through it all, I'm just going to toot my own horn for a minute and say I'm proud of myself for sticking to it and resolving to "keep going" even with all of the extraordinary negative things we had happen this year. I didn't take any major breaks from vlogging (although I totally respect those that do when needed!!) and resolved that no matter what the year threw at me (and boy were some of them DOOZIES...) - I would find a way to keep going with YouTube. Our story may have changed from what I originally thought the year would look like, but I would keep telling it.
And so I did. And I'm proud of that. So while I personally would have chosen a number of different outcomes for some of the more negative scenarios of the year, I feel like we have come out the other side and we are ready to take on 2017. More on that in my upcoming year review...
For now, let's look back at the top ten viewed videos of the year! These were my highest viewed videos of the year, some very much a surprise that they took off as much as they did - these were what viewers wanted to see more of on Being Mommy with Style this year!
10. Christmas Morning 2015
Viewers LOVE seeing our Christmas activities, with Christmas morning being no exception! It's exciting for us to watch the girls open their gifts, and it's fun to share it with you as well! Christmas videos and Vlogmas in general are some of my favorite videos to look back on!
9. Disney Dream Cruise - Day 2, Nassau
The cruise was definitely one of the highest highs of the year, what a wonderful surprise by Disney! Our family had never cruised before, so this was an all new type of video for us, and viewers loved seeing a different type of vlog from us! I also found that there were fewer Disney Cruise Line vlogs on YouTube than Walt Disney World videos, so those interested in cruises really appreciated being able to see the experience! I'm excited to be sharing our upcoming cruise in 2017 and see an all new ship!
8. Natalie's First Dance Class
The littlest dancers are so cute! This one was a surprise hit for me, even though I used to be a dancer and know how adorable that age bracket can be!
7. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Experience at the Castle
This experience at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique inside Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World was AMAZING... it was Natalie's first time getting a makeover, and the first time the girls were able to do it together! They were seated next to each other and what unfolded was just... magical!
6. American Girl Shopping Surprise!
We love shopping, that is no secret - and American Girl has become one of our new favorite hobbies to do together! We were fortunate enough to get a "pop up" American Girl Store in Michigan for the holidays, so this video was checking it out for the first time!
5. Natalie's 5th Birthday
Watching people open gifts is just such a heart warming process, seeing that smile on their face when they see what is inside - it's just sure to brighten up your day! Viewers loved watching Natalie turn 5, and her birthday festivities that day!
4. Disney Dream Cruise, Embarkation Day
WOW!! I had no idea this video would be so popular! Viewers loved seeing our first day aboard the Disney Dream and what all the embarkation process entailed. It was a bit of a nerve-racking process before the fact, not knowing what to expect. Once we arrived we found it went quickly and smoothly and I feel much more confident going into our next cruise that embarkation will be a piece of cake!
3. American Girl Dollhouse Finds
This is one of the videos that influenced our decision to start a new channel this year dedicated to toy reviews, including doll videos, and other vlogs that the girls want to film - INtoyreviews. I really enjoy this type of video and it seems that viewers do as well, we decided we wanted to do more of this type of video and with the girls starting to grab the camera on their own to vlog, we knew it was time to set up some more real estate on YouTube to place it on!
2. Kon Mari Organization Method - Clothing
The KonMari Organization Method continued in its popularity this year, with a cameo even in the Gilmore Girls Revival, more people sought out videos on YouTube about what all this tidying method entailed.
And drumroll please..........
1. American Girl Surprise!
With 1,157,000+ views during 2016, this fun video was my #1 viewed video on beingmommywithstyle in 2016!! I had no idea at the time I was filming it how successful it would be, and it become our highest viewed video on YouTube that we actually showed our faces in - and third highest overall lifetime viewed video on my channel! It made its way on to YouTubeKids and then took off from there, we actually came across a few people in our every day lives that came up to us and said, "Hey! We saw you on YouTubeKids!" - it was a surreal achievement to be sure!
And even though it was briefly mentioned above, let's just take time to specifically mention INtoyreviews which we started in 2016 as well! Some of my most popular videos on beingmommywithstyle have been toy related and while I may occasionally still have content related to toys from a mom point of view, as the girls are getting older they are getting more and more interested in YouTube and what it takes to film their own videos. We started INtoyreviews as a project together to place toy reviews I want to do additionally to anything I place on beingmommywithstyle, and any vlogs they want to film over on that channel! Stop on by and don't forget to subscribe!
It has been a whirlwind of a year, but through it all - YouTube has been there. Thank you for your support, kindness, and positivity you continue to give me on my channel! I hope I can bring you some brightness and joy to your day! If I do, then what I've set out to do has been achieved.
I will chat more in upcoming videos and blogs about what is in store for 2017! Until then...
** This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
YouTube. It's very hard to put this into words what YouTube has become in my life, our lives... but it most definitely transformed us, enhanced us, grown with us. I started YouTube as a coincidence, many years ago on Bags4Bubbles. Uploading videos to be posted to a handbag forum, not thinking much about the video platform side of things. I kept getting comments, then video requests, then more video requests... from there I had my first child and decided I enjoyed YouTube and would like to start doing "Mommy Topic" videos - so Being Mommy with Style was born.
My first video on beingmommywithstyle!
I didn't know what to expect in the beginning. I only had recently realized that YouTube was made up of "communities" when I started Being Mommy with Style. I hadn't really watched "Mommy Vlogs" prior to that, but I knew I wanted to talk family and mommy things, which didn't fit on my handbag channel... so I was going to give it a go. From there, it took off! I found I loved the daily vlogging aspect of it during daily vlog months (April, August, October, and Vlogmas)... and I enjoyed receiving video requests and fulfilling those.
Over the years, we've done day in the life style videos, reviews, hauls, chat sessions, tags, and more... I enjoy a little part of each type of video - but I think that day in the life and reviews may be my favorites. I enjoy reviews because I feel like they may be helpful in some way, and day in the life style videos are fantastic to have that piece of history documented, to be able to look back and see my girls at 9 months, 2 years, 3 years... watching the grow all over again through the videos.
YouTube became a secondary source of income for our family. Don't get me wrong, we are not becoming millionaires from our videos - but it is a respectable amount for the time that I put into doing something that I enjoy and it is appreciated. We have taken vacations funded by earnings with YouTube, I've paid for furniture and other things around the house, and I feel a sense of pride that I am also able to contribute to our household.
YouTube has given my family a number of opportunities... I've attended conferences and media events. I've traveled out of the country for the first time ever and we took our first (and soon second!!) cruise all because of YouTube. I'm grateful for the experiences we've had that I know wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't decided to pick up the camera and start vlogging all those many years ago.
Most of all those, I'm thankful for YOU. The connections I've made on YouTube over the years. The comments from names I recognize from years ago, comments from people that say they've watched for years but only just worked up the courage to comment, emails from people saying that I've helped them in some way. You've helped shape me, grown with us as we've grown, and been there for me during good and bad times. I'm appreciative of all of the love and support we've gotten from YOU on YouTube over the years.
It's an amazing thing, and I can't wait to see where it takes us next! We already have some exciting things to look forward to coming up in 2017 and I'm excited to be able to share those with you!
In a simple way to say "Thank you", I wanted to do a video looking back at some of our memorable moments over the years. 15 million views. Something I never imagined I would be saying, but here we here! Here's to all that's yet to come!
** This is not a sponsored video. All opinions are my own.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around our house! I took some time to share our Christmas tables cape for our dining room table and also a home decor tour of all of our favorite Christmas decor items! A lot of my decor I find at stores like Target, At Home, HomeGoods, Marshall's, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and more! It's my favorite time of year to decorate the house, and I tend to decorate with a traditional style with a bit of fun, whimsy flair thrown in!
I set our Christmas dining room table early, for a video celebrating 15 million views on YouTube (yay!) and thought I would do a dedicated video on our Christmas tablescape this year while it was already set!
In our full home decor tour, I share our living room tree which is decorated in champagne, silver, and bird accents; our family room tree, which is decorated in red, silver, gingerbread, and snowman accents; a mini Disney tree; and the girls' bedroom trees!
Even our cat Yoda got in on the festive mood... kind of. ;) He's sitting next to a "Merry" pillow anyways!
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is one of my favorite Christmas songs and quotes, and you can find it on decor throughout our house.
I enjoy making the house a warm and cozy place during this time of year!
In a future post, I will share some of our holiday "Polar Express" party ideas, as we did another Polar Express as a part of a collaboration this year! It was a fun video and I enjoyed seeing the different ideas that all of the collaborators had to make their parties come together!
Here's a sneak peek!
I hope you enjoy taking a look at some of my favorite Christmas decor, and I mention in the video where most things are from - but as always don't hesitate to ask in the comments if you have any questions!
Merry Christmas!
** This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
I've teamed up with some awesome Bloggers to bring you one EPIC giveaway!! It's the December to Remember giveaway by The Hopping Bloggers!
Each individual blog is hosting their own giveaway that you can enter to win, and there is also one Grand Prize that you can enter to win below! So be sure to check out the Grand Prize Giveaway after you enter to win in my giveaway here on Being Mommy with Style!
As a part of the December to Remember Giveaway Hop... I'm giving away an awesome AMERICAN GIRL PET PRIZE PACK!! If you watch our American Girl videos, you know my girls LOVE the pets - and we wanted to share the pet love!
We are giving away an American Girl Terrier Puppy and Our Generation Pet Love Grooming Kit to one lucky viewer! Enter to win through Rafflecopter below! One winner will be chosen at random, see official rules to enter. Both giveaways end on December 20th! Be sure to check back and enter daily through Rafflecopter for the American Girl Pet Prize Pack!
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO ENTER TO WIN THE GRAND PRIZE
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Many bloggers have come together to bring you some amazing prizes! Each prize is worth a minimum of $15, but some are worth much more. There is no limit to how many you can win – so enter them all! GOOD LUCK!
The Hopping Bloggers and participating bloggers are not responsible for the delivery of prizes.
** This is a collaborative giveaway with other bloggers. Some prizes may be sponsored. All opinions are our own. Please see official rules on how to enter.
We were lucky enough to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom not once, but TWICE on our most recent Walt Disney World vacation - and I wanted to sum up the experience to share why we loved the holiday party!
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a special Christmas-themed ticketed event on select nights in November and December. Like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, it has its own parade and fireworks show, as well as some special perks only available at the party! My girls were ages 4 and 6 on this most recent trip, and they LOVED the magic of Disney at Christmas time!
Check out night 1 of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on November 10th, we focused on watching Mickey's Once Upon a Time Parade and riding rides:
And on night 2 of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on November 11th, we focused on characters, treats, and more!
Here are 5 reasons why we loved the party!
5. Riding Rides
Some of my girls' favorite rides are within the Magic Kingdom theme park, and going to the special ticketed parties give them an opportunity to ride the rides over and over, without using up Fast Passes and usually waiting in much lower (or no!) lines! They sell a limited number of tickets to the party nights, so the crowds tend to be lower than the daytime crowds during high volume times of year and allow you to ride your favorites all night long at the party if you so desire!
4. The Treats
Complimentary treats were served throughout the theme park and new for this year - different treats were served at different locations! On our treat tasting night, we enjoyed the Apple Cider & Cookies from Pete's Silly Sideshow, Snow Cone & Cookies from The Friar's Nook, and my personal favorite - Peppermint Chocolate Chip cookies and Hot Cocoa from The Lunching Pad!
These special treats keep you fueled up as you take part in the party festivities and if you try to make it to all of the treat stops keep you moving from land to land within Magic Kingdom!
3. Christmas Parade & Fireworks
We love the party entertainment, including the dance parties, stage shows (new for this year was Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration which we caught on the second night!), and lighting of the castle. Our two favorite entertainment events are the special parade and Holiday Wishers fireworks show. I love that you can see these both from a number of different vantage points around the park!
We watched Holiday Wishes from the Big Top Souvenir area the first night, and then near the carousel while waiting in line for the princess & prince meet and greet the second night!
We watched Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade from Frontierland and then caught the second showing of the parade on our way out from Main Street, U.S.A. - both vantage points were great! I do have to say, there is something magical about watching the parade with snow coming down from the roof tops around you on Main Street, U.S.A. Make sure to stake your parade spot out a bit earlier if you plan on viewing in the front of the theme park.
One of my favorite pictures was as we were exiting the first time, I caught the princess parade float coming past the Christmas tree at just the right moment!
2. Party Specific Characters
My older daughter is very ride focused, but one of the favorite parts of the parties for my younger daughter and myself is meeting those party specific characters you can't meet during the regular daytime hours! We stood in line to meet Nick and Judy from Zootopia, which are two of her favorites!
And also met Snow White with her Prince, and Sleeping Beauty with Prince Phillip!
Lines for the party specific characters do fill up quickly, so if you know you have a specific character you'd like to meet - I would make it a priority to get to their line early, or head to their line at least an hour or so before the end of the party to make sure you have time to see them!
1. The festive holiday spirit!
What a magical way to begin the holiday season! Seeing the snow on Main Street U.S.A. was one of my favorite parts of the party, and especially my younger daughter could have played in the snow falling all night long if we would have let her!
The decorations, the Christmas music, and special lights on the castle just make it a truly unique experience that we would love to repeat!
It was a great trip and our family thought it was a great way to kick off the holiday season! We've been to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party the previous two years and after having such a great time at those, we were excited to take part in it's Christmas counterpart.
I'll do a comparison post in the future, but to answer questions I've been asked on YouTube - YES, I do think the special party nights at Magic Kingdom are young child (specially preschooler and younger) friendly... My girls have added as young as age 2! And they hung in there a long while after their normal bedtime of 7:30pm! The excitement of being at Disney and all of the special events gave them some extra steam to run on and most party nights we've been two, one of them - or both - have made it the entire evening with maybe nothing more than a quick cat nap.
Also, I think it really enhances the party experience (although is NOT required) to dress up festively for the parties. Halloween costume for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween, and in festive holiday attire for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Our outfits weren't quite as elaborate for the Christmas Party, but we did wear Christmas shirts and the girls had on Christmas skirts. I also purchased them the holiday Mickey & Minnie sweatshirts on the trip and purchased a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party commemorative t-shirt for myself!
It was an amazing experience! Make sure to check out all of our Disney World Holiday vacation videos in this one handy playlist:
I hope this review was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
** We received complimentary tickets to some events. All opinions are my own.
Christmas spirit is in full swing around our house! We had a festive time at Walt Disney World and I was ready to decorate the house after we returned home! I started putting up Christmas decorations over Thanksgiving weekend, and one of the first videos of Vlogmas will be Christmas decorating!
We also celebrated Natalie's 5th birthday! Her birthday vlog will be posted at the end of the week!
I will be doing Vlogmas again this year! Videos every day from December 1st through Christmas Day! And then special vlogs of our Christmas Day opening packages and sharing what the girls received! Looking forward to sharing in the magic of the holiday season with you on YouTube!
** This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
Disney vacation vlogs are LIVE on Being Mommy with Style and I have a trip recap coming up at the end of the videos, but I thought I would give you some of our quick thoughts on the trip in a little trip recap preview here on the blog!
We went to Walt Disney World from November 8th - November 14th, and our main intents for this trip were to: try staying on property for the first time as a family of four, try out the Disney Dining Plan for the first time to see how it worked for our family, and mainly... take the girls to Walt Disney World during the holiday season to take part in holiday events and enjoy the holiday decorations!
It is the most magical time of year and I have been to Walt Disney World during the Christmas season previously, but my girls hadn't been during that time period. I knew after seeing them play on the opening day of Osbourne Family of Lights last year that we needed to do a FULL Christmas trip. Christmas party, Christmas outfits, the works! And I was not disappointed in the least, the trip was magical, and there is just something special in the air at Disney during the holiday season.
The decorations were amazing and we loved the holiday spirit! We went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party twice, and I'll have a full review of that coming up - but it was a great time and we would definitely do that party again!
Here are our thoughts on the different parts of this trip...
Resort
On this trip, we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort, a first for our whole family. I figured it was a good starting point and we could figure out what we liked and what we wanted to change for future trips.
The resort was gorgeous, and BIG. The location of our particular building seemed to be a bit far from different things around the resort that we felt it would be handy to be closer to, like the pool and quick service locations - so we agreed that if we stayed there on future trips, we would want to 100% be in a preferred room. (Which I had originally booked, but lost the preferred room when we changed our dates slightly to accommodate my husband's work schedule.) Overall though, the resort was beautiful and we liked the vibe there.
On future trips, we do plan to try other resorts because we'd like to see what kind of fit other locations are for our family. I do think we would consider Caribbean Beach Resort if we were looking at a moderate level trip in the future, however I think our room would have to be a preferred room to stay there again.
Dining Plan
The dining plan... oh the dining plan. How I deliberated on whether or not to get it. And at the last minute, I almost DIDN'T get it. On our previous trips we had stayed off property at a family member's house, so getting the dining plan wasn't an option - so this was all new territory for us. I knew what it had cost us to pay out of pocket for food, and based on all of the caluclators we should have saved a "bit" of money using the dining plan, I was just apprehensive on whether it would be too confusing for us or not. Whether we would actually save anything??
Well... we did, and it was AH-mazing! I am SOLD, on the dining plan! We will definitely be getting them on future trips and I added the dining plan to our bounce back that we reserved at the end of this trip. (Yes, I did. We're going again. #sorrynotsorry)
The Disney Dining Plan is the middle range dining plan, and it cost us just over $1000 for our family of four on our 6 day, 7 night trip. (Prices may vary depending on your resort booking, time of your you visit, and other promotions.) We LOVE doing character meals and using always do a number of character dining experiences on our vacations. Because of this, I assumed we would come out ahead with the Disney Dining Plan and that did turn out to be true.
Where we REALLY came out ahead, where the added bonuses of the Disney Dining Plan, the refillable cups that were included. (Which we would have used more had we been located more conveniently to the quick service at the resort, see point above about the resort.) Also, snacks were something I never really took into account in our food totals, but over a week - they REALLY add up. Once I took into account all of the quick service meals and snacks we got along with our table service meals on the Disney Dining Plan - we definitely came out ahead money wise, AND we found it easy to use & stress free to just swipe our MagicBand and go!
Christmas at Disney
Okay, so we kind of cheated on this one, just a bit! I knew how busy it was during ACTUAL Christmas time and we had a mini Fall break during this week in November, so I decided to use that to our advantage to take a bit longer vacation and try to miss the HUGE crowd during Christmas season at Walt Disney World. I knew the parks would be decorated for the holidays by this time, and the Christmas parties had just started before we headed down there. It was crowd level of 9-10 on a few of our days, due to vacation days that week and also a marathon on property at the beginning of the week - however overall it was manageable and things like dining reservations were still able to be reserved fairly easily.
It was a great way to take advantage of our vacation for both my husband and girls, and also miss the large crowds between Christmas to New Year's week. We attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on two nights, November 10th & November 11th - and I felt like it took us both nights to see and do everything we wanted to do! On the first night, we focused on seeing the parade, watching the fireworks, and riding rides. On the second party night, I took Natalie to see a few of the party specific characters she wanted to meet (while Dan & Bella rode rides) and we tried as many of the treats they were handing out for partygoers as possible!
Watch Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Night 1- parade & rides, here:
Watch Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Night 2 - characters & treats, here:
It was amazing to experience the joy of the Christmas season with my girls at Walt Disney World! I'm so glad that we planned this trip, and I feel like it "checks the box" for that type of trip, since we've been there at Halloween the past two years.
What about the future?
Well, we're definitely going back, I don't know that it was even a question, ha! We booked a bounce back vacation at the end of our trip, and plan to try out a new resort on our next trip. On our next few trips, we'd like to rotate time of year to try different times of year and different resorts, to try to settle in on what type of trips are our favorites.
Resorts we have considered for future trips include: Contemporary, Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Beach Club. Bella has also requested we stay at the Grand Floridian at some point.
I do think that we if have a "party focused" trip in the future, like a Halloween party or Christmas party trip - we will likely try to stay on the monorail loop if possible on that trip. The convenience of being able to walk of our Magic Kingdom at midnight and board a monorail to our resort instead of waiting for a bus would definitely make it worth it on that type of trip to make that our resort choice.
All in all, it was another magical vacation and watching the joy of Disney through my girls' eyes makes me so happy that we've found this special type of family vacation to go to together.
** We attend some events complimentary. All opinions are my own.
