Is this an unreasonable amount for my children?

[mindyd]

I personally think it is very low for the cost of things in the park. I would do at least fifty dollars a kid. I don't give my kids a budget and it has gotten out of hands a few time but I try to make them wait till a few days in the trip before they buy stuff so that they really think about what they want and not buy tons of stuff then see something they like better later.

 

[jenseib]

I kind of think it sounds a little low too. My DD is pretty good about not making a fuss over most stuff, but there were 2 items that were just had to have for her last year...and until we bought them we did not rest, I think they totaled about $25 together. We also bought her a few other things she liked. We now ask for Disney gift cards for b-days....well I aks for them and ask for them for DD. She usually gets about $50 worth...usually from her Godfather as his extra special gift to her.
I know each family is different too.
We don't buy a ton of souveigners really. I always get a sweatshirt for myself, and sometimes a shirt or sweatshirt for DD. Not because she has asked, but because I liked it.DH pretty much buys nothing for himself and will buy a thing here or there for DD.
When I took my 2 older children as kids, the yahd so much money each and were really good about what they spent it on. I also gave them opportunities to earn Disney dollars ( I don't think gift cards were even around then) and for Easter they got Disney dollars in there baskets along with the candy.
With my youngest I came up with a little gift each day from a character that worked well too. Just dollar type stuff for the most part left out by a character while were sleeping, and she found that to be really fun! (and I did too)

 

[ohlas]

ok my kids save money, i normally give them 100 each but then im not taking them to only disney every year, we do disney about every 5 years. and thats for all the parks and candy junk etc, but i think it depends on the age when they are 6 years old 100.00 is lot of money when they are 16 100.00 isnt alot....anymore. It also depends on how much you make. If you dont have it dont give it...

what ever you decide is good. your taking them to disney, wow, I can only tell you of two things i bought at disney from when i was younger then 16, one was a sweater, still have it,,,,, and my mickey ears that my grandmother still has..

 

[Ka' eo]

I do NOT think that is too low. If you live frugally then they undoubtedly are used to not getting lots of stuff from stores. Our kids have never ever felt deprived because they don't get much at the parks. I really think kids need to learn that money is limited (for most of us) and to figure out how to plan and budget. This sounds like a fine plan.

Do NOT feel guilt or pressure by folks saying this is too little. Just the trip to Disney is a luxury for them, right? And besides, nothing would prohibit you from contributing to something if they want it and don't have enough.

Good luck!

 

[Mom21]

Something I do with my dd, no matter how much money I give her, is tell her she can keep what is left to spend at home. Funny how when it is her money she gets so tight she squeaks, but when it's mine she can spend, spend, spend.

 

[eliza61]

For our upcoming trip I plan to give my boys $30 each to spend however and whenever they choose on souvies. Does anyone think this is unreasonable and will not be nearly enough? I like to teach them the value of a dollar and am frugal in my day to day life, so if they spend it all on something that is not a good value then that is a chance I am willing to take and they will have to live with their decision.

I should mention that they all already have Mickey ear hats, autograph books and pens. I have also bought them pins already and they have them on lanyards ready to go. In addition I will be paying for their hair cut and color plus pixie dust while we are there. For nighttime I purchased some glow sticks and glow swords to try and deter them from wasting money on the light up toys at Disney as well.

I think 30 bucks is going to be a bit low. Only because I've seen mugs at Disney that run about $20 bucks alone.
I'd probably up it by another $10 bucks in case they see a really interesting toy or shirt they like. My son last year actually brought a cd of disney music and I think that sucker was $27 bucks.

 

[Shreggor]

Sounds good but just keep in mind, depending on their ages, that might not buy much.

You def can't get a sweatshirt for that. And some of the pins are over $10 now! My FI saw a few he liked when we were there a few weeks ago and ended up not getting any because of the price.

 

[griswalds]

Thanks for all the great input. I forgot to mention a few things in the original posting. First, we go to Disney at least once a year, so they always have the option of saving some things for later. Second, I do make them custom shirts at home before we go, so they have never asked for a shirt or sweatshirt at the World.

Last year I took only my two oldest and while I didn't give them their own money to spend, they really didn't end up asking for a lot. Last year I purchased them each one of those little light up string things for $16 at the kiosks, a medallion necklace for like $5 at POTC for my oldest and a sword for the younger one. Other than that they asked for nothing, so I actually spent less than $30 on each of them last year.

We have been going for years though and they do have things from years past. I figured $30 was good since I invested on the pins before the trip. If you add in the cost of the pins that I bought them for the trip it is over $50 per child for the trip.

That was my question-how often do you go? We go once a year or every other year so we don't have to load up on souvies. I gave my kids $20 for a 5 day trip and it was fine. My DSis on the other hand is from South Dakota, so it was a once in a lifetime trip so they of course spent much more.
To me it was well worth the money not to hear "can I have this" every 5 minutes. They knew they could but whatever they wanted but when the money was gone-it was gone.

 

[wdwfan16]

When we have taken other kids we gave them way more than $30. More in the $100 range.

 

[QVCshopper]

I just got back from an 12 night trip--cruise and Disney (got stuck due to snow at home). Anyway, here's what I spent on my DD5 and DS3 (giving running total so I remember everything). Would have been less but DD has been hitting me up for more stuff lately... and it does not include snacks and treats, as we used the Quick Service Dining Plan and treated them more than usual using that.

DD Minnie doll-$7
DD Minnie doll#2-$6
DD Minnie purse from Nassua-$15
DD Kookie pen x2-$5
DD Lego set on clearance-$10
DS Lego set on sale-$7.50
DS Lego set on clearance-$12.50
DS Rhino toy-$4
DS turtle from Nassua-$5
Pins they made x2-$2

Total-$74 for 12 nights... not too bad. But I'm a cheapo and proud of it!

 

[wendypooh]

I agree with some of the others here............ I think it's a little low. We typically give DS about $100 here or there.......... if you can swing more, then do so. Remember, things in the parks/downtown disney are pricey. I've found though, that when DS is spending "his" money............. he's a lot more frugal and doesn't want to just buy "everything" he sees!!! I tell him, once it's gone.......... that's it, NO MORE!!! But, yeah............ well,

LOL

 

[WDmommyof4]

I truly appreciate all the input given, but I think for the most part I will stick with the $30 each this time. We are on the deluxe dining plan which my oldest two asked for when given the choice between the three dining plans. We rarely eat out at home and they enjoy getting to choose the different restaurants. So, as far as candy and such go, they can get it with snack credits.

They are not used to getting everything they want at home and so they will be thankful for whatever they can get I think. If we get there and one wants something all week that is slightly out of budget, I may sneak them the extra cash.

As a single mom of four boys, the trip is our big treat each year and I don't think they will have too much of a problem staying in budget. I do like the idea of giving Disney dollars throughout the year though and will try that for next year's trip. Thanks again everyone!

 

[bigmama67]

Hmmm...the last time we went DS was just shy of 5 and we gave him $5 per day for 5 days at the parks, so $25 total. This time we will stick to that and we are planning 1 day at AK and some days at ahem-*other parks* but we will do multiple days at US/IOA so we have to figure out a game plan. We will pick out a few cute things for DD as she is only 1. We will probably go to Downtown Disney on our last morning and get whatever we haven't already purchased then. 8o)

Be aware that there are some things specific to certain parks; I still think about a T-shirt I wish I'd bought in DHS (and we aren't going there this time). Sigh...

 

[hsmamato2]

I prefer to help the kids raise and save their own souvie money- we go yearly too,and my kids have always brought their own,we buy food,etc,and I gift them some trading pins b4 we go,but toys,etc are their own purchase-
If they saw a clearance shirt,I might buy it for them,but not often-
this way they learn to budget their allowance for about 6 months before they go- and they usually save WAY more themselves than I would ever give them anyway(my ds10 usually brings 100 or more with him saved from his 3.00 per week allowance,I don't even know how he saves so well)
so in reality I spend about 30.00 per kid for some pins per trip.

 

[christa112]

We usually give our kids $50 GC. I always purchase them a t-shirt and 1 pin while there. This last time they decided not to do autograph books. It is kinda funny to watch my 10 and 9 yr old decided on what they want to spend their money on. They will find something look at the price and of course they don't want to waste their money on it. Of course if I was willing to buy it for them they would take it. I really like giving them their own $ because like you said they learn the meaning of $.

 

[3boymthr]

I think it really really depends upon how frequently you go. We don't go that often. We went last year and allowed the kids $200 each. But they had never been before so it was a big deal to get souvenirs and that included everything - candy, light ups, mickey hats, etc. (I knew before hand that the kids wanted to do the star wars photos that they had seen the kids doing on the Disney DVD and included this in my budget - I knew those are expensive - it was $178 for four - and that was included in my budget.) If you go every year then I think $30 is plenty, especially since you are buying a bunch of stuff for them beforehand such as the mickey hats and light ups. But I would suggest allowing a little flexibility in the $30 if, for example, the only item they want is a light sabre that cost $35 - allowing them to "work" to pay you back when they get home.

 

[DizzyStitch]

My kids save their Christmas money for our trip each year. This way they learn what they really want instead of oh this looks cool as long as mommy is buying it. They have made some very good purchases to date.

 

[TnTWalter]

mouse ears, pins, immediately off the rides, downtown disney has the everything under $10.

Enjoy.

Trish

 

[Arielssister]

Don't forget the everything is $10 or under store in Downtown Disney.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I truly appreciate all the input given, but I think for the most part I will stick with the $30 each this time. We are on the deluxe dining plan which my oldest two asked for when given the choice between the three dining plans. We rarely eat out at home and they enjoy getting to choose the different restaurants. So, as far as candy and such go, they can get it with snack credits.

They are not used to getting everything they want at home and so they will be thankful for whatever they can get I think. If we get there and one wants something all week that is slightly out of budget, I may sneak them the extra cash.

As a single mom of four boys, the trip is our big treat each year and I don't think they will have too much of a problem staying in budget. I do like the idea of giving Disney dollars throughout the year though and will try that for next year's trip. Thanks again everyone!

I think you and I are a lot alike!

Have a great trip!