Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Disney Press. All opinions are our own.
Wishes for the New Year
We watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve with our best friends and all of our kids. For the first time my kids rang in the new year in real time, wearing shiny hats and blowing noisemakers that would likely garner a call from the hotel’s front desk on any night except December 31. They laughed and cheered, and I glimpsed future New Year’s celebrations, when midnight won’t seem like such a ground-breaking occasion.
What I wish for them
Just like that gorgeous Waterford crystal orb making its way toward the ground each New Year’s Eve, time with kids inevitably passes. My daughter, in particular, is forging her way toward tweendom, a world I glimpse through her eyes but can never truly re-enter again. As she takes tentative steps away from childhood, I hope she holds onto the wonder she’s always exhibited at the world around her — and the one she imagines is there, a world filled with fairies, magic and granted wishes.
Introducing Disney Star Darlings
Star Darlings welcomes tweens to a world where wishes are real, and where friendship and positive thinking empower girls to continue wishing, dreaming and making their hopes and dreams come true.
Just like real girls, each Star Darling has her own wish that she pursues with full force and determination — and the help of her friends. These shared journeys and experiences provide exceptionally positive examples to inspire tweens to follow their dreams, and are experienced through books, dolls, music and apparel, along with a mobile app and animated shorts. Disney “Star Darlings” offers an innovative and unparalleled lifestyle experience that encourages tweens to harness the power of their individuality, highlights the power of making positive choices, and shows that they can make anything possible.
Initially conceived by designer Shana Muldoon Zappa, and her husband, New York Times bestselling author Ahmet Zappa (Because I’m Your Dad), “Star Darlings” was inspired by their daughter. “Our intention with Star Darlings has always been to empower girls and let them know there is an unstoppable wish energy created by positive thinking, taking action, and believing in yourself,” said Shana Muldoon Zappa.
The Star Darlings book series enchants tween girls
Available now, the Star Darlings books follow the adventures of twelve Starlings who have traveled to Earth from the Starling Academy, where Starlings receive the special training they need to grant wishes to people on Earth. Their adventures are filled with the exact things that help empower tweens: the themes of friendship, confidence, leadership and teamwork.
Finding inspiration and magic in Starland
In addition to reading the stories of the Starlings’ adventures, girls can — obsessively, if they’re anything like my daughter — flip through A Wisher’s Guide to Starland. Filled with the details that make Starland the gorgeous, magical, colorful place it is, the Guide has landed a rotating spot on the kitchen island, playroom floor, and bedside book table — wherever my girl happens to be situated. Her absolute favorite part of the book is the section describing the Starlings’ dorm rooms. Each room is decorated in a way that showcases the Starling’s personality. Abbey loves Clover’s plants and hammock; it reminds her of playing outside in her fairy garden.
How Star Darlings and their wishes mesh with my wishes for my daughter
Keeping my daughter firmly in childhood isn’t something I can do — even if I wanted to! As she grows older, I love watching her discover and explore different aspects of the things she’s always loved — magic, dreaming, beautiful things and music and dancing. Star Darlings seamlessly transitions her reading and interests from childhood to tween world, and I love seeing her move forward with her wonder and excitement intact.
The Star Darlings website is bursting with exciting content — including music. (I can’t tell you how many times we’ve watching the music video.)
