What is a Fish extender? This is an optional gift exchange similar to a secret Santa between a group of 10 cabins or so. It's called a fish extended because you hang your basket to gather gifts on your door's fish hook. This is not an activity organized by Disney, but cruise passengers, and it's very popular on Disney Cruises. So, how do you get involved in this gift exchange? If you want to connect with shipmates prior to your sailing you can find a Facebook group for your cruise by searching your ship name and sail date. Fish Extender groups are organized within these Facebook groups.
In order to participate you will need a hanging basket outside your stateroom door to collect your gifts. You can easily make an attractive hanger with a few items you can purchase off Amazon that aren't very expensive. As an added bonus, after your vacation, these hanging organizers can be repurposed and used for storage or organization at home!
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Here's how you can make your own fish extender hanging basket cheap and easy!
First start with a hanging organizer with pockets. I like this one because it's the perfect size to fit next to your cabin door and it has nice deep, sturdy pockets.
Next, personalize with iron on patches. It's a really good idea to add names. This will help shipmates in your fish extender group know they have the correct stateroom for your gifts. You can add your last name or the first names of the family members who are participating in the gift exchange. On mine I used one inch iron on letters for our last name. The one inch letters were a good size.
Once the letters are in place, you can embellish your project with character patches. I added my daughter's favorite Disney princesses. If you want a patch that will nicely fill outside space of the pocket, look for one 3 inches in diameter. Here are some you might like!
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