Ideas for gift bags for teens heading to DLR

[ImarriedGrumpy]

It's a really long story, but the short version is I'm going to be playing "Auntie" for a weekend in April to bring two 14 year old girls (M & E) to DLR with my DS15. There's several families meeting up there to celebrate a birthday, and these two girls each have a parent with severe health issues so their families weren't going to join us. They were bummed about not going, so DS & I invited them to join us to give them a break from the stress at home and have a fun weekend of just being teens. The kids have grown up together and are more like cousins than friends, and I used to babysit both girls at various times when they were little, so they've known me all of their lives and their parents have been my friends for around 20 years.

I want to put together little gift bags for the 3 teens as a "yay, we're going to Disneyland!" treat. DS & I have done many trips to DLR together, but the girls haven't been there in ages. E's family went when she was 8 or 9, and M's family hasn't been there since she was 5 or 6. I need to keep the cost fairly cheap, because I'm helping pay for both girls to join us (medical bills are crazy for both families right now), so I'm looking for fun but dollar-store-ish or make-it-myself ideas for small treat bags. So far all I can think of is to put some hand sanitizer in there, and I thought I could give them each a few pins from my own collection in case they want to do pin trading. A few mutual friends have donated Disney gift cards so each of the girls will get one as well, and DS decided he would put his own trip money on a gift card too so they would all be the same.

But any ideas on what else I could do for fun extras?

 

[mlggator22]

Maybe a small stuffed animal. You can usually find some small ones that aren't too expensive. I was also thinking
hair ties/rubber bands/scrunchies with Disney theming could be fun.
Nail polish? Or disney nail stickers/art.
cheap sunglasses.
You could always throw in some stickers or maybe even some Disney buttons if you get some, like "I'm Celebrating?"
Disney themed pens or pencils
Reusable straws that they could take with them
An inexpensive portable charger for their cell phones. I know Walmart sells some that are pretty cheap.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Maybe a small stuffed animal. You can usually find some small ones that aren't too expensive. I was also thinking
hair ties/rubber bands/scrunchies with Disney theming could be fun.
Nail polish? Or disney nail stickers/art.
cheap sunglasses.
You could always throw in some stickers or maybe even some Disney buttons if you get some, like "I'm Celebrating?"
Disney themed pens or pencils
Reusable straws that they could take with them
An inexpensive portable charger for their cell phones. I know Walmart sells some that are pretty cheap.

Thank you! These are great ideas I hadn't thought of! Both girls have long hair, so hair ties/scrunchies are a great idea, especially for going on faster rides. And I know they would like reusable straws. I can't believe I didn't think of a Disney pen, but that's a great idea too. Thank you!

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

I would suggest going to Dollar Tree and check out their Disney stickers, washcloths that expand, seek-a-word puzzle books, etc. When going on attractions, see if you can steer the Mark Twain. I think there is a thread or two that lists "free" things at the parks. Wishing you the best time!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I would suggest going to Dollar Tree and check out their Disney stickers, washcloths that expand, seek-a-word puzzle books, etc. When going on attractions, see if you can steer the Mark Twain. I think there is a thread or two that lists "free" things at the parks. Wishing you the best time!

Thank you! I think a visit to Dollar Tree is definitely in order!

We do have a list of free things to do in the parks that I keep adding to - and I'm going to do all I can to make sure they get to laugh and be silly and just be kids for that weekend! If I had an unlimited budget I would spoil them like crazy, but instead I'm going to be as creative as possible in stretching our money to give them little treats.

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

You are doing a great job!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

You are doing a great job!

Thank you!! I really appreciate the encouragement!

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

Thank you!! I really appreciate the encouragement!

If the girls are anything like my girls at that age, maybe you can get a couple of Starbucks cards so you can get a snack/drink in either park and DTD. Plus, you earn Starbucks points (cannot use them at the Starbucks in the parks, but you can at the one in DTD). I have been doing the math to see if is better to get gift cards at Kroger (4x the gas points) or save 5% at Target with red card! Remember to ask to ride in the cone of the monorail. If I remember things that might benefit your trip, I will post.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

If the girls are anything like my girls at that age, maybe you can get a couple of Starbucks cards so you can get a snack/drink in either park and DTD. Plus, you earn Starbucks points (cannot use them at the Starbucks in the parks, but you can at the one in DTD). I have been doing the math to see if is better to get gift cards at Kroger (4x the gas points) or save 5% at Target with red card! Remember to ask to ride in the cone of the monorail. If I remember things that might benefit your trip, I will post.

Oh, great idea on the Starbucks gift cards! They do love Starbucks, so I'm sure that will be a stop at least once. We don't have Kroger out here, but I have used the Target red card trick several times. Thank you again for all the suggestions!

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

Oh, great idea on the Starbucks gift cards! They do love Starbucks, so I'm sure that will be a stop at least once. We don't have Kroger out here, but I have used the Target red card trick several times. Thank you again for all the suggestions!

Kroger is Frys in my state, Ralphs in CA. I get my Disney cards too. I like to have them emailed to me from Target. easy to transfer cards together (up to $1000 per card). Makes it easier to pay the hotel room when we get there. Also, there are menus with prices at the Disneyland website. It helps me plan where to eat/snack and how much funds to bring too.

 

[irlandaise]

A few mutual friends have donated Disney gift cards so each of the girls will get one as well, and DS decided he would put his own trip money on a gift card too so they would all be the same.

If I'm reading that right, your son volunteered to put his trip money on a Disney gift card so that his friends wouldn't feel awkward because they weren't getting what he had gotten. If so, then you have one heck of a thoughtful 15-year-old, IMG.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

If I'm reading that right, your son volunteered to put his trip money on a Disney gift card so that his friends wouldn't feel awkward because they weren't getting what he had gotten. If so, then you have one heck of a thoughtful 15-year-old, IMG.

That’s exactly what he was thinking. He doesn’t want his friends to feel awkward so he thought it would be cool if they all have their spending money on gift cards and he pays for his snacks and things the same way they will.
He’s a remarkably thoughtful person - always wanting to do things like this for his friends. Still has a solid dose of teenage oblivion, but I love seeing how he responds when he’s aware of things. We’re using all of our Disney fund to bring the girls with us, so he knows this is our only trip this year and he said that’s fine with him and he’s glad we can share with them. I love his heart!

 

[twodogs]

What about park maps? I know @WonkaKid has generously offered to mail park maps to folks for their upcoming trips (he is local and goes almost every Sunday). Just a super guy and big Disney fan. The maps can serve as a way to plan out their days, things to look forward to! With my teens, I usually get a bag of 5 mystery pins for each of them, and they can open them at the parks and keep the ones they like and trade the rest. I get them from eBay but they are the real Disney mystery 5 pin pack, unopened, likely CM’s using their discount to get packs. They are around $26 in the parks, about $15 on eBay.

Our Target has fun Disney socks that are often cheap, even sometimes in the $1 section. I second fun nail polish (Opi has some Disney themed color names) or nail stickers. Wet Brush makes Disney themed brushes and brush sets that they sometimes have at Costco or Target. I see several on Amazon for less than $9 each.

I think there are also Disney scavenger hunts you can find and print out at home to do in the park. Also print lists to keep track of Hidden Mickey’s that you see in the park. You could also consider making your own autograph books from some inexpensive notebooks, printing out names of different characters and using a glue stick to put one character on each page of the book.

At the parks: You also used to be able to go to Castle Couture and get “pixie dusted” for free. Not sure if they still do this after COVID, but the CMs in the gift shop will sprinkle glitter in your hair from their magic wand. Another fun thing to do that results in a free souvenir is the Animation Academy in DCA. Everyone gets to bring home their own drawing.

You are amazing for doing this!!

 

[WonkaKid]

What about park maps? I know @WonkaKid has generously offered to mail park maps to folks for their upcoming trips (he is local and goes almost every Sunday).

Yes, I'm happy to help, if that's what you'd like to do. I can also get you some birthday buttons in advance, if that helps. Let me know via DM.

Just a super guy and big Disney fan.

Thank you . Seconded ;-).

You are amazing for doing this!!

Also seconded ;-).

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

What about park maps? I know @WonkaKid has generously offered to mail park maps to folks for their upcoming trips (he is local and goes almost every Sunday). Just a super guy and big Disney fan. The maps can serve as a way to plan out their days, things to look forward to! With my teens, I usually get a bag of 5 mystery pins for each of them, and they can open them at the parks and keep the ones they like and trade the rest. I get them from eBay but they are the real Disney mystery 5 pin pack, unopened, likely CM’s using their discount to get packs. They are around $26 in the parks, about $15 on eBay.

Our Target has fun Disney socks that are often cheap, even sometimes in the $1 section. I second fun nail polish (Opi has some Disney themed color names) or nail stickers. Wet Brush makes Disney themed brushes and brush sets that they sometimes have at Costco or Target. I see several on Amazon for less than $9 each.

I think there are also Disney scavenger hunts you can find and print out at home to do in the park. Also print lists to keep track of Hidden Mickey’s that you see in the park. You could also consider making your own autograph books from some inexpensive notebooks, printing out names of different characters and using a glue stick to put one character on each page of the book.

At the parks: You also used to be able to go to Castle Couture and get “pixie dusted” for free. Not sure if they still do this after COVID, but the CMs in the gift shop will sprinkle glitter in your hair from their magic wand. Another fun thing to do that results in a free souvenir is the Animation Academy in DCA. Everyone gets to bring home their own drawing.

You are amazing for doing this!!

Thank you!

I totally love the scavenger hunt and Hidden Mickeys idea! And the notebook idea sent me to dig through my classroom rewards stash (I'm a substitute teacher and I keep a supply of random things to hand out). I found that I still have a dozen or so mini blank books and I'm going to decorate those with Disney stickers. They'll be perfect with the Mickey pens I found at the dollar store!

I'm also adding the pixie dust option to look into while we're there - thanks for the heads up on that.

I'm having so much fun planning these little treats for the girls, it's almost like being Fairy Godmother for a little while!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

You are all so encouraging and thank you for all the wonderful ideas!! Here's what I've got so far for our treat bags:
A generous benefactor has sent me Disney socks for all 3 teens, plus phone lanyards for all of them. They also sent me Minnie ears scrunchies and Minnie makeup bags for the girls and an Avengers hat for DS. Super, super thankful for this!!!
I have little pocket sized blank notebooks to decorate for autograph/memory books (found in my stash of substitute teaching supplies!), and I found Mickey pens at the dollar store. On my journey through assorted dollar/discount stores, I also found Mickey ear shaped fidget toys, Mickey & Minnie lip balm, and reusable straws in little travel cases.
I'm going to add in a disposable poncho (for water rides) from my park supplies stash, and I'm making Disneyland wraps to go on pocket tissue packages and hand sanitizer. Nothing fancy there - just using my long-ignored scrapbook supplies for those. I'm also making them Disneyland luggage tags - we have a bin with a couple dozen luggage tags of assorted kinds that we've gotten as swag over the years (DH used to go to a lot of conventions for work) and I found a couple that are plastic and snap open so I can add a fun Disneyland picture instead of the business logo currently there.
I told DH the idea about Starbucks gift cards, and he said he had a few in his desk at work that he'd been given as random prizes or thank yous at work but he never uses them, so he gave me those and we found two for $15 that we can give the girls (and I checked the amounts online to make sure they were still good).
DS and I went through our pin collections and we each found 5 that were part of our trading piles that we can give the girls either to keep or trade as they wish. I sorted through our overflowing bin of gift bags and found a few small fabric bags to put the pins in.

Between gifts and exploring dollar stores and being a little creative, I think I've got some great goodie bags put together for these awesome teens! I'll still keep my eyes open for little extras, and I've got a list of free things we can do in the parks, too. Thank you all so much for your ideas - you've given me awesome suggestions that helped me think about what to look for. I am so, so glad to be able to treat these girls and give them a weekend of just being teenagers and playing and laughing and having fun after all the difficult stuff they've been through these last few years. Thank you for all your kind words - I really appreciate it!

 

[glocon]

Some ideas from a gift bag I got (a friends CM daughter made these for us- so sweet!).

A Disney themed key chain! I got this years ago and still use it to this day.

You already have a lanyard, how about a Disney themed treat? She got us cake pops and cookies!

And Disney themed earrings. You can do a necklace or bracelet if unsure about the earrings.

These kids will remember this trip forever! The memories you help them make will be the best gift of all .

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Some ideas from a gift bag I got (a friends CM daughter made these for us- so sweet!).

A Disney themed key chain! I got this years ago and still use it to this day.

You already have a lanyard, how about a Disney themed treat? She got us cake pops and cookies!

And Disney themed earrings. You can do a necklace or bracelet if unsure about the earrings.

These kids will remember this trip forever! The memories you help them make will be the best gift of all .

Great ideas! You reminded me that I have a cookie cutter that my DS used to call the "hidden mickey" because of its shape, and I could easily make them Mickey shaped rice krispie treats and/or cookies. That would be fun for the whole group that's going - there's 8 confirmed from our neighborhood, plus at least 4 more joining who live in SoCal.

It's been a rough couple weeks for both girls for different reasons, but they have next week off of school so I'm going to see if they'd like to have a day out with me sometime while they're not in school. I want to hear what they would want to do at Disneyland so I can make sure we prioritize that. E in particular tends to say that she'll just do what everyone else wants to do, and I really want to make sure that she knows it's okay to speak up with her preferences. I'm having fun playing Fairy Godmother for these two!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Just wanted to do an update and say thank you again to everyone for your ideas and for those who contributed directly to the girls! Today we had our pre-trip planning meeting and I was able to give all 3 teens their treat bags and we walked through the outline of the trip. They were so excited and started asking about what kinds of things they should pack in their park bags, and what the weather will be like, and how long the flight would be. It was great to see them smiling and laughing and I had so much fun watching their faces light up as we looked through the park maps and I guided them through how to use the app. E is very excited to try as many churros as she can, and M said she remembers loving the Tea Cups when she was 6 and wants to ride those again. They both want to try Haunted Mansion again now that they're older, and E had us all laughing as she described thinking that HM had zombies reaching out to grab her when she was little. M also said that RSR was her all time favorite ride that she remembers, so we talked about rope dropping that and discussed if they'd be comfortable in the single rider line (E says yes, M not so sure). I gave them homework to read through the menus and start thinking about what they'd like to eat so we can get our mobile orders in early.

A very generous friend paid to upgrade our tickets to have G+ when I bought them, so we also had a lesson on how to use that and talked about how to prioritize which rides we go on. We'll have one more planning meeting with the whole crew of us (4 more adults from our city, plus 2-6 more who will join us over zoom), but I've now got the info I need from the girls to know how to advocate for them on the trip and make sure they get to do the things they're most looking forward to. We might also start a walking club to get in shape for the trip, now that the weather looks like it's mostly settling down.

I'm having so much fun - I think I need to find ways to play fairy godmother more often!

 

[irlandaise]

Bethany, that's so lovely for you to escort these young ladies to Disneyland and make sure they have a wonderful time. You're being so sensitive to their needs and wishes. And it's great that you're having such fun planning with them. Have a great trip!