Little help/extra magic

[cyneswith]

Not extra magic hours, but extra magic you provide.

I'm having a fairly cruddy day and want to get in a better mood. What better way to do that than coming up with nice things to do for people at the happiest place on Earth?

Any ideas welcome, even if they don't apply to my group. I'll be going with my mom and kids while DH enjoys a week to himself. My kids will be 3 and 1 when we go (I don't even know whether #2 will be a boy or a girl yet, so many specifics are unknown.)

Things I've seen that appeal: giving stickers to other kids in the park, certain elements of Tinkerbell gifts (DH would object to "Tinkerbell" giving our kids gifts), costumes/Disneybounding, a set of matching DIY shirts... And that's all I've got.

 

[Pesky]

We did the sticker thing when we went to DLR. It was fun! Sadly there will be those who want you to sort through your stickers to find a particular one (not kidding), but I just nicely said "it's always good to appreciate a fun sticker, even if it isn't the one you want." Another thought is a bundle of the mickey head lollipops, maybe before the parade. You can tell your 3YO to pick out one and let him/her give the rest to surrounding children. (If you do it that way, everyone can see they are fresh from the store and not tampered with.) Another idea is to get a cheapie container of glow bracelets or necklaces from the dollar store and you can hand those out too. Only thing is with 3 and 1, not sure you would be at the parks at dark anyway instead of back in the room with 2 sleeping kids.

Disney bounding or themed shirts. Like one day we all wore our Monsters, Inc. or Monsters U shirts. I had one made for DH that he loved of Sulley in his "scare" pose with "Daddy" underneath it (as he does go around trying to scare the kids). I'll probably sneak in some Disney bounding as DH isn't keen on wearing mickey mouse shirts or the like. Sigh.

Think about making a little autograph book for your 3YO using the pages provided on the creative DISigns board. You can get it bound with spiral at Staples and then trim to fit a photo album. They will also do personalized name fills upon request (give them plenty of time), so those can be on the front. DD was amazed how all the characters knew her name.

The little Tsum Tsums are a nice small size. The larger ones make nice pillows. Disney pillow pets are also a decent option as a comfort item. Also, watch clearance as oftentimes some of the smaller plush go on sale.

Consider getting each a personalized beach towel from Disney. Invaluable at day cares and summer camps (name is already on it!) but also they can double as a blanket on the plane and then are easily washed and dried to rid them of plane cooties. You can also look into doing polar fleece tie blankets for them.

In terms of other fun stuff, look at the Disney snacks. I have to confess my kids hate the Disney fruit snacks (I'm not a fan either) but that's one option.

Oh and watch the dollar bin at Target for cheap Disney socks. A fun and practical little gift. So are Disney-themed toothbrushes. You can also think about sunglasses but I've found Disney sunglasses run a bit small.

 

[MandiC]

The sticker thing will just depend on who you run into. My kids love stickers...but they put them in the most inappropriate places. It'd just be another thing for me to worry about, and if any kids had a costume on it could be bad for that if they wanted to wear the sticker. I would say thank you and move on from someone who gave my kid a sticker and then try to find the first opportunity to dispose of it without my child noticing LOL
You could always pay for a Dole Whip or two for the person behind you in line or a snack at some other counter service. On a hot day buy some packaged ice cream (because parents can reasonably get concerned about something unwrapped being given to their children) and give it to a child or two. Little girls in costume love to be told how beautiful they are. Lots of things you could do within the park even without spending money You could also bring glow necklaces from the dollar store and hand them out during nighttime entertainment

 

[Amanda999]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3277421&page=12

FWIW re: the topic of giving other people's kids things - see above for one thread.