MouseFest 2005: Kids Gift Exchange Meet 12/2 at 8:30p

[JustJan]

I know we are doing the adult version of the Holiday Gift game on 12 - 2 at 9:00 pm at the WL.

Since we have a good number of kids now "Tag" ing along, I wondered if anyone would be interested in a Kids version of the game. I checked with the adult game hosts, Christine and SusanL, and they thought it would be okay. we could do this at 8:30 pm or so at the WL so it would be right before the adult game.

I thought we could do this one of two ways - we can have each child just select a wrapped gift (no exchanging) or we could do like a Secret Santa (draw names and buy something for that person). We also have at least 2 December kid birthdays and I thought we could have a cake / treat little party along with this.

So we still have lots of time - let me know if you (your child) would be interested, and we can decide the details later!

Also - if anyone wants to co-host with me (a total newbie) that would be great as well!

Edited by Tagrel: MouseFestized!

Thanks everyone!

EDITED to Add - I think we will do the Secret Santa type game - with a Disneyfied Name - for the kids so parents - think of some ideas that your kids would enjoy and as we get closer - we will "draw" names and figure that out!
Here is who is Playing!

John - age 7 (8th birthday 12/6) - (JustJan)
Brinn and Maddy - ages 9 and 7(birthday that day) - (Tagrel)
Tyler - almost 2 (birthday 1/1) - (Carrie)
Morgan - age 8 - (Carrie's niece)
Mik - age 7 - (Belle)
Naomi and Ethan - ages 10 and 6 - (LimeGreenCheri)
Nicholas - age 7 - (Snickerdoodlesmommy)

Jan

[Robin]

I wonder if many of the gifts (like Disney stuff) are appropriate for both kids and adults. Maybe we could find a way to 'tag' gifts as to their age appropriateness.

Will the kids be turning in early, or do most parents think they will let them stick around for the party?

I love the idea of a mini-birthday party for the kids.

[matysgranma]

Hi Jan! I would love to do this, but we're scheduled for the Mousefest Wishes Fireworks Cruise that night. My darlling little granddaughter would have loved this, but I guess you can't be in two places at one time. I also would have loved to help.
Couldn't help but notice that you're from the Chicago area. So are we. Husband and I live in southwest suburb of Oak Forest and DD and husband live in the Edison Park area of Chicago. Great to see a fellow Chicagoan on the boards!
So if I can help with the planning, though we wouldn't be able to attend, just let me know and I'll do all I can!
Pam

[Tagrel]

That is a great idea Jan. We will be doing Chef Mickey's for Maddy's Bday dinner that night, but should be back in time for a 8:30 Kids gift exchange. I was thinking about the Birthday cake thing too. I know Lady ordered an AWESOME cake last year for Tramp's birthday. I'll have to ask her how that worked. :yes:

[Carrie]

Tyler will be with me. He turns 2 on New Year's Day. Also, I'll have my niece Morgan, who is 8. They'd be glad to participate in the exchange. I like the idea of the secret santa type exchange. That way you can find something that is appropriate for the correct age level and gender. The kids usually stay up kind of late on vacations, so I see no reason why they couldn't be there. I think it would mean more to the kids if they met the kid who gave them their gift.

[SuzyQ]

When we do the gift game at our church, we just tell the parents to be sure to bring the child's gift wrapped in a particular color - such a green or purple. But, tags would work as well.

We always had parameters so that kids of different ages could enjoy their gifts. They could just be ornaments (so the kids all know what they are going to get), beanie characters, stickers, etc.

What fun!

[JustJan]

For those who are playing so far - what is your preference for the game - a Secret Santa game where everyone gets a person to buy something for or just a grab bag - with no "trading".

Thanks all - and anyone new - let me know!

Jan

[Tagrel]

I'm open Jan - I think my girls would be thrilled with either one! :santa:

[Carrie]

I really like the idea of doing Secret Santa names just before we go, when we have a final tally of who is participating. Then the child can shop for a gift for that specific kid. I think it would get the kids more excited about the game. If we had them shop for a random gift, what attracts an 8 or 9 year old wouldn't be appealing to a 2 yr old.

But I'm up for whatever the majority decides.

[Carrie]

That is a great idea Jan. We will be doing Chef Mickey's for Maddy's Bday dinner that night, but should be back in time for a 8:30 Kids gift exchange. I was thinking about the Birthday cake thing too. I know Lady ordered an AWESOME cake last year for Tramp's birthday. I'll have to ask her how that worked. :yes:

We have a 6:20 ADR for Chef Mickey's that night and will take the boat over to the WL after. Maybe we'll see you there Dave!

[Belle]

Hey - can we play? :lol: Mik just turned 7 and would love to join in :D I think the secret Santa knowing ahead of time gift works because of the age/gender issues :lol: But, whatever you all decide is fine with me...

{hugs}
Belle

[JustJan]

Ok - I added Mik to the list. I also added a note that we will do the Secret Santa - i think it will be fun for the kids and easier. So we can all put on our thinking caps!

Thanks Belle!

Jan

[LimeGreenCheri]

Add my 2 kiddos to the list for Secret Santa if you could


Naomi age 10

and Ethan age 6.


Just wondering if we could call it Mystery Mickey though or something. I'm thinking my all too smart son will be clueing in to the Santa thing and I want just one more year.... It really doesn't matter either way to me.

[Carrie]

Mystery Mickey sounds neat

[JustJan]

Ok - I added the LimeGreenKids - and we will all start thinking about non-Santa Holiday Names!

Thanks all!

Jan

[Snickerdoodlesmommy]

I'm sorry I missed adding my kiddos to this.

Ashley 12 (birthday 12/18 she will be 13 going on 40!)
Nicholas 8 by then!
Matthew 14

theres not an age limit to this is there? If there is, I will have Ashley and Matthew go off with their older brother.

[LimeGreenCheri]

Carrie, when will we be drawing names? My kids are super excited to be doing this gift exchange!

[Robin]

I'm sorry I missed adding my kiddos to this.

Ashley 12 (birthday 12/18 she will be 13 going on 40!)
Nicholas 8 by then!
Matthew 14

theres not an age limit to this is there? If there is, I will have Ashley and Matthew go off with their older brother.

Would they feel too old to be joining in with the younger kids? If they did then I'd think they'd be welcome to join the adult exchange.

[Belle]

Maybe Nicholas could join the kids exchange - I know many of the kids there are in the 6-9 year old range, and the 2 older could join the adult if they wanted.

I am anxious about drawing the names too - I have to get my shopping list started :D

{hugs}
Belle

[Tagrel]

We could have a chat and draw the names 'live'. That could be fun! :)

[Belle]

We could have a chat and draw the names 'live'. That could be fun! :)

:yahoo: Yahoo! That sounds like fun! :yahoo:

Just don't do it Wed nights - I am in class and don't get home till 10pm :(

{hugs}
Belle

[Carrie]

We could have a chat and draw the names 'live'. That could be fun! :)

:yahoo: Yahoo! That sounds like fun! :yahoo:

Just don't do it Wed nights - I am in class and don't get home till 10pm :(

{hugs}
Belle

I'm extremely flexible. Just not Wed, Thur, or Fri after 6pm. And I can't do it on the weekends. Oh, and Monday between 3 and 10 is bad. And Tuesday between 4 and 9 is out.

I'm just kidding. I just thought I'd act a little more like Den. Call it temporary insanity.

Seriously, we could have the chat any night. Just not too late if its a weeknight because I go to bed around 9. I have to be at work at 5am.

Hugs,
Carrie

[Snickerdoodlesmommy]

I will just add Nicholas to the list then as he is only 7. Ashley and Matthew will go to the parks with
their older brother. :yes:

LindaC

[JustJan]

OK - Thanks everyone! I have been missing for the past two weeks with some horrible illness that took two antibiotics and over a week to know out. Still have the remnants of a terrible not letting me sleep cough!

Let's find a date for the Live Draw! Any votes for Tuesday 10/11 or Thursday 10/13?

Let me know!

thanks all!

Jan

[Tagrel]

10/11 or 10/13 would work OK for me. What time are we talking? About 9pm ET? Even if there is a chat, we could meet in a different chat room.

[Belle]

either day work for me too! :D Of course, the sooner the better :lol: Isn't the 13th Yom Kippur? Not sure if that interferes with anyone's schedules...

{hugs}
Belle

[Ursulinda]

The kids aren't going to do the same kind of switcheroo as the adults? no, i suppose that would cause too many tears if someone 'stole' a coveted item . . . grandma is losing her grip here to even think such a thing!

[Photographer]

Yes the 12th begins Yom Kippur. I'm too old for the kiddie exchange so go ahead with your plan. ;)

[Robin]

Yes the 12th begins Yom Kippur. I'm too old for the kiddie exchange so go ahead with your plan. ;)

And I'm even older. :lol:

[LimeGreenCheri]

10/11 or 10/13 would work OK for me. What time are we talking? About 9pm ET? Even if there is a chat, we could meet in a different chat room.

Either of those would work wonderfully for me.

And Ursulinda, my DS would be the one to fall apart if someone took his gift. He is so dramatic.. I have no idea where he gets that from. :roll:

[Ursulinda]

Heck I know ADULTS who fall apart like that!

[LimeGreenCheri]

Heck I know ADULTS who fall apart like that!


Yeah, I would never fall apart. :wink: Being an only child I fall apart quite often. :roll:

[Carrie]

Sorry, I've been MIA for a while. Either night works for me. I usually go to be at 9 since I have to be at work at 5. I can head to bed right after the chat.

Hugs,
Carrie

[JustJan]

Ok since it is already Monday night - what happened to my weekend? - How about trying for a chat on Thursday 10/13 at 9:00 pm Eastern time to draw the names.

I would like to suggest that we do not allow any "same family" gift buys for those that have more than one child participating together as it may make the shopping and surprise tough for those families - I am thinking that it should work out okay - let me do a trial run though and see.

Dave - can you add this chat to the calendar and anyone who can't participate - I will PM you and then I will post the list on the first page unless someone has kids who read in here - let me know!

Thanks everyone and I guess we should have some ideas for those lucky enough to have to buy for our kids, right?

Thanks again! Have a great couple of days!

Jan

[Tagrel]

That sounds great Jan! I woke up this morning thinking about the chat, and realized the first date passed us by! :shock: The days a flying by around here! :yes:

Thursday at 9pm ET it is! See you all there!

[JustJan]

Thanks Dave - I know what you mean - the time is just flying !

See ya all Thursday Night!

Have a great couple of days!

Jan

[JustJan]

Okay everyone! Here are the results of the draw! The rules were no siblings picking each other so we had a redraw in there! I am listing the results in alphabetical order.

Now parents - here is what we need! Please post some ideas of what your child might like - and also any "please avoid" items if there are any! Once we have ideas from everyone I will update them on this original post so they will all be in one place!

Thanks again everyone this will be tons of fun!

Brinn selected Nicholas
Ethan selected Mik
John selected Naomi
Maddy selected Morgan
Mik selected Maddy
Morgan selected Ethan
Naomi selected John
Nicholas selected Tyler
Tyler selected Brinn

Have a great day everyone!

Jan

[LimeGreenCheri]

I'm sooo sorry I didn't make the chat last night. I fell asleep on the couch after working a 12 hour shift and then going to Curves. Please forgive me! It sounds like the draw went wonderfully!

Naomi loves anything to do with animals. She wants to be a vet ya know or a zoo keeper at AK :wink: She also loves drawing!

Ethan loves anything Buzz or Power Rangers. He has a wonderful imagination likes using it while playing with his toys.

I know my kids can't wait to shop for their presnts! :mickeyXmas:

[Tagrel]

It was fun picking names and thanks to Jan for keeping us organized! :yes:

Brinn (almost 9) and Maddy (7 the day of the exchange) are little girly girls. ;) They love anything Princessy (Brinn loves Jasmine best and Maddy loves Aurora - but they both love all the rest too!) Tink and Minnie are also favorites. Other things they both love are those Bratz dolls, Barbies, Hillary Duff music, Lizzie Magire (sp?), coloring, puzzles, crafts. Just about anything... Except I can't seem to interest them in any of the cool race car sets or a nice Pirate Ship play set... :? ;)

So - what is our pricing range on these gifts?

[Carrie]

We've had a nasty stomach flu at our house, so I've been down for a while. Thanks for doing a good job organizing this, Jan.

Tyler (almost 2) loves anything with bright colors as most toddlers do. He has started learning his colors so he gets excited over anything bright blue or yellow. He loves trains. We live near a train track and he's taken a great interest lately in "choo choos." So I bet he'd like Thomas the tank engine. He loves any cartoon character, but gets real excited when he sees Stitch and Nemo. He loves to cuddle with soft things like blankets and stuffed animals. That's all I can think of. I can't think of anything he doesn't like. He's a happy, easy to please kid.

Morgan (9) loves Cinderella and Tinkerbell. She takes tap, ballet, and jazz, so she loves anything to do with dancing. She likes the Disney Channel shows, Raven, Lizzie Maguire, etc. She is in love with Jessie McCartney. You can't go wrong shopping in Claire's. She likes fancy hair stuff, she has her ears pierced, but nothing very dangly. She is allowed to wear only girlie makeup like glitter, gloss (nothing dark like adult makeup). She is very much a girlie girl.

[Belle]

As far as a price range, does around $10. sound ok? I think most of us will be doing 1 or 2 adult gifts for that exchange as well with a $15 limit per gift for that right? (I know we are already looking at $30 in adult gifts between Beast and I) I wouldn't want to press anyone out of a budget range. Plus, I think the kids will be psyched having anything to do at these crazy adult meets, lol. What do y'all think?

{hugs}
Belle

[JustJan]

I think that $10 sounds great! I am sure that there will something for everyone that they will really like! It will also be nice that maybe they can entertain themselves and each other while we do our thing!

Some ideas for John - he is really into Star Wars and the one thing he really would like to have is the Darth Tater potato head guy. He really likes Legos and they also have some small lego star wars sets - he loves anything like that and if there is a light saber involved - even better. This is a new obsession with him, so we are still feeling around with what is "cool"! He still also likes coloring books and sticker type books and is really getting into reading as well. So I would say any of those things with a Star Wars type theme would be great!

Thanks all!
Jan

[Belle]

Oh yeah - some ideas for Mik would probably be good, huh? :lol: (Bad Mom..) Well, her favorite princess is Cinderella - she already has all the Barbie-doll princesses though :? She is also a big fan of Lilo and Stitch, Hilary Duff, Star Wars, Legos, Magnetix, Kinex, etc. She loves hands-on creative stuff - honestly she'd rather be building gears than playing with dolls :lol: We are collecting the WDW charms for our bracelets, so a new charm is always an option too!

Her ears are not pierced - we tried that, but they kept getting infected, even though we had them done with real gold, so we let them close up :( Her hair is extremely long - as many of you already know, in case that helps with any ideas, lol.

Hope that helps a little. She is often hard to buy for because lucky for me, she isn't a kid that wants or asks for anything really. That is actually one of the joys of being able to go to WDW with her though - she never asks for anything when we go through the shops. I usually have to give her a budget and show her things to see what see is interested in. She IS always willing to get something, of course :lol:

{hugs}
Belle

[Snickerdoodlesmommy]

Well, we can see who is oh so prompt around here! I wasn't even aware there was a chat on this! :shock: :lol:

Nicholas will actually be turning 8 on November 3rd :shock: and he is so easy to please. When he gets home from school, I will post what he thinks he "needs" :lol:

Carrie, I cannot believe how fast 2 years has gone by! I will check out the choo choo section at the toy store!!!

[RhinoDad]

Well... as you can tell, I'm really out of the loop on things!! I didn't even know that there was going to be a kids gift exchange thingy!

It might be too late (as the names have all been picked, although, I could just have Morgan pick for Kerrigan, and vice versa, which works for me...), but I would like to add our little ones to the list.

As mentioned above, if it makes things easier, we can just share between us, but not let the kids know that!

Either way, I know the kids would love to participate, so count on us being there!

RD

[JustJan]

Not a problem - we will add you!

Now to all the Gift Exchange Kids parents - is there anyone who has not purchased something yet that would like to trade so we can add Morgan and Kerrgan in the loop.

John and I were heading out today - so I would be willing to exchange his pick and have him buy for one of the new kids - if that would work - so if we have another - we could trade and have both not buying for each other?

Make sense - let me know if there is another "trader", we will hang before we go shopping!

Thanks!

Jan

[Tagrel]

Brinn and Madison could also re-pick if needed. Just let me know!

[Belle]

I JUST picked up a gift last night and cleared it with the daddy :? If the person that got Mik didn't buy anything yet, she could be tossed back into the mix again, right? Not really sure how that works actually :confused2: Well, Mik won't be offended if she needs to be re-picked :lol: Fear not - I am sure something can be worked out to get everyone involved. :)

{hugs}
Belle

[LimeGreenCheri]

We can be thrown back into the mix too. I'll be buying our gifts the day after Thanksgiving.

[RhinoDad]

Everyone...

My one and only request is that we keep this simple! I don't want to upset the whole apple cart just because I'm too out of it...

Remember, this is a VACATION! It should be, and will be, relaxing and stress free!! So, if you all have a simple, easy, STRESS FREE, way of adding us (or should I say, Morgan and Kerrigan), then do so, but PLEASE don't undo everything (or anything) just for us!

What is most important, is your company, your friendship, and your prayers. Those are the things that have kept us going through the good times and bad, and it's those things that we truly cherish and always will.

RD

[Carrie]

Mik selected Maddy - that gift has been purchased
Nicholas selected Tyler - haven't heard so let's assume its been purchased
Tyler selected Brinn - that gift has been purchased
John selected Naomi - that gift has been purchased

So we're leaving Maddy, Tyler, Naomi and Brinn out of the shuffle since their gifts have been purchased.

Names we will be picking gifts for:
Nicholas, Mik, Carrie's Morgan, Ethan, John, Rhino's Morgan, Kerrigan

People who will be picking:
Brinn, Ethan, Maddy, Carrie's Morgan, Naomi, Rhino's Morgan, Kerrigan

That should be a nice shuffle amount to ensure the RhinoKids don't have to pick for each other.

JustJan or Tagrel, or whomever can set up a new shuffle chat. I most likely will not be able to make it, so go ahead and pick Morgan's person for her. She won't be shopping for the gift until the day after Thanksgiving. I will be going offline for awhile. We are halfway moved into our new house (I'll post a pic soon) This weekend all the computer racks, computers, really heavy things that look like computers, and all that technical stuff is getting shipped off to the new house. We'll be offline for a while so the servers can get setup, and we need a T1 thing, and run the new network cables through the walls, and do stuff that's beyond my level of understanding. So I will just check back with this thread before My Morgan goes shopping to see who she needs to shop for. Should anyone wish to get ahold of me, JustJan and WillCAD have my cell number and may give it out to any Taginator that needs it.

Hugs,
Carrie

[JustJan]

Okay - how about this to keep it simple!

Since dave and I were the first to respond what about this:

John could buy for Morgan (Rhinodad's Morgan) and Morgan could then buy for Nnaomi (who John had)
Brinn could buy for Kerrigan and Kerrigan could buy for Nicholas (who Brinn had)

That wasy everyone else can just proceed! If this sounds good , we need some suggestions from Rhinodad for Morgan and Kerrigan and then he can check above for suggestions that were posted for Naomi and Nicholas.

Will that work? If so the list is then:

Brinn selected Kerrigan (NEW)
Ethan selected Mik
John selected Morgan (NEW - Rhinodad's Morgan)
Maddy selected Morgan (Carries Niece)
Mik selected Maddy
Morgan (Carrie's Niece) selected Ethan
Naomi selected John
Nicholas selected Tyler
Tyler selected Brinn
Kerrigan selected Nicholas (NEW)
Morgan (Rhinodad's) selected Naomi (NEW)

Let me know if this is OK! Thanks again everyone!

Jan

[Tagrel]

Sounds great Jan! Now we just have to go do some shopping...

Hey RhinoDad - post a few suggestions for things Morgan and Kerrigan might enjoy as a present! :)

[LimeGreenCheri]

Ok, I'm confused... :shrug:

Carrie said: John selected Naomi and that gift has been purchased

but

Jan said: Morgan selected Naomi

so we need to reshuffle that just a bit. Make sense? Or am I confused?


ETA: we'll get this figured out, it's all good! :yes:

[JustJan]

Carrie had a few mistakes - John did not already buy anything, the only gifts that I know that have been purchased were Mik and Tyler. So to try to avoid another repick , I thought that we would just take two of the kids that had already picked and had not bought gifts yet (John and Brinn) and just have them take the new kids and have the new kids take their original picks!

Clear as mud, right? This way no one has to change anything but John and Brinn - everyone else can stay the same!

I sure hope this did not confuse this more.

Let me know though! Cheri - you should be just the same as you were with the exception of who is buying a gift for Naomi!

Have a great day!

Jan

[LimeGreenCheri]

Clear as mud! I got it! :yes:

[JustJan]

OK - I think we are still on track. We still need ideas from Rhinodad for Morgan and Kerrigan so Brinn and John can finish their shopping!

I am working on some little (really small treats and such) gift bags so if there are any "Don't put in" things for anyone, let me know!

Thanks everyone! See you SOON!

Jan

[Carrie]

Call me over-protective, I'm scared to death of Tyler having gum. That's the only thing I could think of. Moms gotta worry, its part of our job.

[RhinoDad]

All!!

Wow... it's been a really wild time lately... but I'll save that story for another time.

As for the girls...

Morgan is a real fan of Belle, Ariel, and Minnie. Oh, and in honor of her Mom, Jessica Rabbit (that too, is another story!).

Kerrigan likes Pooh, Piglet, and Stitch (oddly enough they are all sides of her...).

Like any 8 year old girl, Morgan also very much likes horses. Kerrigan, well she likes almost any kind of gift....

Let me know who the girls are buying for, and what they might like. I tried reading thru the threads to figure it out, and given our lack of consistant internet here at our resort, I just can't seem to get it figured out...

Looking forward to seeing everyone back at the Lodge!

RhinoDad

[LimeGreenCheri]

Rhinodad,

Morgan is buying for Naomi. Naomi is 10 and loves anything "girlie" like lip gloss etc. She also loves the Disney Cuties and Lizzie McGuire. She loves arts and crafts and anything to do with animals, she wants to be a vet. She is also very much into Pooh.

Kerrigan is buying for Nicholas.

Hope this helps!

[JustJan]

Thanks Cheri - I appreciate you giving the update and thanks Rhinodad for the ideas.

Nicholas's mom only posted that Nicholas is pretty easy to please and he will be 8 by the time we arrive. If you want more ideas, you may want to PM or email Linda (snickerdoodlesmommy) for some help!

Thanks everyone this will be fun!

Jan

[Tagrel]

Thanks for the info RhinoDad! Can't wait to see everyone there! :)

[RhinoDad]

Thanks everyone for the ideas, and especially for getting the girls involved.

Looking forward to seeing everyone Friday night!

RD