Want to participate in a Disney Cruise gift exchange but not sure what to get? Here's a peek at my selection and lots of fish extender ideas for kids!
We recently went on a Disney cruise - on the Treasure ship - and participated in a kids-only Fish Extender gift exchange.
I went way over the top, surprise surprise, but I want to share the goodie bags I made for the kids in our group!
What is a fish extender exchange?
Fish Extender refers to the fish-shaped hooks that hang outside of staterooms on the original class of Disney cruiseline ships. Newer ships have different designs, but the name stuck.
To participate in a fish extender exchange, hang a bag or hanger from the hook outside your room. This is where people can leave gifts.
You can use a tote bag of any sort, or invest in a sectioned-off hanger with multiple pockets if you want family members to be able to get unique gifts.
If you just hang a bag outside your room, you are likely to receive small gifts, known as Pixie Dust.
See all of my Pixie Dust ideas!
If you want to do a larger gift exchange, you will need to sign up for it in advance. These are often arranged on Facebook.
Search for the name of your ship and dates of your sailing, find the group, and then look for a Fish Extender sign up.
You might be able to sign up for different categories such as individual, full cabin, kids only, magnet exchange, recipe exchange, and more.
Different exchanges have different expectations. Be very clear on yours before you sign up!
On our first cruise, we did a family exchange. That was OK, but I learned that I don't really enjoy buying random gifts for stranger adults, and I got no joy out of receiving them either.
This time we signed up for the kids-only exchanges (plus a magnet swap!) My kids really enjoy it and that was enough for me!
Fish Extender Ideas for Kids
For this exchange, my kids were each in a group with similar aged kids. My 4 year old daughter had a group of 5 4-5 year olds and my 6 year old son was in a group of 6 6-7 year olds.
Since they are so close in age, we actually grouped them together and I let my son pick gifts for the boys and daughter pick gifts for the girls.
We made a goodie bag for each based on their interests - as indicated on their Fish Extender sign up form!
Each kid got:
- A re-usable goodie bag (Villains theme, I loved these!)
- Light up LED wand (for deck parties)
- Wooden star wand (my husband made the stars on his laser cutter, drilled to add a dowel, I painted gold and added rainbow ribbon!)
- A pack of Stitch gummies
- A handwritten card from my kiddos
The boys each got a mini lego set replica of our ship!
The girls each got a minnie mouse purse.
Finally, we gave each kid a toy based on their favorite Disney character. This might have been a little over the top - but I got great deals on most of these!
- Elsa
- Moana
- Belle
- Minnie
- Nemo
- Angel (pink Stitch)
- Spiderman Spider
- Grogu
- Lightning McQueen
- BB8
- Syndrome
Note: the 2 biggest splurges - the big Ty Belle and Syndrome action figures were for my own kids, lol. They picked them out. I am a sucker for them!
We also did - for the 2nd cruise because it was a hit last time - pirate goodie bags, too! We passed these out the night before pirate night for a little mid-cruise surprise!
The pirate goodie bags include:
- Hat, eyepatch, and inflatable sword from this set
- Pirate tattoos
- Wrapped up in this cellophane bag, tied with a ribbon
Read all about my Pirate goodie bags!
So, how much did this cost? Here's my total spend:
| EACH | TOTAL | |
| Reusable bags | $1.33 | 15.99 |
| LED wand (had on hand, leftover from party) | $0.00 | |
| wood wand (made from scrap) | $0.00 | |
| rainbow ribbon | $1.36 | $14.99 |
| Stitch gummies | $0.25 | $5.00 |
| Mouse purses | $4.99 | $29.94 |
| Lego sets | $6.99 | $34.95 |
| Syndrome* for my son | $13.99 | $13.99 |
| Lightning mcqueen | $12.99 | $12.99 |
| BB8 | $11.49 | $11.49 |
| Grogu | $6.44 | $6.44 |
| Spiderman | $4.39 | $4.39 |
| Moana | $6.70 | $6.70 |
| Elsa | $9.22 | $9.22 |
| Minnie | $3.57 | $3.57 |
| Angel | $2.47 | $2.47 |
| Belle* for my daughter | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Nemo | $5.55 | $5.55 |
| Pirate set | $1.67 | $19.99 |
| Pirate tattoos | $0.28 | $6.79 |
| Celephane bags | $0.06 | $0.69 |
| TOTAL | $215.14 | |
| Average per bag | $19.56 |
My goal was about $20 per bag, and I hit that almost exactly all-in including packaging.
The only thing not included here was the scraps to make the wands, the light up wands we had left over from this class halloween gift (I bought a HUGE pack last year and these were just in the cabinet) and the craft supplies used to make the cards.
This is including my 2 "splurge" gifts on my own kids! So the real average is even a bit lower, thanks to shopping Prime Day sale for a lot of stuff + Ali Express way in advance for the stuffies.
We had so much fun doing these Fish Extender gifts - and will definitely do them again if we do another cruise!
Thanks for reading!
Hey there, I'm Morgan, the creative mind behind CelebratingWithKids.com! As a parent of two lively little ones, I've made it my mission to turn ordinary days into extraordinary adventures, sharing playful activities, thoughtful toy reviews, and delightful printables to help families celebrate every moment together. 🎉👨👩👧👦🎈
