Hello Fellow Cruisers!
I’m really excited to see so much interest in starting a Fish Extender Exchange for our cruise! For anyone who may be new to Fish Extender Exchanges, here's my best explanation:
Beside every cabin door is a large silver fish with an indentation in the back (mail slot) for cruise personnel to leave information, invitations, etc. DISboarders have taken the silver fish one step further... by creating hanging pockets (much like cloth letter holders) to hang from the fish - thus the name, "Fish Extender". Fish Extenders (FEs) can be made of practically anything (cloth, plastic, paper gift bags, etc.), as long as they have at least one pocket that can hold surprises. My first FE was just a medium-sized canvas bag purchased from a local craft store. A Google Image search of “fish extenders” will show dozens of unique styles!
Each "Cruise Meets" thread organizes their own little gift exchange. Some exchanges are set up with a lot of requirements, but I like to make it as easy and fun as possible. I always leave it up to the giver to decide what to give and when to pass it out during the cruise. Some people decide to give one surprise per family, some people like to give a little gift to each person in the cabin.
There are several DIS Boards threads that discuss ideas for FE gifts. Some gifts are from Dollar Stores, some are handmade, and some are bought in bulk from websites that sell trinkets like the Oriental Trading Company. Often, they are stickers, candy, glow sticks, lanyards, luggage tags, magnets, mugs, frames, etc., with themes such as pirates, beach, cruise, tropical, hometown, holiday, etc. The main idea is just to have fun finding little goodies in your FE throughout the cruise. Kids LOVE running back to their cabin to see if anything's been left in their FE. As an adult, I have to admit that I really love it, too!!!
I want everyone to feel comfortable with the number of cabins you’ll be exchanging with. I’ve participated in exchanges that had only 4 cabins participating on a 3-night cruise, all the way up to over 80 participating cabins on the longer cruises! Currently, it looks like there are 7 cruisers who want to join in on the fun and I expect that number will grow quite a bit! So, I’ll break the groups down to a choice of 10 in your FE group, 20 in your FE group, or “Sky’s the Limit” for those of us who believe the more the merrier!
The deadline to join this Fish Extender Exchange will be Saturday, April 15, 2017, to give everyone time to get their FE gifts prepared and packed. I will send all participants a Private Message (PM) through the DIS Boards on Sunday, May 16, with your FE group information. You'll need to print that final list of participants and pack it with your gifts so you'll know where to deliver them once you're onboard the ship.
To join the FE Exchange, please send me (Deb T.) a “Private Message” with the following information:
*Your Cabin Number
*Names of everyone in your cabin
*Ages of children
*Any allergy considerations
*The size of the FE group you want to be in: “No more than 10,” “No more than 20,” or “Sky’s the Limit.”
To send me a “Private Message”, click on my name (Deb T.) in the little box on the top left
Click on “Start a Conversation”
Enter a “Conversation Title”
Under the row of icons, type your message
To send, Click “Start a Conversation” under your message
(FYI: If you are new to the DIS Boards, you will need to have made at least ten posts on DIS Forums before you can send a Private Message.)
Can't wait for our cruise!!!!
