How should I handle my kids buying souvenirs?

[mjrich73]

I have a dd age 9 and a ds age 7. They both have almost $200 each, saved up for vacation. I however don't think they need to blow that kind of money on souvenirs(they will probably end up just junking up their rooms). On the other hand it is their money...what should I do??

 

[Flea]

I read somewhere .......

No souvenir shopping until the last day - Take a notebook and each time your child sees something they want - write i down with a description- the store you saw it in and the cost - The night before they can decide what they want from the list and go back and get it. I think it would be great as no doubt they will see something "better" over their trip and wish they hadn't bought such and such.

I love this idea so hopefully it works for our trip next year


Can't wait to read others

 

[of2dbeach]

buying inside disney is $$$ there are a bunch of places on I-4 that are much cheaper and have Disney stuff also. i think I would give them a certain amount each day but like the other post said do NOT let them buy anything till the evening of that park because if you buy it early YOUR going to carry it. in 90 degree heat you dont want to carry anything more then yourself, and thats daunting at times. I would say as to what to buy what is something they can get use out of like for me it is a Mickey mouse cup because i use it every morning. The kids thought I was nuts but now they all fight over using it. Are they really going to use those mickey ears after the park prob not, but say yes if it perhaps a baseball cap. is spending $18 for potatoe head parts a bit pricey yes, but concidering i have 2 children who wore the last ones out it made it worh it. I also cheat when i can I didnt buy the actual potatoe head but stuffed the box full of parts. Is is smart to buy candy in the parks prob not great for a kid who is hyper but if they remember it for years that mom let me get a tin of mickey shaped gummies then it was worth it. I usualy let my kids get t-shirts, key chains , pins, cups, plates,pens, note pads, POTC stuff ( after much begging ) pressed pennies, Disney playsets for Autistic brother ,and of course mickey ice cream bars.. YUMM .. I think i would also set an amount to bring say $100 and tell them the rest goes into the bank to be saved for a large purchase later on. $100 is quite a bit for kids and if you dont want alot of junk hangining around then limit the cash they have on hand. My kids are very thrifty if they know they only have $20 a day . they can also roll that money over till the next day if they plan on buying something bigger. I hope this helps

 

[jack hannah bananah]

I agree with the previous post.

However, if you decide to let them bring all that money here is a way to avoid too much junk.

Tell them they can pick a book, an article of clothing, a stuffed animal, a mug, a night time light-up type toy, a game, etc. This way you get some nice tangible things to take home with you, not just a bunch of junk.

My kids bring about $30.00 with which they are allowed to buy anything they want. Then we buy them a book.

My daughter (5) gets a Minnie doll each time and my son (8) usually gets a game. It works for us

 

[Kim1964]

IMHO, if they saved it up specifically for the trip, let them bring it with them with the option to spend it all if they want to. Last year our kids had about $150 each because they got Disney Dollars for their birthdays and Christmas. They were 11 and 5 at the time of the trip, and we spelled it out very clearly for them that we were not purchasing ANY souvenirs for them. You'd be surprised how much harder they will weigh the purchase decision when it's their own money involved.

I don't really care for the "wait until the last night to shop" plan, only because that could mean trips all over the World to go back to the stores. What we've done instead is let them know that when their souvenir money is gone, they're done. On a 7 night trip last year, my kids had money left on the last day. DD#1 even held onto enough to buy her first pair of pearl earrings ($80), which she'd been eyeing all week and tried to con me into buying for her.

 

[2Kds2K9]

I always try to encourage them to buy something they will use. Things like T-Shirts, Sweat shirts, school supplies. Not something that is just going to sit on a shelf and collect dust, or a toy that is going to break before we get home.

I like the idea of writing things down. We also encourage our kids to wait until the end of the day or the trip. What they see first thing in the morning may not be as appealing later on in the day. Or better yet, they forget about it!

Enjoy!
Leigh

 

[noahdove]

Amazing, how kids can spend mom and dad's money, but when it comes to theirs, they hold back. I tell the children that I take, they can buy whatever, but they have to carry it, eat it or where it I buy one snack and if they want a bigger one or another type, they have to spend their own money. I convince them, to do their shopping at the Disney Marketplace store and wow, does that ever make them stop and think, and make some big decisions...I like the idea as to writing down the stuff they want and then go back later in the time frame and decide what they want..I am sure, that alleviates lots of unneeded purchases..Last trip, my granndaughter had to buy for everyone at home and amazing, she did it and bought for herself and had money left over...she is now saving for our August trip..good luck with whatever you decide...

 

[gramto2boys]

I have a dd age 9 and a ds age 7. They both have almost $200 each, saved up for vacation. I however don't think they need to blow that kind of money on souvenirs(they will probably end up just junking up their rooms). On the other hand it is their money...what should I do??

my kids decided what they wanted and we found it on ebay. we got the light up swords, the buzz light year spinning light up toys, and 4 fun hats and guess what? we paid very little for it all. we even bought sweat shirts, tee's and hoodies on ebay to.
the money they are bringing with them will be for goodies, and for that one special gift they have to have. but there not going to be spending all there money. WDW is a trap of toys and murchandise. but we got what they wanted on ebay to save a ton of money.
all they want now is them light straws and cubes :lol:

 

[LAH LAH]

We made the mistake of making a big deal about saving around $150 for each child (they were 7 and 10) and not having a game plan of how they could spend it. We couldn't go into any shop without a hassle. My son (10) couldn't focus his attention elsewhere...he just HAD to spend that money.

It didn't ruin our trip...but it did make it frustrating because they had saved so hard for their first trip and they couldn't understand why we wouldn't let them buy everything. Plus they couldn't foresee the hassle of carrying everything for the rest of the day.

This time we are stopping at an outlet BEFORE even setting foot in Disney. They get to choose one "big" thing and that is it. I will be happy to purchase edible treats...but the gift shops in Disney will be for browsing ONLY!

Good luck and have lots of fun!

 

[santa's surpriz]

I would probably not let them take it all to the park the first day! My daughter (5 yrs old) was really good about wanting to pictures on the digital of she wanted and was able to narrow down her selections.

 

[moxiecola]

My kids had $70 each. I told them they would not be spending it all at once. So the 1st day they took in $30 each. One of my boys (9yrs old) bought something for $10. The other (11) didn't buy anything. I don't know if it's because they are older and all those gimicky toys you can get at our local July 4th fireworks and parade. They ended up coming home with almost all of their money. Most of the stuff down there was the same stuff from our trip 3 years ago. They still have the Stitch football from our last trip that was still selling on the shelf of the store on Main St. I think they were slightly disappointed...I know I was...I was hoping to see some new things...of course the prices don't make me smile either!

 

[KEMdisney]

We also have my niece and nephew wait until the last day of our trip to buy souvenirs. We learned real quickly that after each ride/attraction you were "somehow magically" dumped into a gift shop! The two of them did not want to leave without getting something after every ride! But we promised that the last day of our trip we would go to DTD where they had "the biggest disney store in the world". We told them anything they saw in a gift shop after a ride, would be found in this magical disney store at DTD. It really worked out well, and before we knew it they were walking right through those gift shops and onto the next attraction! I do understand that not EVERYTHING in the parks is found in DTD, but luckily for us they either forgot what the wanted, or found something else. Its never been an issue.

This June will be my third time going with the niece and nephew (and now they have younger siblings and their parents coming with us) and they are already explaining that our last day is our shopping day in DTD. It will be different this time since they are old enough now, and have their own saved up money...but this time their parents will be there so that can be their problem!

 

[Princess Nancy]

My girlfriend and I just talked about this. We both let our kids do Pin Trading.
We ordered pins on Ebay before the trip.
Picked out lanyards at DW.
Each of my children chose a theme.
DD 12 chose TInkerbell,
DS 14 CHose all Mickeys
DD 8 chose princesses.
I was surprised at how much fun they had trading and searching for specific pins they might have spotted on someoneles lanyard.

Mostly I was shocked at how little $$ was spent.
I also enjoy that eachof them have their Lanyard hanging in thier rooms.

The will take them back next time we visit.

My littlest (DD8) bought a few othere things but the big kids stayed really focused and brought back little "junk"

It also kept up from sprnding endless hours in the shops!!!!

I must admit we did spend time "chasing" pins!! LOL

 

[gramto2boys]

We made the mistake of making a big deal about saving around $150 for each child (they were 7 and 10) and not having a game plan of how they could spend it. We couldn't go into any shop without a hassle. My son (10) couldn't focus his attention elsewhere...he just HAD to spend that money.

It didn't ruin our trip...but it did make it frustrating because they had saved so hard for their first trip and they couldn't understand why we wouldn't let them buy everything. Plus they couldn't foresee the hassle of carrying everything for the rest of the day.

This time we are stopping at an outlet BEFORE even setting foot in Disney. They get to choose one "big" thing and that is it. I will be happy to purchase edible treats...but the gift shops in Disney will be for browsing ONLY!

Good luck and have lots of fun!

exactly!! my kids have lots of money, but to buy all those trinkets in the park is a waste. yeah they have lots of disney items from past trips, but I am now down with all the toys any more. thats why we did ebay for what they wanted so we spent 80% less then we would in the parks. the money they will bring is to be spent on goodies, if they want them they can buy them. we have the dining plan, after that first treat the next ones are on them selves.
spending wisely is important to teach kids.
they have always wanted the light up spinning toys, they now have them and I do not have to drag them in the park, deal with them on rides, and so forth. my kids and I are looking forward to seeing and doing the parks in florida for the first time ever. shopping is not one of them we want to do.

 

[lclark0621]

We dont give my DS a set amount of money.

But we do have the rule that we wont buy anything in WDW we can buy at home. So when DS sees something he just "has to have", we will talk about whether we have seen it at home in a toy store or Target, and how if we can get it at home later or if it was not as exciting when we saw it at home, why buy it in Disney World, when we can get something else we can't get anywhere else.

That usually works on a lot of stuff. Before long my DS will start pointing things out remembering he saw them in the Disney Store or Target or somewhere else at home.

That makes him focus on the things he really wants that he cant get elsewhere. Last year one of the things he really wanted was a small Buzz Lightyear toy sitting in the car from the Buzz Lightyear ride. He saw it early in the trip & had to have it. He still loves that thing, and is thrilled knowing he can only get stuff like that in WDW.