Hanging FE's Without Joining a Group, What do you think?

[EcbLovesMickey]

So I read a blog post that says this lady bought and hung a FE during a cruise and stuff magically appeared. No mention on if she gave back, but she was definitely not part of a meet and greet group or anything, just was told to get one and did.

Personally I only deliver FE gifts to cabins on my list, but it got me thinking, what do you do if there is a FE on a room not on your list?

Honestly if I had an extra I might pop it in thinking it was a cabin I missed, but I would be upset if I didn't have enough for the folks who contributed to our FE.

Has anyone experienced this, and what do you think?

 

[Jey12]

The link isn't working for me, but honestly if I saw a FE that was on a room that wasn't on my list I would assume they were a part of another FE. Sometimes the FE groups are so big they split into smaller groups for the cruise. I would skip on by it until I had delivered all my goodies to the FE on my list. If I had some extras I might toss them in the stray FE, mainly because I don't want to haul my FE gifts back home.

Because the link isn't working for me, did she intentionally hang the FE in hopes of receiving things and not actually participating? Or was she confused on the process of the FE and thought it was just something you hung and fairies delivered goodies? Either way if I had put something in there I don't think I would be all that upset. The reason being is I bring extra FE gifts just in case and I don't want to take those back home. I figure if she did this on purpose to try and cheat the FE system I honestly feel pretty sorry for her and any kids she might have in her room.

 

[MikeAndNick]

I would have put a gift in it thinking I messed up my list. Our last cruise had 3 different FE Groups and I was in all three and it was hard tracking them. If they hung a FE Hanger they got a gift.

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

The link isn't working for me, but honestly if I saw a FE that was on a room that wasn't on my list I would assume they were a part of another FE. Sometimes the FE groups are so big they split into smaller groups for the cruise. I would skip on by it until I had delivered all my goodies to the FE on my list. If I had some extras I might toss them in the stray FE, mainly because I don't want to haul my FE gifts back home.

Because the link isn't working for me, did she intentionally hang the FE in hopes of receiving things and not actually participating? Or was she confused on the process of the FE and thought it was just something you hung and fairies delivered goodies? Either way if I had put something in there I don't think I would be all that upset. The reason being is I bring extra FE gifts just in case and I don't want to take those back home. I figure if she did this on purpose to try and cheat the FE system I honestly feel pretty sorry for her and any kids she might have in her room.

Dis-boards was blocking the link, but she said she was told by her TA to buy one and it magically spawned gifts.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So I read a blog post that says this lady bought and hung a FE during a cruise and stuff magically appeared. No mention on if she gave back, but she was definitely not part of a meet and greet group or anything, just was told to get one and did.

Personally I only deliver FE gifts to cabins on my list, but it got me thinking, what do you do if there is a FE on a room not on your list?

Honestly if I had an extra I might pop it in thinking it was a cabin I missed, but I would be upset if I didn't have enough for the folks who contributed to our FE.

Has anyone experienced this, and what do you think?

I only deliver to the rooms on my list.

Sometimes people hang FEs because they were too late to join a FE group and plan on putting things in it for the kids in their room. Sometimes a large group is traveling together and does their own private FE exchange.

On occasion, at the end of a cruise, if I have extra stuff, I may just drop it in random FEs, but mostly just the rooms on my list.

 

[lilpooh108]

Well that's not very nice to just hang one expecting to get gifts, with no intention of contributing back to others.

Other than that, I think people can hang it if they want to. Especially because some people do it to bring their own kids stuff.

My FE group is separated into 3 lists. I wouldn't be giving extras unless I had extras, and then I'd probably drop off in the cabins on the other FE list ('I'm printing the whole list out before I cruise).

 

[Woodmnky]

I will be bringing out FE, but am not on a FE list. We booked last minute and I don't have time to get everything ready for a FE, but my son (2yo) loved getting presents. So I will be filling ours will gifts from Mickey. I do not expect any extra items to show up in ours. On our last cruise we delivered gifts to less than 1/3 of the FEs that we saw hanging, but that was all that was in our group. I did have a few extra kids gifts and I left these in some of the adjoining cabins.

 

[k3chantal]

So I read a blog post that says this lady bought and hung a FE during a cruise and stuff magically appeared. No mention on if she gave back, but she was definitely not part of a meet and greet group or anything, just was told to get one and did.

Personally I only deliver FE gifts to cabins on my list, but it got me thinking, what do you do if there is a FE on a room not on your list?

Honestly if I had an extra I might pop it in thinking it was a cabin I missed, but I would be upset if I didn't have enough for the folks who contributed to our FE.

Has anyone experienced this, and what do you think?

I am veering more on the 'upset' side of things because the first time I participated in a FE group, it was really large and several families (over ten) upgraded their rooms and I had no way to figure out who was who from from that point. So if there were 'extra' FE's hanging out, I would have 'innocently' given something to them that was meant for another.

I was really happy and appreciative of all the wonderful gifts my family received. I was embarrassed that I knew I was messed up and couldn't figure out where everyone was. There was also a FE 'thief' aboard and many participants choose not to have their FE's out and that confused me further......

 

[owensjro]

I think what strikes me about this blog post is two things:

1. She even mentions she researched them yet somehow totally missed the joining a group part of it

2. She says "If you decide to bring your own, perhaps bring a few gifts along for others with fish extenders too! This enriches the fun for everyone!"

"perhaps"? Really?

Jim

 

[jgura]

I only give to staterooms on the list and understand there are reasons people have their own exchange going.

I like the idea of giving your own kids gifts. Sometimes the group exchange is not doable for some people.

Looking back, a little funny...On our very first cruise I noticed the cute "pocket holders" outside the doors. I thought they were for holding mail and other things delivered to your room. I had one made off ebay for our cruise which was a couple years later. Hung it outside the door, and yes some of our mail ended up there. One day we received gifts from the ---- family. We thought, wow, they are so nice! It was not until after the 2'nd cruise that I found disboards and realized what it was. I'm sure this is rare, but can happen!

 

[Meghatron]

We are on the 2-nighter next May and are not joining the FE as we do not want to spend time delivering gifts, but we will still be bringing our FE and will leave things for our kids and each other. If people are going to assume that we are in their group, there's not much I can do about it. Other boards have FE groups, and even on my upcoming WBPC there a separate group on FB from the DIS. I would never assume an FE is from my specific group. The embarkation meetup is when people share updated room numbers, plus our FE coordinator is going to post room changes to her white board for those who can't make it. If one upgrades and the information still doesn't get out there to the FE group, that's the risk one makes when upgrading. It's not other people's responsibility to find you.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[SapphireMind]

I put more of the blame on the TA. I think it's tacky to expect people to give you gifts without doing the same for others. It's not good that she is advocating though for others to do it.

 

[maps81]

Actually- I appreciate all the comments and various thoughts. I am not planning to participate in a FE group --- IF we still can sail.

Husband is still fighting side effects from 2 stem cell transplants in one year- due to a tough case of non-hodkins lymphoma. We already have had to reschedule our May cruise to late September. Hubby isn't in (pardon the pun) "ship-shape" yet to sail- due to ongoing side effects from chemo and post transplant drugs. ( "ticker" below needs to be changed... oops....)

HOWEVER- IF we get to sail in September- I was planning to bring along a fish extender for my grandson- and do the "gifts from Mickey" idea also- as stated by the previous posts (PrincessShmoo and Woodmnky).

So--- pre-cruise apology in order? I just don't have the time/energy/desire to create FE gifts for a cruise we may not even be able to take. But I have a very smart grandson who would certainly notice other FE's full of goodies, and would wonder why Mickey didn't bring him anything.

Maybe I could attach a little sign to it- stating that we are not participating in any group- only a family group? (We are 3 cabins). I have no intention of getting goodies from lovely people trying to make certain all people in their group receive FE items...

Creating and hanging a FE for grandson was always my plan- but didn't consider it would confuse others in a group. I guess I thought-- if our cabins weren't on their list they would automatically walk past us...

Thoughts? And if you could be gentle- I would appreciate it so much... having a rough week here...

 

[nzdisneymom]

One thing we do is tag our FE gifts before we sail so that we know what cabin we are delivering to. We keep a list as well so that if we go to a cabin and there is no FE hanging there, we will know who we wanted to deliver it to.

We do understand that people's cabin numbers change from time to time - we have participated in some groups where if someone's cabin number changed, they would let the coordinator know who would post the info (coded so that it wasn't broadcasting to strangers) so that other DISers could check to see what changes were made. Also if info changed, then at the Meet/Greet on the first day, that info could be distributed.

The biggest challenge has been the late assignments of GTY's and making sure those cabin numbers are updated and sent out BEFORE people start traveling!

Personally, if I wasn't part of a group, I wouldn't put an FE out - after all, there's no one to put anything in it - so what's the point?

 

[geffric]

I have delivered extra FE gifts to random people/staterooms , not in my group..I figured that I missed one or that they joined late and I didn't get / write down their room # ..so I give them a gift to be safe!

 

[MDennis28]

I was going to put one out (not part of a group) just because they look so nice! I think of it more like putting a wreath on our door at home. Kind of a wave hello as the neighbors walk by. Am I wrong to think of doing this?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Actually- I appreciate all the comments and various thoughts. I am not planning to participate in a FE group --- IF we still can sail.

Husband is still fighting side effects from 2 stem cell transplants in one year- due to a tough case of non-hodkins lymphoma. We already have had to reschedule our May cruise to late September. Hubby isn't in (pardon the pun) "ship-shape" yet to sail- due to ongoing side effects from chemo and post transplant drugs. ( "ticker" below needs to be changed... oops....)

HOWEVER- IF we get to sail in September- I was planning to bring along a fish extender for my grandson- and do the "gifts from Mickey" idea also- as stated by the previous posts (PrincessShmoo and Woodmnky).

So--- pre-cruise apology in order? I just don't have the time/energy/desire to create FE gifts for a cruise we may not even be able to take. But I have a very smart grandson who would certainly notice other FE's full of goodies, and would wonder why Mickey didn't bring him anything.

Maybe I could attach a little sign to it- stating that we are not participating in any group- only a family group? (We are 3 cabins). I have no intention of getting goodies from lovely people trying to make certain all people in their group receive FE items...

Creating and hanging a FE for grandson was always my plan- but didn't consider it would confuse others in a group. I guess I thought-- if our cabins weren't on their list they would automatically walk past us...

Thoughts? And if you could be gentle- I would appreciate it so much... having a rough week here...

Personally, I think you should hang your FE, if you want to. Just be prepared with your own gifts to put in it. Yes, randomly, gifts may appear from misdirected givers, but, I think, it's really on them to make sure which/whose room(s) they are making their deliveries to.

As I said, when I have extras, I have just popped them into random FEs I pass in the hallways, not necessarily the ones on my list. That's after I've made all my deliveries to "my" FE group.

 

[MND]

In my 2 cruises I have not participated in the FE groups and I don't have plans to do this in the future, but I certainly respect those that do. I also understand that some spend a considerable amount of time and expense doing this, not to mention the extra packing. That being said, I think it is despicable to hang a FE outside your door, thinking you might get some gifts when you have no plans to gift as well. IMO, this is not much different than stealing items from other peoples FEs.

Mike

 

[SapphireMind]

There are other decorations you can do as a "hello" to others. Hmm. Hearing this, I might bring ribbon for my FE group to pick up at the central room to tie on to signal that they are part of our group.

 

[neg58]

I was going to put one out (not part of a group) just because they look so nice! I think of it more like putting a wreath on our door at home. Kind of a wave hello as the neighbors walk by. Am I wrong to think of doing this?

Yes, I think you are if it has pockets for gifts.

If you want to join a FE group, do it. If you want to decorate your door, including something hanging from the Fish, do it. If you hang a traditional FE and people see it, some will be confused and may leave gifts intended for others in your pockets.

There are reasons why people can't join a FE, including that they are too late. If so, they could get the list and give to the others with the indication that you don't expect anything but leftovers are welcome. Some people make very specific gifts so can't include last minute additions, but others have more generic gifts and are happy to add late joiners to their delivery route. Do that, but then commit to give things too.

Nancy