An easier way to gather autographs: Sharpies + t-shirt

Who's going to Disneyland this summer? Dawn's hack will simplify the matter of gathering autographs from celebrity Disney characters:

Here's a fun, easy way to keep the autographs that your kids will get from all the characters at Disney World.

Instead of an autograph book, my friend suggested buying a t-shirt (or a few) from a local Disney store before heading to the parks. The shirts, when paired with some colorful Sharpies (the ones that can hang on necklaces or a carabiner work well), work as "wearable" autograph books!

Once you're at the park, have the characters sign the shirt! Your kids can proudly display each autograph at the park and also at home. Memories that last a lifetime for much less hassle than keeping track of that pesky book.

If you are planning a Disneyland trip, I highly recommend The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. This book is full of hacks that will have you enjoying your stay more, standing in shorter lines, and saving lots of money along the way. Great, real-world tips here. (There's also an Unofficial Guide to Disney World.)

Comments

[Anne Campbell]

FYI - The characters will not sign a shirt if it's *on* you! It works best if you carry the shirt with a piece of cardboard inside it to lean on. Also, characters find it easiest to write with pens that have a thick barrel - it's not easy to hold a skinny pen with paws, you know. ;)

[Jill in Atlanta]

But the t-shirt trick is good at a ball park when players can give autographs. Baseball hats too.

[Susan]

A friend of mine mentioned an idea similiar to this. She is taking white pillow cases (and some fabric markers) for her children to have autographed. That way they can have Disney dreams even when they are home!

[Motherhood Uncensored]

Or, they could just sign my boobs.

Oh wait, the kids you mean. THE KIDS!

(heh)

[Andee]

I would not use a Sharpie - I would buy fabric markers. Sharpies fade quite a bit in my experience.

[Alex]

Speaking of Disneyland...when I was an obsessive coupon mom, some of the ladies on the message board I was on a lot got Disney stuff with favorite characters from garage sales before the big Disney trip. Then they'd dole them out to the kids instead of buying ridiculously expensive stuff at the park. Probably not something I'd do now, but if you are planning a Disney trip on a budget it's an idea.

[Soni]

I second the fabric marker note. I did this once at an event and when I washed the shirt, some of the sharpies bled (mostly the red markers - it appeared to be a color thing). This could be disappointing to a kid if the autographs smear beyond recognition.

[hedra]

Stick with the black sharpie if you don't do a fabric pen.

We do something similar for recording larger vacations - get a local shirt (white base preferably), and use the sharpie to write the date, location, and events on it. My mom started this for her 'Adventure Camp' with the grandkids - wrote what they did on the shirts to commemorate it. The black sharpie does stick through enough washes, in my experience (we've got shirts going back years that are still very easy to read, though a little faded from the original).

I plan to make the shirts (along with other favorite clothes that I haven't passed down/on) into quilts later.

[Mommyprof]

Many of the characters wear large, stuffed gloves that make it difficult to sign their names small, as would be useful for a toddler-sized shirt. We took an embroidery hoop and were able to stretch the shirt for easy signing. Then when you wash the shirt, the stretched -outed-ness shrinks into a nicely sized shirt. You can move the shirt in the hoop as needed to allow it to get signed all over.

This got a thumbs up from Minnie, fwiw.

[Christy]

When they're too big for the shirt, you can turn it into a pillow for them pretty easily.