Is this an unreasonable amount for my children?

[MinnieForMe]

My kids have $35 each from their Birthday left for this year.

I had to laugh last year. After a day in the park, they asked to stop at Walmart on the way back to the resort so their money would stretch farther! Of course, they already have all the typical Disney junk that we carry back and forth if need be. I thought it was funny that my 11 year old walked right by the Disney stuff and purchased a float for the pool and a book to read.

 

[PatsGirl]

I think you are definately in the right ballpark with the $30. I can't remember the last time I gave my kids anything more than that but I do know that they managed to save Xmas and birthday $$ to take with them as well. We always know many months in advance of our WDW trips so they save.

I'm with the posters here who don't buy trinkets or games or toys at the parks. Our first trip I went way overboard and did the Tinkerbell pillow thing but I brought everything from home to the resort with me and still spent less than $50/kid for the five nights.

I would say the majority of my kids spending $$ is for the arcade and Goofy Candy Co. I also refuse to buy other junk snacks other than the occasional ice cream or root beer float or something like that. Junk is on them!

Our absolute favorite souvenier was pressed pennies! We spent many of our trips from age 7-11 doing that and Epcot kid stations for fun. Other souveniers we liked in the past include Christmas ornaments, Japanese fan personalized and a small silk umbrella personalized with name and date of visit. We still have all these for show in our house and they are all in the $10 or less range (umbrella might have been $15). We also have a caricature down every year for our wall which I of course pay for.

 

[honeydiane1953]

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.

Perfectly reasonable to me. And I spend money like it's growing on trees.

 

[buzz5985]

I think $30 is plenty. We are frequent visitors also. When my DS 13 knows about a trip - he is expected to save his spending money out of his allowance. Which is now $13/week. He pays for his cell phone out of that money also. His last trip was a surprise for his 13th birthday - we brought his friend with us - so he had a lot of birthday money - which he ended up bringing home with him.

As a family we purchase an ornament for our Christmas tree for any vacation we go on. We have a nice collection now, it's fun the discussions we have about the trip in question as it goes on the tree.

 

[shortbun]

I've always given my son $10 a day-use it all or a little at a time, whatever. He can even bring it home and save it if that's what he decides to do, and he has done that with some of it. I also buy him one souvenir, like a sweatshirt because we/his parents are responsible for dressing him at this point.

 

[mommycrawford]

You are giving them a trip to Disney, so $30 is just gravy!

...I would suggest though that you make time to take them to Mickey Mart in DTD so they can see that they can buy a lot for their money, or save it for 1 thing that's special.

Conversely, you could encourage them to have a stoop sale with some of their unwanted things or sell lemonade, to add to what you are giving them if they want to have more. This allows them to have some control, and takes the pressure/ responsability for their wants off of your shoulders.

All these moments are opportunities for learning, and appreciating what they have.

Have a great trip!

 

[taximomfor4]

OP, I always give my kids $30 or so to spend for the entire trip. We souvenir-BROWSE whenever they want to, and then they purchase on the last day. It's worked great, and they have never complained. Also, doesn't add to the clutter we live with daily, in our too-small-for-6-people-house!

 

[TupperMom7]

When we went five years ago, we gave each of the kids $50. I didn't let the little ones carry their own money, but kept track of it for them on a small notepad. That way they could ask me how much they had left and I didn't have to worry about them losing it. They brought their own money too and Grandma gave them some spending money, so I would say $30 is a little low. Unless you plan on buying all their treats too - candy, ice cream, etc. then you might be okay.