Gift bag ideas for aircrew on our first flight to Spain

[ToffeePennie]

Hi all,
I am definitely overthinking things but we go on our first flight to Spain in a few weeks. I have an autistic husband and older child (both with scoliosis) and an 8 year old with ADHD. Due to the severity of these conditions I put in a welfare form with Tui, and we are travelling from Manchester airport.
I thought it would be nice to give little gift bags to the aircrew (my brother used to be a flight attendant) to say thank you because I know they work super hard and having to deal with my family will be a lot. I was thinking maybe hand cream, foot cream or lip balms? Any other ideas welcome!

This is not something that happens in real life. It is something people on social media take videos of them doing to try to seek followers. The absolute best thing you can do is to get their names and then email in after the flight to compliment these individuals. That way they get recognised officially for their work. I try to do this in my life as so few people actually ever bother to recognise good service in this way. Please for your own wellbeing forget about gift bags.

OP- you don’t need to apologise or make up for your families needs. They have the right to live, holiday, take up space- just like everyone else. An autistic meltdown is a fact of autistic life sometimes.

Re: passengers …. ignore posters who seem to think any inconvenience to their travel experience is unacceptable. Part of living in a society means we accept that the people around us, may sometimes need grace and understanding. Nobody on that plane has paid more than you to be there. Nobody has more of a right to be there.

It’s like the apology bags parents of babies have started handing out- entirely unnecessary. Babies cry. Babies scream. Parents have a right to holidays and travel with their babies. Those babies will grow up to the be the doctors, builders, shop workers, teachers etc we all need.

@ToffeePennie I know people have said not to bother and I agree. On my flight last week the 3 of the cabin crew were male and I think one was a trans woman.

I’m sure a thank you will suffice. Enjoy your holiday.

That’s a bit much

So why do so many children take medication for their ADHD then?

A box of chocolates to share would be such a lovely gesture. I wouldn't worry about doing anything more than that.

Nah that is well naff! Just say a big thanks to them. If there's chargeable good and drink which is all short haul these days, you can give a cash tip if you really want to.

I’m very surprised at this-cabin crew are not allowed to accept food from passengers as it could easily be contaminated. Which airline did he work for?

I’m not sure you’d be allowed to take what is considered liquids through security? You can take more than one 100ml of liquid but they all have to fit in one bag of certain dimensions.
Take the crew names and make sure the chief steward knows they have done a good job if you like.

It’s not about being inconvenienced by crying babies and toddlers. It’s about the safety of other passengers. OP hasn’t given much details other than “having to deal with my family will be a lot”. It doesn’t sound as if this family should be on a flight OR OP is exaggerating what support is needed from the crew.

Blimey...I.must have lived a sheltered life..

The odd box/bag of chocolates used to do the rounds when I was working...there was nothing in our rules forbidding it and TBH the crew food coming out of some places was a bigger risk than something produced by Cadburys.

I flew once on Christmas Day and felt awful about it. I didn’t want anyone to think that so gave chocolates after being helped. So after check in, near the end of the flight, included baggage handlers etc. Because yes, it can look weird. Also, we’d already booked legroom seats so pretty obviously didn’t want anything we didn’t have.

Whether you’re overthinking it or not you’re lovely! Enjoy your trip and holiday!

What you can do is email the airline afterwards, saying how helpful they were and giving their names.

Thanks for posting this. I too was a little taken aback by the OP’s response.

For other people reading, lots of people with ADHD and Autism find medication invaluable. For some people it is literally the difference between functioning and not.

Importantly, there are medication options for people; adults and children, who have difficulty swallowing and/or reflux conditions.

It’s also not true to say that Autism can’t be medicated. While there isn’t a medication to treat the condition as a whole, symptoms such as anxiety and sleep disorders can be supported.

I think this is a bit OTT, they are doing their job at the end of the day. Try and find out their names and email the airline customer services to do a special thank you to them. In all my years of travel I’ve never seen anyone give out gift bags.

I’m not expecting any support. From anyone. Ever.
I have learned that there is no support anywhere and I am just left to cope and drown on my own.
I have already made the decision to not bother, as clearly it can be seen a “bribe” or “weird” and I don’t want that to happen.
Medication is also not always the safest route, so everyone who is jumping down my throat, just remember there are lots of kids out there who aren’t medicated due to lots of other problems. I wasn’t aggressive, I simply stated the truth, that my children’s problems cannot be solved or resolved with medication.
Im just a mum who is anxious as fuck about taking my kids on their first holiday abroad.

But again this comes back to what exactly is the support the op thinks she’s going to be getting. It feels like she thinks there is some form of specialised support available to her. There is not. So what would she be thanking them for

Don't give them a present it's weird

The biggest thank you, you could do is email their employers customer service team with a thank you and naming the individual staff and what flight you were on.

You’ll no doubt be asked for a review. It means much more to write something there - senior management will pick it up, especially if you can use names. If not asked for a review, write or email in. This gets them actual brownie points.

I’m sorry but gifts are a really bad idea.

From a quick look it seems that your husband is able to work, and at least 1, if not both kids are able to manage in mainstream school, do sports, scouts etc. I'm confused as to what you are so worried about on the flight?

Oh behave! Neurodiverse people are allowed to fly! The op has put a form in to the airline for extra assistance; it’s up to the airline to decide if someone is unsafe to fly.

I don’t think gift bags are necessary, a smile & a thank you are all that’s required. But if you really want to offer something I have never known cabin crew to turn their noses up at a box of chocolates. Roses or similar would be ideal.

And I think it's a bit patronising to your husband to buy a present. Loads of people are autistic and manage in normal jobs.
think , they can cope with an hour to Malaga on a flight