Going on a Disney cruise - some Pixie Dust ideas

We were recently lucky enough to take a short weekend Disney cruise which we booked last minute at a fantastic rate. It was quite hectic, as many of our fellow cruisers were first time Disney cruisers and were keen to see and do everything!

One of the things that we love about a Disney cruise is that there are so many ways to add some magical extras to the trip, for example with organised gift exchanges, magnet swaps and door decorating.

Something that really took off in the Facebook and WhatsApp groups for this particular cruise was Pixie Dust. Pixie Dust is a small and inexpensive gift given without the expectation of receiving anything in return. It can be placed inside the Fish Extender of a stateroom that you like the look of, or handed out in person on the ship. Sometimes a cruise group will set up a list of people that want to give and receive Pixie Dust, and some people prefer to gift at random.

We've given out lots of Pixie Dust on previous cruises, and I've also shared some Pixie Dust ideas for a Halloween cruise. Based on the Pixie Dust that we received on this cruise, I thought I'd share some of the things that went down particularly well!

How to package Pixie Dust

I am still working through my fabric stash, so I made lots of very simple drawstring bags. You can also use plastic bags, paper bags, wrap in paper or tissue paper, or just give out unwrapped. Some people put a lot of thought into the presentation of their items, with glitter, sequins and stickers.

Most people put a small note or gift tag with their cabin number. You don't have to do this, but it is probably a good idea to at least label it as Pixie Dust so that new cruisers aren't confused and think they have received something by mistake. 

Homemade Pixie Dust ideas

Magnets - this could be a simple laminated picture. In the past I've designed magnets which are specific to the cruise with destinations, flags, or a picture that I've taken of the ship. I've also made Hama bead Disney magnets which are really simple and fun.

Bookmarks - If you have a laminator these are really easy to make, just print out your designs, laminate, then add a ribbon.

Bracelets - Homemade bracelets are really easy and inexpensive to make and people love wearing them to remind them of their cruise.

Pirate Night themed Pixie Dust

If you are lucky enough to be sailing on a cruise with a themed Pirate Night then pirate themed gifts are a great idea! Some ideas - chocolate coins, temporary tattoos, glow sticks or bubbles for the deck party, plastic jewellery, inflatable cutlasses, eye patches.

Other Pixie Dust ideas

Sweets - This was probably the most popular Pixie Dust received by our family! Small packs of Haribo, Maoam bars or similar. Also small chocolates like chocolate coins or fun size bars. Just make sure that they are all individually wrapped.

Stickers - You can buy large packs of Disney or ocean themed stickers and add a few to each package.

Pens - There are lots of Disney themed pens available in multipacks that can be broken down for individual gifts. I always appreciate a nice pen!

Magnets - We received some lovely tiny Disney themed magnets, they were so sweet! You can often buy these in bulk and separate out.

Ducks - People love to hide ducks when cruising (that's a whole other topic!) and we were thrilled to receive a full size Belle duck and also some cute tiny plastic ducks.

Bubbles - There will probably be some kind of deck party on your cruise, for example a Pirate or Frozen themed party. Blowing bubbles is a great way to keep little ones entertained while you wait for the party to start. Just make sure to pack them securely!

Clothes pegs - This might sound an odd one, but one year we received a couple of Mickey Mouse clothes pegs and I love them, they always make me smile when I hang out the washing! I assume that they were part of a large set and given out a couple at a time.

Jewellery - I love any kind of inexpensive jewellery that I can wear on the cruise, on future cruises, and when I'm back home. I received a lovely mermaid ring and necklace which I wore on Pirate Night.

Patches - These can be sewn onto bags or hats as a reminder of the trip.

Pins - Official Disney pins would be an expensive and generous Pixie Dust gift, but you can also buy cheaper pins with a nautical or ocean theme which would make a lovely gift.

Temporary tattoos - These are always fun to apply and wear around the ship.

Reusable straws - I saw someone on our cruise giving these out and thought that this was a great idea as the paper straws supplied on board can be a little flimsy.

Keyrings - Again something that you can buy in bulk, we received some lovely glitter Mickey head keyrings in different colours.

Many of these items can be purchased in bulk from places like Amazon, AliExpress or Temu and can be very reasonable in terms of cost. And or course not everything has to be Disney themed - you could look for a nautical theme, an ocean theme, pirates and mermaids and so on.

I hope that you find some ideas to inspire you, and have fun joining in with Pixie Dust gifts on your next Disney cruise!

A fabric stash project - drawstring gift bags for a Disney cruise gift exchange

This year one of my goals is to make a dent in my fabric stash. I have lots of projects in mind, and this week I suddenly found a new opportunity to use up some more of my fabric! 

In a couple of months we are lucky enough to be going on a Disney cruise, and one thing that I love about Disney cruises is the Fish Extender gift exchange. It's an organised way of giving little gifts to families in other staterooms, and lots of people take part. You can find out details in the Facebook group for your cruise, and sign up with the commitment of giving gifts to a certain number of staterooms.

We went on a Halloween Disney cruise back in October 2019 and I went for it in a big way. We were in an exchange group of ten staterooms, and I also took part in an ornament exchange, a postcard exchange, and I made lots of smaller 'Pixie Dust' gifts which are given out at random. The exchange is called a Fish Extender after the long hanging pockets that people hang from the fish shaped hook outside their stateroom door - you can see how I made my Moana themed Fish Extender here. 

I really loved taking part but it took up a lot of suitcase space so this time I have scaled it back. We are in an exchange group with five other families, and I'm not doing any other exchanges although I have a few little things to give away as Pixie Dust.

I was trying to think of a better way of presenting my gifts than using plastic gift bags, and I remembered I had some London Underground themed fabric in my stash which would make perfect gift bags. It's fairly likely that most of the other people taking part will be from the US, and if not then they will be people that enjoy to travel, so I hope that they like the design. I had enough fabric to make up four of my five bags, and some colourful spotty fabric for the fifth bag.

My drawstring bag method is super simple. I just take a rectangle of fabric and sew a deep seam on the longest side to hold the ribbon. Then I turn the right sides together and sew around the sides, making sure to leave the ribbon seam free. I turn the bag the right way around and thread a length of  ribbon through for closing the bag (I also made quite a dent in my huge ribbon stash!)

I used some smaller leftovers of fabric to make tiny drawstring bags for Pixie Dust, along with a little tag to let people know where it came from. I had a collection of little Disney figurines which fit perfectly. The bags were a bit fiddly but were very quick to sew up. You can see some leftover anchor and pirate Mickey fabric from when I made Disney cruise themed scrunchies.

As for the gifts inside the bags I have tried my best to keep them small and light. Each person in the stateroom has an individual gift wrapped in tissue paper. I found some gorgeous Disney themed stationery on sale in Asda, there are also bags of Easter chocolates, pretty pens, keyrings, pin badges and small toys and games depending on the different ages.

Now I need to make sure that they arrive safely on the ship, and hope that the recipients are pleased with them!

The best things about visiting theme parks with older children

We've always taken the children to theme parks, and when they were young we did several holidays to Disney World in Florida, which were brilliant although hard work with toddlers. This summer we repeated the two week intensive Disney World holiday, two years later than planned, and it was such a difference travelling with our children now that they are older, aged 11 and 13!

* No more pushchairs! We had two on our previous visit, and although they are handy for stashing things it is a pain pushing it through crowds, finding somewhere to leave it while you go on a ride, and it slows you down. It was very freeing to be without it.

* Longer legs and more stamina means they can walk longer distances, spend longer in the parks and get more done. 

* Visits to the toilet are uncomplicated! You don't need to worry about finding somewhere to change a nappy, and they know when they need to go so you don't have to constantly nag.

* You have some help carrying the bag, or at least they can be responsible for their own small bag or bum bag with essentials like phones and snacks.

* They understand about needing to queue for a ride and won't make a fuss. They are also able to keep themselves entertained while waiting, especially if they have the aforementioned phones close by.  

* They can sit quietly for a show or longer attraction, even if they aren't really that interested. Once I had to take a screaming Mia out of the Carousel of Progress show which is a revolving theatre attraction and probably shouldn't be exited at any point!

* They are much more likely to go on the faster or scarier attractions, but if they don't fancy it they can wait for you at the exit, ideally taking charge of your larger bags while you ride. 

* They can help with the planning so they can do the things that they want to as well as being understanding about doing things for others.

* You can take them in the souvenir shops safely without them wanting everything and making a fuss when they don't get it!

* They understand the importance of an afternoon nap or chill time and they are able to stay up later in the evenings. For the first time this visit we were able to see the Electrical Water Pageant which happens on the lake around the time the park closes - we were never able to keep them up late enough before! We also saw all the firework displays several times because they weren't too tired to stay up and wait.

It was definitely a different trip to our previous visits, and I think that we all got a lot more out of it!

Coping with theme parks in the Florida heat

This August we had a brilliant couple of weeks in Florida doing the Disney theme parks. We've not been in August before and I wasn't quite prepared for how intense the heat would be. It was hard work, but we managed, and so I thought I'd share some tips which made it more bearable:

Apply plenty of sun cream and take a bottle with you for top ups.

Drink plenty of water. I found that I was sweating constantly and you need to be drinking almost constantly to keep up with the rate of water lost. There are plenty of water fountains and at Disney World parks you can get free iced water from most of the quick service dining locations.

Likewise eat plenty of snacks. You are allowed to take your own food and drink into the Disney theme parks (with a very few restrictions - check the park websites for the latest guidance). I'm not a nutritional expert but I'm assuming that a snack like crisps might replace some of the salts that you have lost through sweating.

Wear loose and comfortable clothing, avoid dark colours and high necklines. If you feel too body conscious to even think about wearing shorts then there's no need, there are honestly people of all shapes and sizes in the theme parks. But I wouldn't recommend skirts unless you aren't planning on going on any of the faster rides!

Wear comfortable footwear, an important tip for theme parks regardless. I bought a pair of Teva sandals which were really comfy and were great for rides where my feet got wet, as well as during the frequent Florida storms.

Take and use hats and sunglasses. If you are a glasses wearer it can be a pain to keep swapping between normal glasses and prescription sunglasses as you move from indoor to outdoor spaces. My son gets round this by taking a large pair of non-prescription sunglasses that he puts on over the top of his normal glasses!

We bought some cooling towels and they were brilliant, and you can buy a set of four for £10-£15. They are small, light pieces of fabric which you wet under a tap or at a water fountain, wring loosely to dry, and then wrap around your neck. I liked to use mine to dampen my arms, legs and face and make the most of any slight breeze on my wet skin to cool down.

We also saw lots of people with cooling fans which I was quite envious of. Some people even had fans which looped around their necks, and a fan is also great to direct at a child sitting in a pushchair. Some people had umbrellas for shade, which are also useful for the frequent downpours.

There are plenty of indoor, air-conditioned attractions and it's definitely worth saving these for the hottest parts of the day. Even the outdoor theatres are usually undercover with fans, and are a great place to sit and have a snack if you are early for a show. You can also sit down and rest while waiting for a parade or the evening fireworks. You might want to bring a small mat to sit on but I always felt comfortable sitting on the ground. 

You can also duck into one of the shops. When walking down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom we often walked some of the way through the shops on either side which are all connected.

It's also fun to go on a water ride. The wettest ride in all the parks is Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom which will leave you soaked. You also get pretty wet on Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean at the Magic Kingdom. Keep an eye out for fountains - there's a spitting camel next to The Magic Carpets of Aladdin at Magic Kingdom, and the ride itself can be steered through a water spray. At Epcot there are some fantastic jumping fountains that you can use to cool down in.

But by far my biggest tip would be to simply avoid the parks during the hottest part of the day as much as you can. We planned our days to arrive just before the park opened and keep going until lunchtime, often finishing the morning with an ice cream to cool us down before the long walk back to the car. Then we returned to our accommodation for some lunch, a visit to the pool and then a nap or quiet time. We went back to the parks anytime from 4pm and stayed until late in the evening. It was still hot in the evening, but once the sun has gone down it makes a big different to comfort levels.

Finally the most important thing is to keep a careful eye out for the signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke for all members of your party. If anyone starts to feel unwell then you need to find a cool, shaded spot, have a rest and make sure to drink plenty of water. There are first aid stations throughout the parks and any cast member can help you find medical assistance.

What's special about a Disney Halloween on the High Seas cruise?

We recently returned from a Halloween on the High Seas Disney cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy, and I thought I'd share a little bit about the extra events and activities that brought the magic of Halloween to life on board.

Decorations on the ship and in the corridors

The ship was beautifully decorated for Halloween, mainly in the Atrium which is where you enter as you board. The Atrium was dominated by the Pumpkin Tree, along with pumpkin themed decorations hung from the balcony and pumpkin stickers on the large portholes. When we boarded, the Pumpkin Tree already had pumpkins hanging from it and it didn't change in appearance at all throughout the cruise, as I've heard that it did in the past.

The majority of the Halloween decorations on the ship however were provided by our fellow cruisers, and people really got into the spirit of Halloween when it came to decorating their stateroom doors. I gave out a lot of small gifts over the course of the cruise, and it was great fun to go delivering around the corridors and see how creative some people had been, it's definitely worth taking yourself off for a wander if you find yourself on a Disney cruise ship!

I forgot to take a photo of my absolute favourite door, which featured loads of Hama bead bat magnets, placed all over the surrounding walls and ceilings! You'll notice that many of the doors have a decorated hanger placed outside them - these are called Fish Extenders and are a part of an organised gift exchange between passengers. We took part for the first time and received some really lovely gifts, including many that had a Halloween theme.

Lots of cabins also had a treat holder outside which people had filled with lollipops, glow stickers or pencils. We even found one generous person that had filled their entire fish extender with candy, along with a note saying to help yourself!

For decorating the inside of your stateroom, Disney sell a range of themed decor packs, including a Halloween package, which you can purchase in advance so that it is set up in your room when you arrive. The packs vary year by year and I think it's only available to view and book if you already have a reservation, but it seems to include a blanket, trick or treat bag, a cushion, and various magnetic hanging decorations that are yours to keep and take home with you.

On the Halloween celebration day we also found several small plastic insects hidden around the ship, although it's very possible that they had been put there by a fellow passenger!

Halloween themed shows

 

Every day the ship publishes a daily Navigator, a sheet of paper which details all the shows and events taking part this day. This used to be delivered to your stateroom every evening, but is now only available to pick up at Guest Services as the information can be found in the app.

I still like to have the paper copy though, as it makes it easier to look through and I like to keep it, so we made sure to pick one up each day. All the Halloween events were highlighted in orange, and although the majority of them took place on the designated Halloween day there were a few other things spread out over the cruise.

On our first evening we went to the Pumpkin Tree show in the Atrium. There was only one show which took place between dinner seatings, and unfortunately as our early seating dinner took longer than we had expected (it was my birthday and they promised to bring out a cake and sing to me, but they took ages to get to me!) we weren't able to get a good position and couldn't really see what was going on. So if this is important to you make sure that you arrive early! There was some kind of spooky story about the tree, and it finished with the lights in the pumpkins being turned on and some Halloween confetti.

On the designated Halloween day, which for us was a port day, Mickey's Mouse-Querade Party took place in the Atrium. The show took place twice to fit around the two dinner seatings, with an early show and a later show. It was very busy again, and featured appearances by Mickey and friends in their Halloween outfits, along with singing and dancing.

On that day, the main evening entertainment was a special screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing & Scream, again with two showings to fit around dinner. The film was shown in the large theatre, with subtitles for the songs so that you could sing along, together with special effects like smoke, lights and snow.

A few days later, late at night was a Haunted Stories of the Seas event on deck, but this was quite late for our little ones (10.15pm). My husband and oldest went along for a few minutes, but as far as I understood it, it was just a recorded video played on the large screen.

Trick or treating and dressing up

People began to put on their Halloween costumes during the afternoon, especially as there were lots of chances to have photographs taken with characters while dressed up. Trick or treating took place around the Atrium twice, during the Mickey's Mouse-Querade party and timed to fit in with dinner seatings.

There were about six trick or treat stations, with bags provided at each one, and adults were welcome to take part too. Cast members hand out the candy, usually several pieces at a time. It was a little chaotic to be honest, the stations got very busy and sometimes it could be difficult to work out where the end of the line was - it would have been better to spread them out around the ship a bit. However we still managed to pick up a decent amount of good quality candy!

Taking part in the trick or treating did mean that we missed quite a lot of the live show, or at least we couldn't get a decent position to see it, so you need to make a choice as to which is more important to your family. And if you are early seating like us, try and get out early from dinner and you could even go trick or treating twice! It's a lot of fun to see all the different costumes. Later on in the evening was an adult costume contest, and many people had gone to a huge amount of effort with their costumes, mainly Disney themed but some more spooky.

Additional special Halloween activities

During the Halloween themed day there were lots of different Halloween activities taking place around the ship. Some of these were in the kids club so for children only, but there were also some family crafts, along with themed trivia and karaoke sessions.

Halloween character appearances

During the Halloween celebration, the main characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Donald, Pluto) appeared in their Halloween costumes, and there were several opportunities through the afternoon and evening to see them and take photographs. There was also the opportunity to meet Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas after the screening of the film. This wasn't advertised in the Navigator but it was very busy, unfortunately after the late show we weren't able to keep the children up long enough to wait in line for them. If you really want to see them, perhaps try and time your visit for the end of the first showing, before people have started to come out the theatre.

The photograph below was taken on our own phone and came out really well, so definitely make sure that you had your phone to a cast member if you want a photo. They are more than happy to take one for you, and it may save you some money on the photo package.

Along with the Halloween themed day, we still had Pirate Night and the fireworks on a different day, which as far as I know takes place on all Disney cruises except those in Alaska and Europe (where it's replaced with a Frozen themed night, without fireworks).

I hope that this information was helpful if you are planning a Halloween on the High Seas themed cruise! This was our first experience of a themed Disney cruise, and it really did add lots of fun to the cruise. Next time I would love to try a Christmas themed cruise, if only we could fit it in around the school holidays!

Crafting for a Halloween Disney cruise

This year we are lucky enough to be enjoying a themed Disney Cruise - Halloween on the High Seas! These Halloween cruises take place each year across the Disney cruise ships over the Halloween period. There will various live shows and entertainment on board, along with some trick or treating, and although we've experienced a Disney themed Halloween before at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and at Disneyland Hong Kong for Halloween, this will be our first themed cruise.

I've written before about how much I have enjoyed crafting for this Disney cruise. Disney cruise line is definitely set well apart from other cruise lines when it comes to decorating stateroom doors or organising gift exchanges with your fellow passengers, and I've had a lot of fun entering into the spirit of it all. I've tried to make a special effort by putting a Halloween twist onto the things that I've made, and so I thought I'd share them here in once place.

Related post - Disney Halloween cruise pixie dust ideas

I'm planning to distribute lots of Pixie Dust on this cruise. Pixie Dust is a small gift which is given out to fellow cruisers without the expectation of receiving something in return. I started by making these little magnets. Each one measures about 6cm across and I came up with the designs myself. I used the Halloween on The High Seas logo and added the ship name and cruise month. They are printed on glossy paper, cut out and then laminated, with a small magnet glued to the back. I'll be going around with the children and sticking these on to random doors.

I used similar graphics to make these laminated Halloween on the High Seas bookmarks. Again they feature the logo, the ship name and dates. Then I punched a hole in the top and threaded through some orange and black ribbon, knotted in place and secured with a blob of glue. Some of these will be given as gifts to specific families, others will be handed out to random staterooms.

I've never really got into Disney pin trading, which is a very popular hobby. However on our last cruise I did take a few pins along and enjoyed swapping them with people that had created a pin trading board to hang outside their stateroom door. I was inspired to create my own and came up with this fabric Disney pin trading board. The fabric means that is quite light, so it should hang easily on the front of the door, even with the weight of the pins. I've added Halloween ribbons and pumpkins, but these could be removed if we are lucky enough to enjoy a different cruise in the future. Although the fabric isn't a Disney print, I think that the subdued tones match the Halloween theme quite well.

It works on an honesty system so I won't leave too many pins out at once and I may bring it in overnight - hopefully people will enter into the spirit of it fairly and won't take a pin without leaving one!

I used some similar fabric to make this pencil and treat holder. I stocked up on Halloween themed pencils in the sales last year, but the holder can also be used for lollipops, glow sticks, straws, or any kind of candy that is long and thin. I hope that people have fun choosing something to take!

I can't wait until our cruise, and having all this crafting to keep me busy has certainly helped me to enjoy the long wait that we've had!

Related post - Crafting for a Disney cruise

Hama bead Disney magnets - ideal Fish Extender gifts

Later this year we will be setting off on our fourth Disney cruise and I can't wait! Each time we've cruised with Disney we have taken part in a little more of the magic on board, and now for the first time I've signed us up for a Fish Extender gift exchange as well as a couple of other exchanges. As part of a Fish Extender gift exchange you swap small gifts as part of an organised group. The gifts can be bought or homemade, Disney themed or not, and are a way of adding a little extra magic to your cruise.

Related post - Our Disney cruise - Adding some magical extras

I designed some Hama or Perler bead magnets to use as part of a cabin gift, or they could also be used for a dedicated magnet exchange. They are really easy to make! I made them with three different designs, two are my own photos from a previous cruise on this ship and the third is the Halloween on the High Seas logo, as we are cruising on a Halloween sailing.

If you want to take part in a similar exchange on your Disney cruise you can find the details on your dedicated cruise Facebook page - just search for your ship name and dates and ask to join. Read on to see how I made these simple Fish Extender magnets!

Related post - A Disney Cruise Fish Extender with a Moana theme

To make these Disney themed Hama bead magnets you need a circular Hama bead pegboard (either the small board or the large board will work) and a selection of Hama beads. My design uses 23 black beads, 17 red beads and 2 yellow beads. You also need a picture to use for the frame, printed on sturdy paper or card if possible, as well as some magnets for the back.

When placing the beads on the circular pegboard make sure to line the beads up correctly - you want to position the board so that the centre line of pegs is horizontal, and it's easiest to start by placing the black Hama beads along that line.

Here is the design that I used:

Iron the beads on both sides so that you have a nice solid frame. Of course you can adjust the size of the frame if you want to make them a little larger - these measure about 4.5 cm in total diameter and the inner circle has a diameter of about 2.5 cm. It might be nice to make one larger frame which the recipient could use to display their own photo.

Related post - Hama bead ironing tips

Cut out your printed inner design so that it is slightly larger than the hole in the middle of the frame.

Then glue the picture to the back of the frame. It's worth having a quick look at each frame and deciding on the side that you want to face outwards, as sometimes the ironing process can distort the beads. Leave the magnets to dry fully.

Then you can apply a magnet to the back of each frame. I bought some strong small magnets (affiliate link) to glue to the back. These magnets are very strong, so you'll need to use a strong glue like super glue to stick them down. I learned that it was necessary to glue the magnets towards the top so that they are behind the part made from Hama beads, otherwise the paper might not be strong enough when you try to pull the magnet away from your magnetic surface! Also wait until the glue has dried completely before you test them. Try out a few different magnets, and if you do find that your magnets are too strong then you can use magnetic tape instead.

These magnets will form part of a cabin gift for each stateroom taking part in our Fish Extender exchange. Each cabin will receive one each of the three different designs, along with a Disney themed Christmas ornament.

Related post - Disney Cruise Ornament Exchange idea - Felt Christmas stockings

I really enjoyed making these magnets and I think they turned out well! It's making me even more excited for our cruise, even though we still have several months to go yet - it's definitely a way of making that Disney magic stretch a little bit further as the anticipation builds!

Related post - Disney Cruise craft ideas

I hope that the recipients like them!

Disney Cruise craft ideas

One of the things that I love about cruising with Disney is how you can add some magical extras to your cruise. Preparing for the cruise is also a great way to show off your crafty side. Here I'll be sharing some of the crafty things that I've made for our Disney cruises which have been used as part of the Fish Extender gift exchanges and also to give out as random Pixie Dust. They are all rounded up here in case anyone is looking for inspiration, and I will be adding to it as I come up with more ideas!

The largest thing that I've made for our Disney cruise is our actual Fish Extender. This is a hanging organiser with pockets which is hung outside the stateroom door. It's used for the organised gift exchange, where you swap gifts as part of a group with your fellow cruisers. To make it I made front pieces from felt for each of us. It has a Moana theme, with progression from under the sea to the sky and a line from the song embroidered onto each pocket.

As well as signing up for a Fish Extender gift exchange I've also signed up for ornament exchanges. This is an exchange to swap Christmas ornaments amongst a group of cruisers. They can be Disney themed, cruised themed, be themed to where you live or have no theme. For our first I decided to make some mini felt stockings. Many of our fellow cruisers were from the US so I added a small Cadbury's chocolate bar inside each one, then I packaged them in a Christmas themed bag with some Mickey Mouse head confetti and Christmas ribbon.

Another idea for a Disney themed ornament is some Mickey Mouse hand felt decorations. I was inspired by Geeky McGeekerson to use up some scraps of white and black felt along with ribbon and stuffing to make these little hanging hands. These were used to give out as random Pixie Dust on my next Disney cruise.

I loved making these Hama bead Disney cruise magnets which formed part of my cabin gifts. Each stateroom in my group received a set of three different magnets which are made using a Hama bead frame and a glossy picture of either the ship or the Halloween on the High Seas logo.

A lot of people enjoy trading pins with people via boards on their stateroom doors, so I made a fabric hanging pin trading board for our own door. I bought a bulk lot of Disney trading pins from eBay, some to use as Fish Extender gifts and the others to be left on the door for people to trade. Obviously there is a risk involved with this, I hope that most people at least will leave a pin in return if they take one! This was designed for a Halloween cruise, hence the pumpkin theming!

Finally another way to share treats with fellow cruisers is with a hanging treat holder. The thin fabric pockets can be used to hold lollipops, pencils, glow sticks...and I also had some plastic spiders that I hung from the pencils. I found that it did empty out very quickly so if you want to do this be prepared to bring lots of treats with you if you want it to last! 

Another type of cruise magnet that I have made are these very simple laminated magnets which we distributed on doors all around the ship. 

You can find some more Disney cruise crafting ideas in my post filled with Halloween Disney cruise Pixie Dust ideas. 

A Fish Extender for a Disney Cruise with a Moana theme

On our Disney cruise later this year, for the first time I've signed up to take part in a Fish Extender gift exchange. This is a fun organised exchange of small gifts that takes place on a Disney cruise, and is usually organised through the Facebook group for your sailing. We'll be placed in a group with a number of other families and will exchange gifts with them, either one gift for the cabin or individual gifts per person. I won't get my final group details for a few months yet so it's too early for me to be thinking about what gifts to give, so I decided to concentrate on making the actual Fish Extender which will hang outside our stateroom door.

I didn't feel up to making my Fish Extender from scratch, so I purchased this Four pocket hanging organiser (affiliate link) from Amazon to decorate. After consultation with the children we decided to go with a Moana theme, and this is what I came up with!

For each of the four pockets I made a felt front piece. My concept is that Mia's pocket is under the sea, and Harry's pocket represents the waves on the surface of the sea. My pocket is the beach, and Ram's pocket is the sky. Each pocket has a line from the song embroidered on it - "See the line, where the sky, meets the sea, it calls me". To embroider the text I traced it from my computer screen onto tissue paper, sewed over the paper on the felt, then removed the tissue paper to leave the embroidery. It's a bit wobbly, but I think that it works! All the other pieces are cut from felt and stitched in place.

Here are the four completed panels. I also used some beads for the coral on Mia and a couple of felt stickers. I used spray adhesive to stick the panels to the organiser, with a little bit of fabric glue down the edges to make sure it was all firmly in place.

It turned out quite a bit larger than I was expecting, but I've checked the measurements and it should still fit. I've used Halloween ribbon to hang it as we are going on a Halloween on the High Seas cruise, and I'm also going to add a few Halloween embellishments to it before we go. I have some Halloween tinsel that I can tack around the edge, and some large pumpkin stickers. 

I had a lot of fun making it!

I love having an upcoming cruise that I can craft for, and I'm busy researching ideas for things that I can make as actual Fish Extender gifts!

You might also like to see some of the other crafts that I've been working on ahead of our cruise:

A fabric pin trading board

A lollipop and other treat holder

Felt Disney Christmas stocking ornaments

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Pencil and treat holder for a Disney cruise stateroom door

Last week I shared the fabric Disney pin trading board that I made for our upcoming Disney cruise. This is just one of several crafts that I have in mind to add a little more fun to our Disney cruise, and this week I finished off another - a pencil and treat holder for our stateroom door!

We are sailing on a Halloween themed cruise, and while we were in the US last year I stocked up on some Halloween treats that I intended to use as Pixie Dust - little gifts to hand out to other travellers. But then I spotted some treat holders online and decided that I'd like to make my own to share some of the treats via our door for passers by to grab!

The treat holder was very simple to make. I made a backing strip from black fabric which had a layer of interfacing inside to make it a little stiffer. Then I used a second strip of fabric (or you could use thick ribbon) and sewed it to the black background using a series of rows of stitches, each one about 1.5cm apart. This makes loops of narrow pockets (mine has 17) which you can use to hold all sorts of things. It's attached to the door with a ribbon loop over a strong magnetic hook (I really hope that mine is strong enough!), as all door decorations need to be magnetic.

Many people use these holders to hold lollipops, but they can also be used for pencils, glow stickers, candy canes, reusable straws or long thin candy. Because we are flying in for our cruise I wanted to use something small and light so I'm mainly going to use pencils, but if we are able to stop at a supermarket before we board I may buy a big bag of lollies too. I also have lots of little plastic spiders which I can hang from a strip of lace at the bottom or from the pencils themselves.

I've not done this before so I've no idea how popular it will be! I hope that everything doesn't disappear within the first day - if it starts to go quickly I might bring it inside for a day or two to restock. If I'm left with anything I'll pop it into the Fish Extender pockets on people's doors on the last sea day of the cruise, as I don't want to be bringing them home with me.

Like the pin trading board my hanger has a Halloween theme as we are taking a Halloween on the High Seas cruise. But it can easily be changed to suit any season by adding some different stickers and ribbon so I can use it again on any future cruises that I'm lucky enough to take!

You can read about more ways to add some magical extras to a Disney cruise here!

Homemade fabric Disney pin trading board for a Disney Cruise stateroom door

We are very lucky to be going on a Disney cruise later this year. We'll be sailing on the Disney Fantasy around the Caribbean on a Halloween themed cruise, which also coincides very nicely with a big birthday for me.

I've written before about some of the ways that you can add some magical extras to a Disney cruise, and I'm determined to join in with as much on this cruise as I can. I've already signed up for an ornament exchange, a postcard exchange, and the main Fish Extender gift exchange, and I also decided to make a pin trading board to hang on our stateroom door.

I must confess that I know very little about Disney pin trading. I received a few pins as part of a brand collaboration several years ago which I took with us on our last cruise. The children and I had such fun looking out for pin trading boards outside staterooms and choosing which pins to swap that I was really keen to do this again.

Disney trading pins can be very expensive to buy new, but I bought a bundle on eBay of 25 for £18 including postage which I thought wasn't too bad. Many of these pins I'm going to use as part of my Fish Extender gifts, but depending on my group there will be some left to leave on the board. Of course there is an element of trust to this activity - I just hope that we end up with about as many pins as we started with!

My pin trading board is made from fabric because that makes it easy to add and remove pins, and will hopefully be light enough to hang easily from a strong magnetic hook - all door and room decorations on the ship must only be held in place with magnets. I made a separate backing piece from the black fabric, which also has a layer of interfacing in the middle to give it some stiffness. There is a separate panel made from the patterned fabric which is stitched to the front, then I sewed a wooden skewer across the top to help it keep its shape and tied some ribbon to make a hanging hook. The Pin Trading signs are laminated and glued on.

Because it's a Halloween themed cruise I added some foam pumpkin stickers and Halloween ribbon, which can easily be replaced if we are lucky enough to want to reuse it for a cruise at a different time of year.

I do love having an upcoming holiday that I can craft for! I'm also intending to sew some sort of hanging holder where I can leave small gifts like pencils and lollipops for people to take as they go past, as well as the actual Fish Extender itself which is a multi-pocketed hanger that members of our gift exchange can use to leave our gifts. It's going to have a Moana theme with a few Halloween touches - I'll share it when it's finished!

Disney cruise ornament exchange idea - felt Christmas stockings

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We love cruising with Disney, and something that makes a Disney cruise stand out compared to other cruise lines is the variety of fun magical activities that you can sign up to with other cruisers. I've written before about how you can add some fun extras to a Disney cruise, and for our upcoming cruise late next year I'm planning on joining in with as much as I can.

One of the first things that I've signed up for is the Ornament Exchange. I'll be placed in a group with 10-15 other cabins, and at some point over the cruise we will deliver a Christmas ornament to each cabin and hopefully receive some back in return. Our ornament exchange has no particular rules - the ornaments can be Disney themed, cruise themed, or just a general Christmas ornament - and they can be shop bought or handmade. Even though our cruise is many months away yet, I couldn't wait to get started on making some ornaments to gift. I thought I'd show you my felt Christmas stocking ornaments with a Disney theme, in case you are looking for some Disney Christmas craft inspiration!

The decorations were very easy to make. First I found a plain stocking template online which I traced and cut out from plain paper and used to cut out my felt shapes. There are three elements - the main stocking piece, the top and the Mickey Mouse head. I had some sparkly snowflake white felt which I used for the front stocking top, with plain white for the back. Some of the stockings use red felt, some use burgundy felt, and I used black felt for the Mickey heads.

I began by sewing the two sides of the stocking together using blanket stitch, which is easy to do and gives the edges a nice finish. If you need some help with the stitch I found this great video from Red Ted Art - How to sew Blanket Stitch. Then I used a larger needle to thread some thick cotton thread through the top corner for hanging the ornament.

The top white pieces and the Mickey Mouse head are just glued on to the stocking. You can use any fabric glue or a glue gun. Gluing the white top pieces on last covers up the knot made by threading the hanging cotton through, and you can press them down at the sides to create a neat finish.

To finish off the stockings I added a couple of charms which I sewed into the top corner. I used a small anchor charm to represent the cruise (affiliate link) and a small year charm to show the year, so hopefully it will remind the recipients of their Disney cruise for years to come.

The stockings are designed to hold a small chocolate bar which will form part of the gift. I'm expecting that the majority of our fellow cruisers will be from outside the UK, so I decided to include a small Cadbury's chocolate bar which fits nicely inside the stocking. I packaged them in some Christmas cellophane bags (affiliate link) tied with ribbon. The gift tag is made from a Disney Princess Christmas card. I hope that the recipients like them!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.