Is this the tackiest FE gift ever or what?

[jiminyC_fan]

FE was thought up as something to do on the first WB Panama Canal in 2005. It was simple and pretty much anonymous. It was fun and NOT a chore. NO RULES! It was never meant to be a secret santa score. It was never thought to be a craft event. It was for trinkets. It's gotten so out of hand with the do's and don'ts. Likes, dislikes. Tags. The thought of <<Gasp>> food or candy. And what I totally dislike is that participants are now keeping track to make sure everyone gifted. Some say they keep track because they want to thank others which I'm finding is more about keeping track. Thank you notes weren't even expected like they are today. Organizers are now controlling. Much like HOA's. I've seen some kicked out of groups for petty things. It's even changed to the point that people are now saying it's mainly for the kids. That was not the original intent since the first PC cruise had mostly adults. Let's get it back to the fun it used to be.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

FE was thought up as something to do on the first WB Panama Canal in 2005. It was simple and pretty much anonymous. It was fun and NOT a chore. NO RULES! It was never meant to be a secret santa score. It was never thought to be a craft event. It was for trinkets. It's gotten so out of hand with the do's and don'ts. Likes, dislikes. Tags. The thought of <<Gasp>> food or candy. And what I totally dislike is that participants are now keeping track to make sure everyone gifted. Some say they keep track because they want to thank others which I'm finding is more about keeping track. Thank you notes weren't even expected like they are today. Organizers are now controlling. Much like HOA's. I've seen some kicked out of groups for petty things. It's even changed to the point that people are now saying it's mainly for the kids. That was not the original intent since the first PC cruise had mostly adults. Let's get it back to the fun it used to be.

Yes!!

 

[mcd2745]

FE was thought up as something to do on the first WB Panama Canal in 2005. It was simple and pretty much anonymous. It was fun and NOT a chore. NO RULES! It was never meant to be a secret santa score. It was never thought to be a craft event. It was for trinkets. It's gotten so out of hand with the do's and don'ts. Likes, dislikes. Tags. The thought of <<Gasp>> food or candy. And what I totally dislike is that participants are now keeping track to make sure everyone gifted. Some say they keep track because they want to thank others which I'm finding is more about keeping track. Thank you notes weren't even expected like they are today. Organizers are now controlling. Much like HOA's. I've seen some kicked out of groups for petty things. It's even changed to the point that people are now saying it's mainly for the kids. That was not the original intent since the first PC cruise had mostly adults. Let's get it back to the fun it used to be.

 

[SCPixie]

Not even if it's completely sealed in a wrapper? I don't see how it would be any different than Halloween candy. Thankfully that is only one part of the FE gift for kids so if a parent is uncomfortable with it, the kids will still have other things they can use.

We leave in five weeks for our first cruise and our first FE experience. Of course I would allow my child to eat sealed candy that was provided. Your gifts sound great!

 

[Plaid Princess]

So, this time around, would like to go "native" as in local stuff-it may look like it was free but I will need to actually pay for some of them--local company's fans (cardboard/wooden stick), microfiber cleaning cloths, alligator clips with magnet, sticky notes, & hand sanitizer sprays. I would place items into clear bags and give two bags of goodies to each cabin.

My question is--too tacky?

Thanks for your input.

Honestly?! These kinds of FE gifts have saved my butt on every cruise. I always end up receiving something that I forgot or didn't know I needed in my FE. Sticky Notes and Hand Sanitizer would be high on the list of things I'd be psyched to receive for exactly this reason!

 

[mcd2745]

Honestly?! These kinds of FE gifts have saved my butt on every cruise. I always end up receiving something that I forgot or didn't know I needed in my FE. Sticky Notes and Hand Sanitizer would be high on the list of things I'd be psyched to receive for exactly this reason!

It's as if there are two kinds of people in the world...ones who prefer the more practical FE gifts (hand sanitizer/wipes, tissues, mini first-aid kids, clips...things of that nature) and ones who prefer the more sentimental/crafty stuff. In all likelihood, everyone will have a mixture of each in their FE group. So, no matter which direction anyone goes with the gifts they give out...odds are someone in their group is likely to be less than thrilled with what they received. It's one of those "is what it is" things. So no one should over-think it too much.

 

[JAM113]

I also think of the size of the FE itself. The thought was to put things in the pockets, so if people are gifting large and expensive things (for example, ones that need a stateroom host to leave in the room), maybe you are losing sight of the original intent.

 

[Amanda129]

I've never participated in FE before, but am thinking about it for my next cruise - sounds like a 'local' package like you're planning is right up my alley! Plus, it's always interesting to see where everyone is from

 

[DizFanJ2015]

Love the idea! We have never participated, but it looks so fun and if we were receiving that- I'd be ecstatic!

 

[Celeste115]

This thread is awesome! Thanks for all the tips! I am going to make homemade bookmarks along with...wait for it.....glow sticks! hahaha

 

[hmwinter85]

Just wanted to share that the glow sticks we received ended up giving us my favorite and most unexpected memory of the cruise.

It was the last night and DS(2), DH and I were on the veranda and DS found a glow stick. He used it as his magic wand to make the stars. It was the first time he had really played pretend and a moment I will never forget. It wouldn't have happened without the FE.

I loved everything we got and personally I enjoyed delivering gifts while DS was napping in the cabin with DH.

 

[Laundress]

Anything from the heart is sure to be a hit.

 

[Bear3412]

Speaking of memorable FE moments with glow sticks aboard.

On our first sailing our "DD5 or 6" woke up screaming that she was on fire.
The volume was seriously loud and penetrating.
Turned out she was "glowing in the dark" due to a glow ring breakage. lol.
It was all over her, the bed, sheets, floor, etc.

To her benefit, it did sort of look like fire on her and the surrounding items.
She must have been throwing/whipping the fractured tube about. Then lights out, then ...Oh My ....

I was shocked no one called security/911 after her screams. I waited by the door for a while expecting them.
Never showed.

Priceless. A Visa moment for sure.
Wish I captured at least a portion on video. Arggh

IOW, keep delivering those glow rings. Lol.

Has DCL banned them yet?
Are they toxic?
JK. Lol

 

[boundfordisney]

I think its a great gift not tacky by any means!

 

[boundfordisney]

Speaking of memorable FE moments with glow sticks aboard.

On our first sailing our "DD5 or 6" woke up screaming that she was on fire.
The volume was seriously loud and penetrating.
Turned out she was "glowing in the dark" due to a glow ring breakage. lol.
It was all over her, the bed, sheets, floor, etc.

To her benefit, it did sort of look like fire on her and the surrounding items.
She must have been throwing/whipping the fractured tube about. Then lights out, then ...Oh My ....

I was shocked no one called security/911 after her screams. I waited by the door for a while expecting them.
Never showed.

Priceless. A Visa moment for sure.
Wish I captured at least a portion on video. Arggh

IOW, keep delivering those glow rings. Lol.

Has DCL banned them yet?
Are they toxic?
JK. Lol

aww the poor girl that must have been very scary for her

 

[Tresmama]

We just participated in FE with our 7 year old grandson. Not only did he LOVE making the gifts for boys and girls, his favorite part was "delivery". He & I got to run off and track down the cabins by number, and he felt awesome trying to be super quiet and sneak gifts in. We didn't waste any vacation time to do it- we just used any extra not planned time to run all over. I had a blast delivering gifts with him. He loved coming back to the room and finding surprises. He got everything from candy to handmade items like construction paper scrapbooks. His all time favorite about the whole experience? Giving the gifts he made. (I'm not crafty so we made handy item goody bags and boy/girl sticker candy bags) His favorite gift? Someone made a CD of Disney movie songs-we love to listen to it even now-4 months later!!

 

[Bear3412]

aww the poor girl that must have been very scary for her

indeed, it was .....

 

[disfunfor3]

I love that idea. Hope someone does that on my next cruise.
FEs are for fun...and for coming up with tons of ideas. I come up with tons of ideas then have to decide which to do-definately a good problem. I'm thinking about bookmarks (write disney character names across a page, print it on cardstock and cut), a card a day saying (coin envelope with a business card inside), magnets...) ok got to go update my ideas list....

 

[White Rose]

For room gifts, I created bottle cap magnets, but the rest was from oriental trading co. I did beach balls, playing cards, small pool toys, small pirate stuff, small Halloween stuff (oct trip). Oriental trading co is your friend!

I am not super crafty. I do not sew, or made candles or home made treats. The bottle cap magnets took me months, the glue kept drying cloudy! I did feel a bit pressured (not by the FE group, just by reading what everyone does in general) to have a crafty element in my Gifts. Because of the time, energy, angst and effort it took to make 60 of those &$@!? Things, they cost more then the oriental trading items...which I heard compliments on...the finished magnets did look awesome, if I do say so myself.

Lesson learned: do not give a craft project to an artistically challenged perfectionist. Anyone need Mod Podge?

 

[TiggerBouncy]

i/we were INUNDATED with glow sticks....22 cabins and about 135 glow sticks received.

For us, it was build your own sundae kits. After 3 cruises, we had never had a build your own sundae kit. So we made one. SIX cabins all did the same thing. There were a LOT of sundae's that cruise.