A new collection??

[3DisMunchkins]

Looking for ideas!
I have 12 year old twin daughters, one who collects pins and the other pressed pennies. We usually go to DL once a year and they really look forward to adding to their collections.
I myself opt for a new Christmas ornament each year.
My son is 9 and while he has a few pins, he's not that into it. Any ideas of other things (on a kid's budget with some help from grandma and grandpa) to start as his special collection?
Thanks!

 

[GatorChris]

My kids love Tsum Tsums. They're these little plush toys that have the colors of a certain character. They're every where and you can get virtually any Disney character, including Star Wars.

 

[SMD]

Does he want to collect something? Maybe he just wants one special souvenir from each trip that don't have to relate to each other. What about something like taking pictures with the same character or the same location on each trip, like the partners statue or the sword in the stone and collecting those?

 

[figment_jii]

What about something like magnets or keychains? While some things come and go, things like magnets, keychains, pins, pressed pennies seem likely to stick around for the foreseeable future.

 

[Aladora]

We started buying an ear hat for DS every trip from his first when he was 6. He now has 10 of them and one of these days we are going to have to figure out a way to display them! I also try and take a picture of him on the Teacups wearing his new hat but sadly I missed a couple of trips.

 

[3DisMunchkins]

Does he want to collect something? Maybe he just wants one special souvenir from each trip that don't have to relate to each other. What about something like taking pictures with the same character or the same location on each trip, like the partners statue or the sword in the stone and collecting those?

That's definitely a good point...I'll ask him. I just didn't want him to feel left out, but maybe he doesn't!

What about something like magnets or keychains? While some things come and go, things like magnets, keychains, pins, pressed pennies seem likely to stick around for the foreseeable future.

I do like the idea of magnets...he actually bought one last year that I completely forgot about!

 

[Butterfly123]

I do like the idea of magnets...he actually bought one last year that I completely forgot about!

I love collecting magnets, but don't seem to find as much variety as with keychains. My son collected keychains, and put them on his bulletin board with pushpins. There were so many more keychains to choose from, with a variety of "lands" and themes and characters.

 

[wenrob]

We started buying an ear hat for DS every trip from his first when he was 6. He now has 10 of them and one of these days we are going to have to figure out a way to display them! I also try and take a picture of him on the Teacups wearing his new hat but sadly I missed a couple of trips.

Are you somewhat crafty? I made "ear stands" for my kids. I got wooden circles about the diameter of the ears, wooden candlesticks, smaller wooden circles for the base and half foam balls to glue to the bigger circles for the ears to rest on. Glue together and paint/decorate to match your theme. I couldn't find photos of the simple ones I made for my younger kids but these are the ones I made for older DD's 60th ears and ear band.

 

[wenrob]

We have a ridiculous amount of Disney collections in this house; ears, plush, t-shirts, keychains, Vinylmation, pins, Tsum Tsum. We won't get started on MY collections, lol.

Two things I haven't seen mentioned are autograph books/character signatures and the buttons they give out in the parks. On my oldest DD's first trip we stopped at that little booth right past the tunnel entrance on the right and let her pick out an autograph book. A tradition was born. It's our first stop every trip. All three of my kids would be content to do nothing but hunt characters all day. The buttons are more "rare" because they're usually gifted from a CM or a particular event like Pirates Premier, Carsland opening year, Ariel's Princess Dinner, Official Toon Town resident and of course, My First Trip and I'm Celebrating buttons. Sometimes my kids will ask CMs for them but the ones they like the best are the ones they weren't expecting to get.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Wen, those are beautiful!!

 

[wenrob]

Wen, those are beautiful!!

Thanks! The hot glue burns were worth it, lol.

 

[maleficent55]

I have started my collection of light boxes/Gallery of light by Olszweski. They are pricey for a kid collection though...about $100-150 each?
I only have two so far.

 

[ashley0139]

I'm not a collector and prefer to just buy certain things I enjoy. Maybe your son is like that too. I like the magnet or keychain idea though if he does. Tsum tsums would be fun but they don't have many park specific ones like they do pins and pennies.

 

[Liam'sMimi]

Looking for ideas!
I have 12 year old twin daughters, one who collects pins and the other pressed pennies. We usually go to DL once a year and they really look forward to adding to their collections.
I myself opt for a new Christmas ornament each year.
My son is 9 and while he has a few pins, he's not that into it. Any ideas of other things (on a kid's budget with some help from grandma and grandpa) to start as his special collection?
Thanks!

My grandson collects Disney socks. They are fun, easy to pack, relatively inexpensive and actually useful.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

Personal story: Something my husband and I have done since our very first trip to Disney together when we were dating is akin to pin collecting but with our own special twist. Every trip we take to Disney (we're local and AP so it's often) we buy a pin that directly relates to our day/life on that day. For example, when I got a picture with Merida, we bought a Merida pin for that day. The first trip after we got engaged? A Minnie/Mickey pin that featured an engagement ring. That time we got on the last car of Space Mountain for the day? Yup, a Space Mountain pin. Anyways, when we get home I write a description of the days' events on an index card and use the pin to attach the notecard to a page in a binder. It's kind of nice to have those memories stored.

However, your son probably doesn't want to deal with all that, and, as others' have mentioned, it might be that he doesn't want to collect the same type of item each trip. A suggestion that I thought of that's 100% free and easy is picking up a map and times guide from each trip. The times guides are printed weekly and it could be cool to see how things change over the years. He could even circle the different shows/parades that he saw on that trip, to personalize it more if he felt like it.

 

[casagray]

Rather than several pins or smaller things, you could stop by Off the Page, and have him choose a character he likes and get a custom drawing (I'd go early in the day on the first day of your stay). Then frame it when you get home. He'd slowly build a collection of nice artwork to have on his walls. I think it's about $35 for a single person sketch, but I may have the prices wrong.

 

[DizMe]

My twins (girls) love to collect keychains. They put them on their backpacks and have quite a jangly little collection My older daughter likes to get something to wear (usually a t-shirt). I myself am one of those that doesn't care for collecting, I just like getting something if I really want it (and can afford it).

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Maybe your son would like a few t-shirts of favorite characters, rides, or park themes? Our whole family collects DLR t-shirts. We choose the ones that catch our eye (e.g. oldest likes ride themes, youngest likes food themes, DH likes event themes, etc.), and there are so many fun ones out there now. That way we can wear our collectibles and talk about the memories long after each park visit. We make sure that all our t-shirts say Disneyland or DCA so that we know they are location specific, not company generic.

 

[Angrose]

My DS9 has started to collect Vinylmation. He's a Star Wars/Marvel fan so he likes to get them when the new movies come out. They cost around $12-$15. He also used to collect the droid factory build your own droids from Star Trader.

 

[3DisMunchkins]

So many great ideas...can't wait to discuss them with him!!
Thanks everyone!