Where doing FE!

Well I joined the other board and I joined the FE! So far we are up to like 12 families, yikes! I already ordered out cute little extender and it’s being made! Anyway I wanted to know what was some of the best FE gifts you got. We are thinking of doing playing cards. They are like old style Mickey ones. I just don’t want to be to cheesy or cheap. Am I on the right track? HELP ME!

ok I feel silly but FE= ???? Help!

I second this! Huh?

I feel like your Picasso Avatar when I read your thread...

Sorry should have been more specific, this forum really doesn’t do FE but I know some do. FE stands for Fish Extender. Here is a quote from the forum I am doing it on.
Originally Posted by 3princessMommy
For all you first-timers (and those CC members who aren't sure) - here's the FE (Fish Extender) explanation:

Outside each cabin on the ship by the door is a pewter fish. The crew uses this to leave you messages and other things. For example, if you rebook onboard, they will send you the confirmation in an envelope and it will be placed on the fish.

So, many years ago, a creative DISer decided that they could improve on this concept and "extend" the fish by adding hanging pockets from it. Then they could play secret santa and run around and leave small surprises in everyone else's "fish extenders" too. And the Fish Extender was born.

A Fish Extender exchange is organized by someone on your cruise meets thread. That person (or team of people) volunteers to coordinate a list for everyone who wants to participate. Often they will also post cabin updates, etc. on their door in case something changes once onboard. I'm happy to do this.

So what do you give/get in a fish extender? Really, anything you want. Some people will buy FE gifts, things like candy, special cruise pens/pencils, pirate accessories, etc. Others get a bit more creative and make things like cruise music cd's or cruise survival kits with aloe, aspirin, kleenex, highlighters, etc. Still other crazy individuals will handmake their entire gift. I have seen things from cross-stitch bookmarks, individual oil paintings, keychains, and luggage tags, to personalized picture frames, door magnets, and Disney lithographs. There is no cost guideline - but I would say the average spent is about $5 on each FE gift. That said, there are no rules and it's the thought that counts.

FE gifts are generally delivered after dinner the first night until mid-day the last day. They are not delivered during the last evening because that's when everyone is packing and leaving. On a 3-day cruise, that does limit when they can be delivered. But the groups tend to be a lot smaller on 3-day cruises.

You can deliver one general gift to each participating cabin, or you can personalize them for each cabin - for example, something small picked out especially for each member of that family. For example, somthing appropriate for a young girl, a teenage boy, and two adults. Or something for two adults, or something for two young girls and one adult. It's entirely up to you! You can also put your name and contact info on the gift, or keep it anonymous. Many people like to thank folks for the gifts they receive, but others really like the "santaesque" quality in staying secret.

Pros:
- Get to see all over the ship!
- Can peek into most kinds of cabins while wandering and really get a feel of the different categories.
- Meet fun people
- A GREAT way to convince the kids to leave the clubs - they'll really want to see what surprises might await in their pockets.
- Get wonderful souvenirs of your Disney cruise that you couldn't buy anywhere.
- Get creative and have a ton of fun preparing for your cruise - it extends that vacation feeling

Cons:
- Are there any?
- Ok, yes a couple.
- if you have a big group, this can really take a toll on your baggage, particularly if you are flying. I had a FE group once that had 80 cabins - that's a LOT of stuff to haul with you! (And take home!)
- If you've got a lot planned for your cruise, this can add to your time schedule.

ok....... thanks!

Yep. The cruise boards aren't really busy enough here to facilitate forming groups for each cruise the way they are on another fan forum where there's a ton more traffic. Over there you find your group for your sailing in the designated meeting list area. Just about every sailing of every ship will have a thread of people who are all going to be sailing together. It's an opportunity to make friends before you ever get there. Sometimes the groups are big, sometimes just a few people. Most groups will organize their Fish Extender exchange list (I was just the list keeper for our recent Magic cruise). It's a lot of fun but can also be a lot of work. We've done it 3 out of 4 cruises. I like it but don't feel like I have to do it. It's kinda hard with teenage boys because nobody ever seems to know what to do for teenage boy gifts. They tend to get a LOT of candy and playing cards. We just sorted our duffel full of FE loot from our recent cruise yesterday. We had a total of 6 or 7 decks of cards. LOL! The boys loved it, tho.

Let's see. What gifts have I done. I generally do 1 or 2 gifts as family/stateroom gifts PLUS at least 1 gift per person in each stateroom. When the group is smaller that's a lot easier and inexpensive. Our recent group was 39 staterooms with a total of 143 people. That got kinda expensive but I still did it. Here's my breakdown of past gifts I've given:

Family/stateroom gifts:
- 4x6 magnetic photo pouches w/a custom designed cruise-specific insert. Magnetic door decoration now, refridgerator magnet with your favorite vacation pic later. These can be bought at Walmart for like $2 for a 2-pack.
- Unopened Zatarains spice mix
- Laundry care kits: zippered lingerie laundry bag w/3 Tide pods, 3 drier sheets, a few clothes pins, & a couple big safety pins

Adult (21+) gifts:
- mini bottle of Malibu rum

Teen/tween boys:
- reusable water balloons: sponges cut into strips then tied bundles to make a ball shape that you can wet & throw at victims
- small-ish USB drives
- vinylmation for trading (bought on sale w/great discount on Disneystore.com)

Teen/tween girls:
- handmade button bracelets
- vinylmation for trading (bought on sale w/great discount on Disneystore.com)
((drawing a blank on others but I know I did different stuff))

Boys & girls (4-11 or so):
- Disney pins (bought in bulk on eBay) for trading
- pressed penny kits (for use on the Disney parks day of our last cruise)

Babies/toddlers:
- Disney character sippy cups
- Disney character tub toys
- Disney character bibs

Well… I hope people like playing cards, we still plan on doing that. I am also thinking of maybe a custom made fridge magnet saying March 28-31 Disney Dream 3 Night Bahamas Cruise or something for the door they can use on future Disney trips.

@TDF, both my boys were thrilled with all the playing cards. They like to play poker and blackjack. ((Should I be concerned??? )) I think they're a fine gift!

Great concept, but it just seems like a lot of work.

Yeah. It's sorta like any kind of exchange that you get involved in. Christmas gift exchanges can be a PITA but in the end they're worth it. It's fun. It adds another something to the cruise. We like to give gifts. For us, the fun is in the giving. Tracey & I enjoy the walking of all the decks to deliver our presents carrying great big bags of loot and a tumbler full of our choice drinky-drink. Here's the visual: 2 giggling wannabe Santa's fumbling their way down corridors trying to read lists and follow room numbers. It's fun!

Interesting visual. If it feels good, do it!

It's fun. I think the hubby likes it more than me. I will say, this last cruise I had everyone in the family lending a hand getting all those gifts ready. Hubby helped with a bit of the organization once onboard and acted almost like my little assistant when we had the big kick-off meet. I brought copies of the "the list" for everyone and distributed stateroom number changes. It was hectic but with his help wasn't so bad. For the future, tho, I think unless it's a small, tight group or all-family I won't do it again. I always say that then get signed up again..... LOL!

I think it would be much more interesting to see 2 giggling wannabe Santa's fumbling their way down corridors trying to read lists and follow room numbers after a successful mixology class.

Depending on the contents of the tumblers, the effect could be matched.