How do you handle limiting souveniers for small children?

[katie111]

We're headed to Disney next week with my DS3 and DD4. They are currently very much in an "I want, I want, I want" stage. They want everything they see on TV and want to get something everytime we go to a store. Needless to say, I rarely give in to these demands at home. However, how do you handle this in Disney? I don't want them to end up in tears every time we pass a store but I'm also not going to buy them everything they see. Last year we told them that at the end of every other day, if they were good, they could get a small treat. At the end of the week, they ended up with autograph books, Mickey ears, and a plush Mickey/Minnie which really wasn't bad. However, six months ago they were a lot easier on the "I want issue" especially since the younger one was not yet involved. So, I was wondering how other people handle this. I was thinking of either doing the same thing I did last time or giving them some Disney dollars each day that they can either spend or save towards something bigger. However, I feel like with the 2nd option, they're sort of too young to grasp the concept of what things cost. Any other ideas? I know some people just buy their kids whatever they want, but I just can't fathom doing that. My kids already have way more stuff than they need. I also know I could try to skip the stores altogether but I always like to browse myself.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mmeb144]

Try the few dollars per day thing. Even relatively young kids can figure that one out. When the money is gone, no more stuff can be bought. Sounds like you are used to telling them no at home, so it shouldn't be that hard on vacation to explain to them that they only have so much per day to spend. I've used that with my kids.

Marie

 

[NotUrsula]

Set a limit at the beginning, and you can make them "scrip" that they carry themselves to reinforce the principle of "when it is gone, it is gone." (I do let them slide on taxes at that age, though.) Mine is given a set amount and can buy up to two items with it over the course of the entire trip. No more. He is also not allowed to use his saved money to buy souvenirs over and above the limit. (There is one exception; he is allowed to use his money to buy certain SW collectibles if we are there during SW Weekends, since they are not available anywhere else or at another time.)

Also, anything that is purchased in the parks must be sent to the gate for pickup when you leave -- no carrying it around all day. This takes away the instant gratification.

The reinforcement needs to start early. The best way to do this, IMO, is NO souvenirs on excursions at home, like the zoo or a museum. (We don't do treats on these outings either, but some people think that's too harsh.) We feel that it is very important to make it clear from the beginning that the outing *is* the treat; it is about the experience, not "stuff".

 

[fofinia]

On a daily basis I will let my DD's mickey bar be her reward. We usually don't get it till later in the day. And she is allowed to pick out one souvenir from the trip. But I always tell her we will keep looking and at the end of the trip she can decide what thing she loved the most. Of course I try to keep track of what things seemed to thrill her the most. Oh and she is only 4 and we've been doing this for her whole life. Who knows it may not work this time!

Oh yeah and on day one of our trip we let her buy a balloon and we keep it in the room for the rest of the trip. Even if we change rooms we bring the balloon and she has it in her room.

Sometimes my DH gives in and buys things for her without my agreeing, which is a pain. But he tries to limit it to chocolate coins. They are not too expensive and they can be stretched out to last quite a few days.

My best advice...Avoid the stores! And for me that means keeping my DH out of them as well!

And I agree with you my kids have way more things than they need. Everything won't even fit on the bookshelfs and toy boxes anymore!

Good luck have fun!

 

[prestonsmomma]

We did the Disney dollars thing last year when DS was 3 1/2 - nearly 4. He was great with it. He held his money until close to the end of the day to make sure he got exactly what he wanted because he knew (well he thought he knew anyway) that Mom and Dad weren't there to buy toys. What we did buy for him came home and was wrapped up under the Christmas tree.

 

[Miss Mary Poppins]

I told my 3 year old before we went what she was coming home with. A set of mouse ears with her name on them, a t-shirt or sweatshirt, and one "thing". She came home with the ears and the thing..a pillow pal but no shirt. She didn't like any of the ones that would fit her. She even picked the pillow pal out on the first day and never asked for another 'thing" but kept asking about the ears until we got them for her. I think there is so much to see and do shopping might not be on their mind.

 

[emma'smom]

We just told dd4 that she could pick out one souvenier at the end of the trip. Whenever she said she wanted something, I would say "Great, let's keep that in mind as your souvenier and we'll get it on the last day". We did buy treats along the way and I bought a few things for them that I picked out that I thought they might like. For example, we found a little picture book about a bear who travels through the Magic Kingdom with Mickey. This is right up my dd1 and dd4's alley...so we bought it to read in the hotel and it didn't count as her souvenier. However, it wasn't something she asked for....it was something I found and picked out. I guess it was my souvenier!

Also, we try to bring back the souveniers from previous trips...so they have them and we dont' have too go through buying them again. For example, I bought them each a light-up Mickey head at Fantasmic on our first trip. I took them back with us on our second trip and just pulled them out at the parade. I see this as getting my money's worth!

 

[Mommaof3]

We did a combination of the above suggestions. I told the children before we left that I would buy Mickey ears, an autograph book with pen, and a balloon on the first day in the Magic Kingdom. The second day, I purchased a stuffed animal for them. On the third day, I gave them Mickey Money to spend whenever and however, but when it was gone, it was gone. I only purchased a snack for them from then on and that was to keep them busy while waiting for the parade to start. Because I had always told my kids "no" and set rules for them, I really had no trouble at all. Have fun!

 

[rgmartin]

We gave each of our DS's (4, 5, 9) a set amount of money (all $1's for visual aid) - when we heard "I want", my answer was always, "fine, but here's how many of your dollars it will take" and I would show them. They opted to wait every time. Midweek, we took them to a Disney outlet, and they quickly realized they could get more for their limited funds, and each spent it all right then. It really kept the "I want"s to a minimum.

 

[MomofKatie]

I told my 3 year old before we went what she was coming home with. A set of mouse ears with her name on them, a t-shirt or sweatshirt, and one "thing".

This is what we did with DD when she was 3. We also waited until our last day for the one thing she picked out, so we wouldn't get something early on, then see other things she wanted more later in the trip. She ended up picking out a Cinderella musical jewelry box.

 

[louise']

We went to Disney when my kids were 4. I let them pick one item each day we visited a park. They know they can only get one item so it's not a battle and they think hard about what they want to buy. They usually pick out something for a few dollars. I try and set the limit to $10 or so or less unless it's something special. It has worked for our family for the last 3 visits. Good Luck.

 

[lovmy2girls]

We give them a set amount. When its gone its gone. They don't like it. but we got to do it or they will buy us out of money

 

[DAISY DUCK FAN!]

We gave our children Disney Dollars (actually I held on to them) and that was it. Once it was gone, it was gone! It made things a lot easier.

Our then 3 year old spent his fairly quickly, but our 6 year old spent nothing until our last day. And then after buying a hat, he bought his dad a birthday present (it was his birthday)! Very cute!

Our teenager was on his own, lol!!!

My sister did the same thing last June. Actually since she started before they went, I gave them Disney Dollars for Christmas and birthdays. They loved it.

 

[hollyb]

It's vacation why say no all the time?? Our vacation is going to be fun and not filled with so many NOS. We figure on spending $100 a day or more just on stuff they want. I have a seperate envelope for it. If we come home with some great if not, oh well thats what is was ment for. Life is too short to always say no, on vacation no less.

 

[Order66]

I would get whatever amount you are set on spending on souvineers and get them Disney dollars. When we went this spring I bought each of my boys a wallet. The Easter Bunny had hidden dollars in their eggs this year, as well they got some from their Grandmas. I told them I would by each of them 1 T-shirt and 2 pins. Whatever else they wanted could be purchased with their own vacation money. They can spend my money like water......but you'd be surprised at how quickly a young child can grasp the idea of wanting to hold on to his/her own money. This is what I've always done with them when they start with "can I buy......". I tell them sure you have X dollars to spend.....suddenly they don't want it so much anymore. They like the idea of having money more than the junk they see. My kids each had 75.00 and they bought almost everything they wanted and even came home with change to keep saving for the next trip.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Here's what I did for our trip. DD5 is very much into shopping so I knew she would want something(s) every day. A couple months before our trip, I bought a bunch of stuff off clearance from Disney Shopping and gave her a surprise every morning! I got things that I thought she would ask for anyway, and they were MUCH cheaper than in the parks. I got things like a T-shirt from Zazzle (we had all the princesses sign it), a Cinderella doll, a Tinkerbell beach towel, a Princess pool coverup, Princess flipflops (from the Dollar General store!), a Princess water bottle from Walmart, and pins for trading I had ordered also. Each day we gave her $10 to spend and two days she saved up so she could get something even bigger! No hassles at all about asking for big things--we just said how many dollars it would be and how many days of saving it would take.

Since your trip is in a week, I suggest you hit Walmart, Target, dollar stores and find Disney merchandise and take it in a "Mom's Big Bag of Everything" separate duffel bag. The kids will think you are magic for being able to buy stuff without them seeing you do it in the parks! This time of year, you should be able to find Disney dress up "Halloween type" costumes half off after today, sunglasses on sale, maybe even flip flops. Dollar Tree has lots of stickers and stuff. Good luck!

 

[cookies]

We give our children a set amount to spend, but I also bring little thimgs in the luggage. When we check in, we hide little cars or dolls in the room and say Mickey or cinderella must have been here! I buy stuff at dollar store and they love it! But my children are young so we get away with this!
When my soon was about 3 we went to Disney and in the first 3 hours he had 3 new buzz lightyears! We learned out lesson!

 

[believenangels5]

The one thing that my sons still have from when we were in Disney in 1996 is the autograph books that the characters signed for them. I would make this one of their souviners and limit anything else. We did the books, a T-shirt and one other "thing". I think that they each got some type of stuffed toy.

 

[Gymbomom]

What works for my son (since he was 2, now he is 5). Our rule has been ONE thing a day. He makes his choice and that is it. So, why he is looking, I always ask him are you SURE that is what you want, you aren't getting anything else today.....

This has really worked for us, it is usually a $10 item or under. So if he has $100, this lasts a good while. He might get a sword from Pirates one day, a Power Ranger from MGM the next, etc....

Now my dd (she is 9), so she knows what a budget is. She is able to spend at her leisure, and when it is gone, it is gone.

 

[NotUrsula]

It's vacation why say no all the time?? Our vacation is going to be fun and not filled with so many NOS. We figure on spending $100 a day or more just on stuff they want. I have a seperate envelope for it. If we come home with some great if not, oh well thats what is was meant for. Life is too short to always say no, on vacation no less.

I can't speak for the OP, but I'll tell you why we do it. We are travelers. We budget up front for travel every year, and we travel throughout the year every chance we get, to any place that seems interesting, including WDW. One of the ways that we can afford to do this is by generally de-emphasizing the role of "stuff" in our lives. We have inexpensive paid-for vehicles, a small paid-for house, our "big-screen" TV is 26", etc. For us the point of travel is the experience itself, so we deliberately discourage the purchase of any souvenirs. Just like some people want to raise their children to have the same religious outlook that they do, we also want to raise ours to feel the same way as we do about travel. So far we have succeeded.

We also prefer to travel light wherever possible, because in many destinations mounds of luggage just don't work on public transit. Our other rule that I didn't mention before is that if it won't fit in the one suitcase we bring, it doesn't get purchased. (Unless you want to spend more of those limited funds shipping it home.)