What were your best & worst Fish Extender Gifts

[FigmentSpark]

I’m lucky, my daughter is a FE seller on Etsy. She bounces ideas off of me and she’s been doing very well. Whenever I like one of the products, I pretty much just get her to make it for me.

Has she mentioned which is more popular.... useful items vs edible vs decorative items?

 

[n2mm]

Has she mentioned which is more popular.... useful items vs edible vs decorative items?

I would have to say her biggest sellers are useful items, drawstring bags, sling bags, sand bags, cozis, lanyards.

 

[TestingH2O]

I would have to say her biggest sellers are useful items, drawstring bags, sling bags, sand bags, cozis, lanyards.

What's a sand bag?

 

[n2mm]

What's a sand bag?

It’s a mesh bag that you can carry stuff at the beach, like toys, flip flops, shells (if it’s allowed—not castaway cay)

 

[tigerchic89]

i also love practical fe gifts. On a recent cruise, I'm not sure how this happened, but everyone in my family received about 4 lanyards each (yes, 20 new lanyards!) I had been very "active" in our social media group, so it should have been obvious that it was not our 1st cruise... and I think there were 4 related families in our FE group who all decided that lanyards would make a great gift. Anyway, that's my "worst gift" story....

 

[Lilygm]

I've seen lots of guys wearing Mickey ears. Since when is that a no?

That is great if they do, maybe it is a region thing but I can not see any of my family or friends wearing them. Go for it, they can always pixie dust them.

 

[Amunet]

Edit: I cruise as an adult couple and we do not have children.

Best:

• Frozen (official merch) luggage tag. I use it on my Elsa carry on suitcase every time I travel.
• Painted Elsa with frame. It looks like it was painted with nail polish, but it's a really good painting and I display it with my Disney Elsa pin collection.
• Disney character painted laundry clips. We got these on our last cruise and we're SUPER helpful with drying our bathing suits in the shower. We are bringing them with us for our next cruise
• Elsa pen!
• Powerful mini flashlights that were Disney-fied with a mickey sticker.
  
• Really, all the Elsa stuff. I don't care how old I am, she's my favorite and I truly appreciate when people pay attention to the 'fave character' column on the FE sign up lists.

Worst

• Dinosaur shaped plastic things that, I think, just go around your wrist?
• Manicure/pedicure items. I think these would be good for people but I'm just not that type of gal ... unless it had Elsa on it.
• Random CDs that don't have Disney music on them

 

[Magic - Mickey -and Madi]

Best - A Mickey Watch. I wear it to this day! We also got a few Tsum Tsums during my last sailing, and that was adorable.
Worst - Candy and 10 cent trinkets.

I really dislike some of the "useful" gifts - mini first aid kits, q-tips, etc. It might just be me, but if I needed those things and forgot to pack them, I would just ask a CM for a hand - I've never known one to refuse. Customized/themed soaps are always really cool, though I don't think I'd appreciate an unthemed soap, even if it's from someone's hometown. I'm with the rest of the thread, too. Too much candy! I also don't love the cheapy, Oriental Trading type gifts. Obviously not everyone has the budget to be handing out watches (I definitely don't) but a little bit of thought and effort goes a long way.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Some of our faves that really stand out:

-A set of crocheted Mickey head ornaments in different Christmas colors. They are BEAUTIFUL and quite spectacular!
-A Mickey head necklace
-Bottle of Panola Cajun Hot sauce from Louisiana
-Favorite character bookmarks and luggage tags
-Small, handpainted on canvas magnets with the castle on two and Goofy’s head on another. I have never seen such small canvases before but these are amazing and have been on our fridge for almost 5 years! I have never seen anything like them since!
-Notecards made by a younger guest that had Mickey heads drawn along the bottom of the card and one on the back of the envelope. Super cute! These have been really treasured! So fun to write on and give to my Disney-loving friends — they probably think my own daughters made them when in fact they came to me via our FE Exchange! I love it!

We participated in a candy exchange on our first cruise. That was a lot of fun because we were asked to gift candy from our area and include a note about the candy. That was separate from our FE group and I really liked doing it. Yet, I am NOT a fan of receiving candy as our actual FE gifts or as part of the FE gifts. I know many people appreciate it but it is not our favorite.

Also not a fan of can koozies. None of us ever drink from a can.

 

[dprincessmom]

So after reading thru these I now am rethinking part of our FE...I have a gift for each of the people that ties to one of their favorite characters - trading pins, tsum tsum, Funko Pop people etc. I was going to add a "just add popcorn" movie kit with a couple of small movie candies in it (think milk duds, gummi bears, mini m&ms). Is this the kind of candy that is putting people off or are we talking Halloween candy leftovers?

 

[darnheather]

So after reading thru these I now am rethinking part of our FE...I have a gift for each of the people that ties to one of their favorite characters - trading pins, tsum tsum, Funko Pop people etc. I was going to add a "just add popcorn" movie kit with a couple of small movie candies in it (think milk duds, gummi bears, mini m&ms). Is this the kind of candy that is putting people off or are we talking Halloween candy leftovers?

I love the just add popcorn idea! I think what most people here are talking about Halloween left overs and hard candy. But then my kids never turn down candy.

 

[dprincessmom]

I love the just add popcorn idea! I think what most people here are talking about Halloween left overs and hard candy. But then my kids never turn down candy.

yeah I am glad - I found red and white striped popcorn bags so I am pretty excited about them.

 

[Magic - Mickey -and Madi]

I was going to add a "just add popcorn" movie kit with a couple of small movie candies in it (think milk duds, gummi bears, mini m&ms).

That's adorable! Especially in conjunction with the personalized gifts. I think the general consensus with experienced FE participants is that candy is only really a problem when it feels like a last minute, super cheapy throwaway thing. Then, it comes across as someone having just signed up to receive, without really caring about giving - at least IMO.

 

[oakleycat]

So after reading thru these I now am rethinking part of our FE...I have a gift for each of the people that ties to one of their favorite characters - trading pins, tsum tsum, Funko Pop people etc. I was going to add a "just add popcorn" movie kit with a couple of small movie candies in it (think milk duds, gummi bears, mini m&ms). Is this the kind of candy that is putting people off or are we talking Halloween candy leftovers?

We love getting the "movie box" candy to take to the movies, so I think this is a great idea!

 

[Dug720]

I may be pixie dusting on our upcoming cruise and this thread is giving me LOTS of great idea of what I should and SHOULDN'T do

I'm getting the feeling no body wants twizzlers or M&M's....

If anyone on your list is gluten-free, Twizzlers would be no bueno for them. Not gluten-free. Ditto pretty much any M&Ms other than plain or peanut (but then you have peanut allergies to consider).

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

I received a make up bag that was customized with a minnie mouse head fabric cut out. i used it for several years before the zipper finally broke.

We gave "Minnie" manicure kits to young girls in our group. The young boys got a "Pirate Party Pack" with tattoos, skull and cross bone bandannas, eye patches and small inflatable swords for pirate night. Dads got shark key chains. The moms got "hand crafted " Disney Cruise Christmas ornament. people seemed to really like the ornament. They were not very fragile so that was nice for packing.

Pinterest has tons of ideas.

One thing I always point out about FE is that it will take a while to make and organize your gifts. Then, once you get on this ship it will take at least 45 minutes to make your deliveries. We were only on a 4 day cruise and it was our first one so I wanted to minimize all my time. I used a ship map to pack my FE gifts in a certain order so i could quickly deliver to each room and not have to backtrack.

 

[KashasMom]

One of my favorites was a personalized cloth makeup case. I also liked the sand-remover paint brush. I like useful/pracitcal gifts. Local food gifts are also nice.

I don't use can koozis or tumblers. And the light card was great the first time but I have a whole collection now.

 

[JLoinDisney]

I like to give chapstick with SPF and stickers. Candy is always a hoot. it is tough because you don't know have what allergies. Also I like to give pencils or pens with characters on them and with that a book with puzzles or Mad Libs. I loveeeeee fish hook extenders!!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

So after reading thru these I now am rethinking part of our FE...I have a gift for each of the people that ties to one of their favorite characters - trading pins, tsum tsum, Funko Pop people etc. I was going to add a "just add popcorn" movie kit with a couple of small movie candies in it (think milk duds, gummi bears, mini m&ms). Is this the kind of candy that is putting people off or are we talking Halloween candy leftovers?

Here is my honest, from the heart opinion, and I mean no disrespect to anyone. I think my teen daughters would like those types of candy. For me, I am secretly hoping for something different that I can't buy myself. So many food and treat options on board, eating candy I receive in my FE isn't something I really enjoy receiving or eating. We received sooo much of it on our last cruise from far and wide, we literally piled it up on the desk. My preference would be for something that will last -- something I can use again (kleenex packet or small sewing kit I now take with me on every trip) or something I can look at that will remind me of our cruise (ornaments, magnets, bookmarks). Thanks for letting me share.

 

[dprincessmom]

Here is my honest, from the heart opinion, and I mean no disrespect to anyone. I think my teen daughters would like those types of candy. For me, I am secretly hoping for something different that I can't buy myself. So many food and treat options on board, eating candy I receive in my FE isn't something I really enjoy receiving or eating. We received sooo much of it on our last cruise from far and wide, we literally piled it up on the desk. My preference would be for something that will last -- something I can use again (kleenex packet or small sewing kit I now take with me on every trip) or something I can look at that will remind me of our cruise (ornaments, magnets, bookmarks). Thanks for letting me share.

No offense taken gives me something to think about - I'm just worried that what I have isn't "enough"