Roommate gifts are a fun tradition for many participants of the Disney College Program! These are typically small gifts participants will give to each of their new roommates as they embark on their programs together, celebrating a new chapter. Roommate gifts are typically exchanged the day you move in together or during your first week on the program. As you exchange gifts, it is a great opportunity to get to know one another and start building lifelong friendships!
When it comes to roommate gifts, you can either purchase or DIY really cute items! Whether you would like to buy or create your gifts, there are lots of really cute things you can do while on a budget. We’ve compiled a list of 10 super cute, practical, and budget-friendly roommate gifts ideas for your Disney College Program!
1. Autograph Book
Autograph books are a great gift idea that can be used over the entire course of your program. Throughout their program, your roommates can collect their character autographs, or even signatures of the friends they make along the way, in their book! Autographs books can be purchased at most Disney merchandise locations. These are also super easy to DIY as well, all you will need are small notebooks with unlined, blank pages. You can then decorate and personalize these using stickers or paints. If you know the names of your roommates, a really fun thing to do as well is to add their name to their autograph book.
2. Disney Tote Bag
Tote bags are a great gift that will absolutely be used by each of your roommates! They can be your park bag, work bag, carry groceries, and more! Online and at craft stores, you can find inexpensive blank tote bags in a variety of colors. These can then be easily decorated however you like using supplies such as fabric paint of embroidery thread.
3. Friendship Bracelets
Handmade friendship bracelets are a super easy and cute craft you can make for each of your roommates. All you need are beads and string! You can make each of your roommates customized bracelets with fun beads. You can utilize letter beads to spell out cute Disney-inspired words, such as “DCP”, “Disney”, “Wish”, “Magic”, or “Dream”. You could also spell their role or work location. There are endless possibilities!
4. Disney Pin Trading Display Banner or Cork Board
Pin trading is a really popular activity at the Walt Disney World Parks, Resorts, and even at Flamingo Crossings! A cute gift is to purchase or create for your roommates a way to display their Disney pins. Some popular methods of displaying these are wall hanging banners or cork boards. You can always include a Disney pin or two to start each of your roommates’ collections!
5. Disney Mug or Water Bottle
Disney mugs or water bottles are a fun gift that can be used by all of your roommates at your apartment. You could get each roommate a different mug or all have matching ones. Even more fun are mugs that match one another, but are each slightly different. For example, different character or colors. This will still allow you to have matching mugs, but also be able to tell whose is whose.
6. Picture Frame
You can give each of your roommates a special picture frame. It can be themed to Disney, customized, or simply be cute! In this picture frame, your roommate could put a picture of a special memory from their program or a photo of all of your roommates together. Picture frames can easily be customized with paint pens, acrylic paint, or permanent markers.
7. Disney Plush
Everyone loves a cute Disney plush! If you know your roommates’ favorite Disney character, a fun idea is to get them each a plush of their favorite character. Another great option as well is getting plushes of the Sensational 6: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto. Your roommates can always trade with one another if they prefer a different character.
8. Mickey Ears
Giving your roommates matching ears is very fun and a gift they’ll use whenever they visit the parks! When you visit the parks together, you’ll be able to match one another too, making for very cute photos! Mickey ears can also double as room decor around your apartment. Ears can be purchased on Shop Disney or found in most WDW merchandise locations. You can also learn to make your own Mickey ears, although this is a project that will take some time and is not a beginner-level project. But if you are crafty, know how to sew, and have a hot glue gun, this is a super fun project to take on learning.
9. Disney Snacks
Snacks are always a great gift option and DCP roommate gifts are not an exception! At your local grocery store, you can find plenty of Disney licensed snacks and treats. For example, Mickey shaped goldfish, fruit snacks, or even Mickey ice cream bars. At the Disney parks, Disney also sells an adorable line of tea inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Available in multi-packs with different flavors, these are perfect gifts as well!
10. Disney Keychain
There are lots of cute options for keychain gifts! These can easily be purchased or DIY-ed. You can find endless amounts of adorable keychains at most Disney merchandise locations or you can also create keychains using beads like you would for a friendship bracelet. There are also keychains which are designed to hold your Mickey Ears for you when visiting the parks!
Doe you have any additional roommate gift ideas? Share with us in the comments below!
To learn more about the DCP, check out our blog post here!
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