Autograph ideas other than books

We are also doing pillow cases for our kids trip next month. I got some white throw pillow cases and personalized them using my silhouette and we will take those. Did the clickable sharpies work well? I still need to work out that detail of exactly what they will use to write on them. I also thought about taking a small clipboard so we could use that to set the pillowcase in place for the characters to sign. This is our first trip so I'm learning as I go.

We did this three years ago. I actually took an assortment of fabric markers instead of sharpies and those have held up very well. My daughter sleeps on the pillow case every night and I wash it once a week or so and you can still see all the signatures. So I can't speak for the sharpies but those fabric markers were great. I took a small clipboard and also took binder clips to add around the edge of the clipboard to pull the fabric tight to make it easier for the characters to sign. I could keep the clipboard and clips, the pillowcase, and a bunch of the markers in one big ziploc bag, which was easy to pull out of the backpack at character meeting time. If you're meeting more than one character at a time it can be a little hectic to get the clipboard moved and reclipped between the two but it's not impossible.

The next year, I did the same system but I took squares of plain white fabric and when we got back I bought some mickey fabrics and my mom turned all this into a quilt. This is actually the best Disney souvenir we have. It turned out really great. And the quilt squares were easier to handle and switch out than the pillow case. But it did require some work when we got back to turn it into an actual quilt. And lucky my mom knows how to do that because I definitely do not!
 
We have done (several trips) a wooden Mickey head ornament (bought off of etsy). The kids have the characters sign with sharpies. We spray it with sealer when we get home. We put their names and the date in the corner and my husband drills a hole. We have several of these but it is fun to remember the trip by the characters especially when you get a new character or one that you don't see so often. The ornaments are easy to carry along with sharpies - we just carry them in a plastic baggie in our backpack.
 
I have a decorative pillow case from Thirty-one. So fabric is thicker than a normal pillowcase. Any ideas if clipboard or hoop would work best for signatures?
 
Youngest DS took one of those big puffy white mickey hands and used sharpies for the characters to sign. It’s a little big to carry but super cute
 
We used 4x6 cards then added the pics next to them when we got home. So if they got thrown to the back of the closet it didnt cost much.
They still look at them from time to time and that was 3 years ago.
It was about the experience not the autograph
 
You could get two white photo matts for them to sign! Then print a photo of your each of your girls and put them in a frame. Then it could be hung up and you'll have memories every time you see it!

I've also seen people take around a plain white mug, although that's kind of hit or miss because the Sharpie may smear and you'll have to keep them from breaking during travel.

Maybe a canvas tote bag or drawstring backpack, too?
I did the photo mat one year, it looks great but was, personally, a PIA to carry around the park. Plus we had rain every day so I was worried about it getting wet. It looks great in DD room but I’ll probably never put myself through that again.
 


I haven't read the replies yet so hope I am not duplicating. Would you remember those autograph dogs from way back when? Those were popular birthday gifts when I was elementary/jr. high. They aren't too big so would probably fit well in a backpack. They could be made more Disney themed by tying a ribbon around the neck with Disney characters on it or just a red polka dot bow.
 
Just an update we returned from our trip and ended up doing personalized pillow cases. I had a picture of the castle and their names vinyled on them. We used hoops to help with signatures and tulip brand fabric markers. The girls are thrilled to have the signatures and we got lots of compliments from characters and others while we were there.
 
When I took my eldest daughter (3yo at the time) I made a little booklet out of comic book backing boards connected with rings, and stickers with the characters names I expected to see on them (with extra boards for "surprise" characters) with the idea that I would paste pictures on the pages along with the autographs. The characters loved the large area to write their names in and took full advantage of it, not leaving room for the pictures. :rotfl: I also got posters for the princesses and Tinkerbell and friends to sign. We framed those when we got home and hung them on her bedroom wall. 8 years later the posters are still up and she and her younger sister still look at the book from time to time. I'm sure we'll be doing autographs again on our next trip.

I will say this, if you are afraid that your child might be shy around the characters, an autograph book or something like that is a great way to break the ice. It gives the child a task to focus on and they often forget their fears.


TL
 
What about a Disney encyclopedia or who's who and have the characters sign their page?
 
My kids never cared about autographs so we didn't do them for our last trip (Aug 19). The books just got tossed around as props and nothing to save.

I always wanted to try to take a picture on a bigger phone/tablet and have the character sign it with a stylus right there and then and have that printed and framed. Never tried it though.
 
My wife ordered a giant pin from Etsy for our cruise, and we had the characters sign those. It has a little stand and lives on DS's bookshelf :)
I think I've seen the ones you are talking about. I was think of doing this for the kids but was wondering were you able to get a lot of character signatures on one button? If so, Did the gloved characters have problems writing small on the button?
 
My 8 yr old is wanting to get white keds signed. I did see a white Mickey and Minnie plush on amazon I thought was cute.
 
We did Disney hats, older daughter chose a baseball hat and younger a bucket type. Nothing to carry or get ready, dh and I both carried a couple sharpies and we were all set. The hats got worn a lot and displayed on a hook in their rooms for a long time after, vs the autograph books that collected dust.


We did the same with my DD when she was 15. She never wore it, but displayed it in her room until she went off to college and put it in storage. She is Disney crazy so when she gets her own place, I was thinking of putting in a photo box/frame for her.
 
I think I've seen the ones you are talking about. I was think of doing this for the kids but was wondering were you able to get a lot of character signatures on one button? If so, Did the gloved characters have problems writing small on the button?
We got plenty of signatures on it! They are really good at writing, don't worry about that at all
 
I will say this, if you are afraid that your child might be shy around the characters, an autograph book or something like that is a great way to break the ice. It gives the child a task to focus on and they often forget their fears

My one daughter was two on our last trip and she's shy around new people and previously hated costune characters. The autograph book helped her get past her fears. She wouldn't go anywhere near the characters without it but give her autograph book and she'd run up to them. The book is now in a box of memorable stuff with things like hospital bracelets and preschool graduation certificate.

I think the pillow case idea is super cool but it sounds like it's tough to adjust in between and I have four kids so I'm not sure that would work.
 
My kids like occasionally pulling out their autograph books and flipping through (they are more interested in the photos than the autographs, I think). Definitely not a back of the closet thing, more of a sit on the bookshelf for a while kind of thing. It’s particularly fun when you’re getting ready for the next trip to pull it out. Anyway I’m trying to pack a lot lighter for the parks this year so I’m going to try what a previous poster suggested and just bring some plain white index cards, which can later be put into the autograph book.
 

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