Msmit002
Family Concierge
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2012
Oh... that FE FB Group.... Never have I seen more petty nonsense than that group. The FE thing is designed to be a fun little gift exchange. A little bit of Pixie Dust, if you will. Not a competition on who is more crafty/original/well off but you would never know it based on that group of grumpy grouses.
Is it work? Yes. But, if it is work you enjoy, then have fun with it. But remember this is just like giving gifts for any other occasion: if you are giving to get then you have missed the entire point of what 'gifting' is all about. Clearly these other folks on the FB FE group have lost slight of this and, quite frankly, I feel bad for them because it is quite likely a glimpse of their personal life and every holiday their friends and family have to endure.
My first Disney cruise, we didn't do the FE. I was already overwhelmed by cruising on a new and different cruise line with our young son and we were fine. Our second cruise, we participated. It was fun mostly because we went in with absolutely NO expectations and it was fun to get to know the ship by delivering our 10 little bags of tchotchkes from our home state. We got some really neat little things and my son thought it was super cool to get little surprises throughout the cruise. There are a few things we STILL have and use now 4 years after that cruise. This upcoming cruise, it is just DH and I and I decide to participate again because I have gotten to 'know' the folks on my sailing through our little FB group and they all seem genuinely nice and a great group to be around and have fun with and I feel like I WANT to give a little something to these folks.
But, it is a little work before and during your cruise and there is cost involved (no matter how small you decide to go) and yes, you do have to worry about transporting not only your gifts to give (I just ship a box to my embarkation port hotel) but also the gifts you receive. But by no means is it mandatory nor do you have to even join an organized group if all you want to do is pixie dust your kids. I've seen folks put out a hanger and then just drop stuff in for their kids at whatever interval they set. I don't quite get this one myself, but I also don't understand all of the brouhaha behind this Elf on the Shelf thing, so there you go.
Is it work? Yes. But, if it is work you enjoy, then have fun with it. But remember this is just like giving gifts for any other occasion: if you are giving to get then you have missed the entire point of what 'gifting' is all about. Clearly these other folks on the FB FE group have lost slight of this and, quite frankly, I feel bad for them because it is quite likely a glimpse of their personal life and every holiday their friends and family have to endure.
My first Disney cruise, we didn't do the FE. I was already overwhelmed by cruising on a new and different cruise line with our young son and we were fine. Our second cruise, we participated. It was fun mostly because we went in with absolutely NO expectations and it was fun to get to know the ship by delivering our 10 little bags of tchotchkes from our home state. We got some really neat little things and my son thought it was super cool to get little surprises throughout the cruise. There are a few things we STILL have and use now 4 years after that cruise. This upcoming cruise, it is just DH and I and I decide to participate again because I have gotten to 'know' the folks on my sailing through our little FB group and they all seem genuinely nice and a great group to be around and have fun with and I feel like I WANT to give a little something to these folks.
But, it is a little work before and during your cruise and there is cost involved (no matter how small you decide to go) and yes, you do have to worry about transporting not only your gifts to give (I just ship a box to my embarkation port hotel) but also the gifts you receive. But by no means is it mandatory nor do you have to even join an organized group if all you want to do is pixie dust your kids. I've seen folks put out a hanger and then just drop stuff in for their kids at whatever interval they set. I don't quite get this one myself, but I also don't understand all of the brouhaha behind this Elf on the Shelf thing, so there you go.