How much do people REALLY spend on fish extender gifts?

[serenitynow]

Okay, I'll grant that you're the one exception to the trend I've noticed of the complaints being 2nd hand. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your FE. What jerks.

Thanks. I felt like I was being called a liar. I overreacted. I’m sorry for the way I came off in my last post.

 

[Shanti]

Thanks. I felt like I was being called a liar. I overreacted. I’m sorry for the way I came off in my last post.

No worries- my bad. I'm sorry I missed your post the first time I read the thread.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

There's an (old) thread about someone's disappointment with the gifts they got:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/fe-disapointment.3408940/

 

[DisneyParkFan]

Since I teach children living with special needs, I am sensitive to the food allergies concerns when organizing a FE group. Other than that, there are no rules about types of gifts, price of gifts, character or color preferences, etc. I am asking if they are celebrating a special occasion (it helps if someone wants to give a gift for grad, BD, anniversary, honeymoon). Age and gender of kids helps with planning with age appropriate gifts.

There will always be people who want to recover their investment in FE. I like FE because it is fun and you get a wide variety of creative gifts. Since I like crafts, I tend to find ways to make/create gifts for those participating but I have given glowsticks, food, and Dollar Store Disney/Cruise themed gifts. Previous FE gifts have given great ideas for future FE gifts to share.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I spent somewhere around $12-$15 per cabin (sand toys, a bubble wand, a tsum tsum, plus a keychain bottle opener and DCL magnetic dry erase board for the grownups, etc) - but to be honest I would not do it again. FE just isn't for me. If you do it, remember it really is about giving, not receiving. I was disappointed with a lot of what we got in return, which made it less fun.

 

[KashasMom]

It doesn't seem that FEs are any longer in the spirit of which they were started. I can't believe anyone would say don't give dollar store "crap". That is just the height of obnoxiousness!! I wonder if those same people would say something similar to a friend or relative who gave them a "crappy" gift. And I can't believe people actually keep track of what they received (and from whom!). I also cannot believe people who complain about what they got. I guess they've never heard that it's better to give than to receive. And honestly the best (most used) FE gifts we've received have been inexpensive. I have read so many times that people just throw out most of the stuff they receive. Is it worth it to buy, package, lug to port, and then run around delivering gifts that are not appreciated? I don't think so. I've participated in several but think I will do what I did one cruise - buy for my daughter only and leave them for her. I would still participate in the candy and/or ornament exchanges.

 

[Amunet]

If any group 'requires' an amount for the FE, do not participate. Those are ones that turn into competitions.
For groups that don't require anything but giving a gift, give what YOU would want to receive but in the budget you can afford. I don't have much money but I do crafts and I put a lot of work into them. I make things I would appreciate, usually a practical gift that is Disneyfied. I would not appreciate a little baggie of candy that didn't adhere to dietary restrictions or clearly had no thought to.

Thoughtfulness and not being selfish is the concept of a FE. If you can't do that, then don't participate. If you are a thoughtful person but get stressed easily or just don't have time, that's okay, don't sign up, your mental health is more important.

Bottom line: If it's not fun, don't do it. If you only want to receive, don't do it.

 

[southerngirl528]

The organizer isn't even on the cruise,

THAT is crazy..... and just weird. How and WHY would someone not even on the same cruise be calling the FE shots?? That's cuckoo for cocoa puffs!

I've only done FE's twice. Once when my 2 little princesses were cruising with us for a 4 night Dream cruise, and then on the 2015 Hawaii sailing. I made SURE to join either a "late-comers" or small group as I wanted to enjoy it and not be resenting having to spend so much time, packing all the stuff, etc. It was great fun each trip and we got all sorts of stuff, from candy to handmade stuff to some gifts that someone must have spent quite a few bucks on! Some were very thoughtful, and some very useful. But it was so much fun handing out our goodies and then seeing if there was something in our FE each time we came back to the room. My little ones LOVE, LOVED it!

I hesitate to even mention with all the around this FE gift topic, but one cruise I bought a nice bigger sized bag of Disney caramel corn and with it a popcorn scented Disney car freshener so it looked like a Disney park popcorn box. I hope people enjoyed it. We got fun little Disney things from on property at WDW (I live very close) for the kids in our group to go with the family gift. Now I wonder if they were well received or not.....

 

[southerngirl528]

For groups that don't require anything but giving a gift, give what YOU would want to receive but in the budget you can afford. I don't have much money but I do crafts and I put a lot of work into them. I make things I would appreciate, usually a practical gift that is Disneyfied.

This.

 

[CT Yankee]

When I first heard of Fish Extenders, I had absolutely no interest in them. I'm not at all into crafts and the thought of having to make one in the middle of all this vacation planning had less than zero appeal to me. I purposely did not share the concept of Fish Extenders with my kids because I knew that once they heard about them, they would be interested and I would have to go along and not spoil their fun. Well, about 2-3 weeks before our cruise, I come home from work and my youngest daughter starts telling me about this cool thing that they do on Disney cruises where you make this craft thing to hang near your door and people put secret presents in them. Ugh! Busted! I tried explaining to my daughter that it was probably too late to join a FE group and it would take a lot of time to make a FE and prepare all the gifts for them. I also told her that I would buy treats to put in the FEs, but that she was responsible for making the gifts. She was totally ok with that. Well, I did manage to find a group that was willing to let us participate. I still was not all that into the concept, but my daughter was really excited about it and she really does like designing and making artsy-crafty-DIY kind of things. My daughter did put a lot of work into designing the gifts, but in comparison to what we received, I'll be the first to admit they were a bit on the lame side. At this point, so close to our cruise, I was just SO DONE with shopping and planning that I just did not have the time (or much left in the vacation budget) to invest in this. I will say that the gifts that I appreciated the most were the ones that had the most thought put into them and not necessarily the most expensive. I particularly liked one that had a "survival kit" theme to it for the whole family. I knew these were dollar store items because I recognized some of the packaging and brands from shopping there myself, but they were so thoughtful and cute and I really appreciated them.

 

[DisneyParkFan]

I'm doing a "survival kit" for one of my FE gifts. I'm trying to do "something" each day but I don't expect others to do the same. My themes are: Cruising Day, Disney Day, Royalty Day, Pirate Day, Spa Day, Beach Day. Lots of the items are DIY homemade gifts. It's fun for me and I enjoy it.

 

[MouseOfCards]

We did FEs for our first 2 cruises but not our last one due to luggage space (Med cruise and trying to pack for 2 weeks for 4 people wasnt allowing an FE suitcase). This next cruise I chose not to do it as I havent had spare time and since no one knows about the cruise till Christmas (and we leave in March) I just want to kick back and relax for once. It got to be such a competition and i started to not enjoy it. My dd loved it though so we will buy her small things to put in the FE holder that we hang up. She wont know its from us as I'll just have my husband occupy her while I "run to do something" and slip it into the FE. I did do an ornament exchange though on the last cruise (Med) as its so easy to do that one. Only requirement for that was giving an ornament that depicts where you are from. We gave ornaments that had our state name and what we are known for carved into the wood (they were 1/4 inch thick so not heavy and not very big) that I had ordered on Etsy. Some people made theirs and we loved them just the same.

Great idea. Will you be putting in something everyday for your daughter?

 

[MouseOfCards]

I'm going on my 1st Disney cruise with my family of 4 next October 2019. I was so excited about the fish extenders. I told my kids and they were so excited to give other kids gifts. But we were planning on getting them from the dollar tree, etsy and amazon.

This is really disappointing. I thought it would be fun. My kids would love dollar tree gifts.

Our little ones also love the dollar store stuff.

 

[CT Yankee]

When I run FE, I always say that you should give what you'd enjoy receiving. No minimum value ever.

I've been lucky that I've never had an overbearing organizer, but I'm wary after all the stories here.

That's pretty much my rule for any kind of gifting or donating - give what you would want to receive.

 

[CT Yankee]

I agree with this comment in the way that I’m in wonderment about why there is a gift giving need. Then the expectation about how much to spend. I keep wondering what holiday it is, how to transport the stuff onto the ship, then back home, then where to store it all when I get home. It just seems like a lot of work and a lot of stuff. Will I need 10 handcrafted Mickey themed things? Do my kids? And then with the snack gifts, isn’t there supposed to be a ton of food on the cruise? Why do we need more Disney themed snacks?
It just seems a little over the top... and... wasteful...

These were some of the reasons I had no interest in FEs. Our luggage space is pretty limited as it is, I was wondering how do we get all this stuff on board?

 

[Huskiesrule]

THAT is crazy..... and just weird. How and WHY would someone not even on the same cruise be calling the FE shots?? That's cuckoo for cocoa puffs!

Actually, she is known for starting groups elsewhere even though she is not on the actual cruise. I give her credit, at least she was honest about it when people asked. I prefer the FE groups here, but the traffic has moved elsewhere. And I will say the next cruise is the first one I have seen with "rules" and I am just not feeling it. When it stops being fun I don't participate.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Our little ones also love the dollar store stuff.

When my boys were little guys and my mother kept them for a few days a big treat if they were really good was a trip to Dollar Tree! They were given $3 - $5 and Nana helped them shop. They had to keep track of what they wanted, prices, and if they had enough money. They LOVED their Dollar Tree treasures. Even further than that...when I was little my brother, my cousin, & I would get to go to TG&Y with maybe $5 or $10 each as a big reward. My brother & cousin always would buy 1 thing that cost exactly how much they had. Not me, I’d shop and find several little things I wanted. My aunt still talks about how the boys would play with their new thing for an hour then come trying to take my new things from me. She’d make them leave me alone. I had new treasures that I made last.

The point is it’s not at all about how much the things cost. There’s joy to be had from every one of the things received. Talking with one of the ladies I’m cruising with in a couple weeks just yesterday...we were discussing diets/exercise...she said “Oh you’re going to hate me because one of my FE gifts is candy!” No way. I can have a nibble every now and then. Plus, what I don’t eat I will bring home for my hubby & grown sons to enjoy. If they don’t eat it, well, the fellas at hubby’s office will sure appreciate the afternoon snacks!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I think a lot of these "incidents" are urban legend. Read through the thread carefully, and notice how everyone who describes FEs as being no good anymore are not describing their own experiences, but rather 2nd hand experiences about what they've "heard". Some of the people who spread these comments aren't even current DCL cruisers- they've moved on. Notice comments that say things like, "when I cruised DCL", or "I don't do FEs anymore but I've heard it's not what it used to be".

It seems that some of the negativity is related to the fact that most FEs originate from Facebook now, rather than the Dis. There is rumored to be a "control freak" of FEs on FB, but most FEs organized via FB have nothing to do with her, and are independently organized by groups that are created by cruisers of each individual cruise.

I recommend ignoring 2nd hand info, and instead listen to people's actual firsthand experiences with FEs.

I guarantee that my experience is not second hand. I was there from the beginning in 2005 for the first PC cruise. I am Platinum and have done it over and over. I cannot give you a number. It is my FIRSTHAND experience that it has changed immensely. I refuse to do it any longer. There IS a huge difference.

 

[MomOTwins]

If you do it, remember it really is about giving, not receiving.

This is really the bottom line. The best parts about FE for me was (1) working with my twins before to assemble, wrap and decorate our FE gifts, (2) they were so excited to distribute the gifts and were so happy when they found the right cabin, and matched up the names on the fish extenders to the right gifts in their baggies; (3) when we met the kids of another cabin in our group and they were so excited to talk to each other about the gifts they made.

 

[Cindy456838]

Just now starting to look into participating and it is nice to see they really are not minimums and it is all about the fun!!