"Pre-buying" souveniers for kids?

[MrsPooh]

My girls were a little older during our trip to DW (they were 10 and 15) and they absolutely loved getting a little tink gift each day. It also helped take the edge of wanting to buy something new every day although they were allowed to pick a few items at the gift shops during the trip.

The funny part was that most of the tink gifts they received were really designed for younger kids but they had so much fun getting the gifts. And obviously they were well past really believing that tink was sneaking into the room to leave the gift but it was fun to go along with it.

On arrival day Tink left each family member a wrapped gift that was a pair of Disney themed pjs (even dh got Pooh boxers).

One day the girls each received t-shirts I'd gotten on sale at the Disney store (which has since closed in our city).

I also had a day when everyone received pins to trade that I had found for a great price.

Those were the only days they rec'd something large and a little more expensive. One day was Disney character socks, one day it was a pen and notepad from the dollar store, one day it was small stuffed animals - just little things.

I had found a roll of Mickey wrapping paper that I used for the pjs and wrapped them before packing. The other items were packed together and then I packed some small Disney character gift bags that I reused daily for the rest of the week.

I don't know that it saved us much money but it did add a great deal of fun and magic to the trip.

 

[Darcy03231]

I get lots of trading pins on eBay which saves quite a bit of money.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

*pins from ebay for trading

*t-shirts from the Disney store (like when they are $4)

*make your own autograph book (Hobby Lobby has a great line of Disney stickers)

*make t-shirts using the talents of those on the creative board

*check out the $1 spot at Target (currently they have a lot of Toy Story items)

*Disney ball caps from Target or WalMart

*Disney Crocs from the outlet stores (always less than $10 on sale)

We usually go in May to WDW. The shoes, caps, shirts, etc., that we buy are the kids' summer clothes - two whammies in one shot. The kids love wearing their Disney clothes all summer and they are special to their vacation. I wouldn't think of spending $25 on a t-shirt (at Disney or anywhere else).

 

[tweedlemom]

I also picked up a bunch of new Disney comic books for $3.99 each at our local comic book store. Nemo, Cars, Incredibles, Mickey, etc. They're beautiful!

 

[jandmmom]

Wow! You guys are amazing! I am getting so many great ideas here

I love the Disney boxers idea...I may have to steal this one to surprise DH

The kids will really believe that the gifts are being "left" by one of the characters, so that part should be fun! And I can imagine that they would really look forward to seeing what is left for them each day (maybe this will prevent too many "I want that" episodes from my DD).

I will look into the autograph books too. I think that they would want to get the autographs, so that should be fun.

I don't really think that they are old enough (or even aware of) the pins & I am not really sure what they even are at this point. I remember buying flag pins at Epcot when I was a kid - wish I still had those because my DS is totally into world flags right now.

Thanks again everyone! I am excited about this!

 

[santadog]

I buy pins on Ebay. I introduced my daughter to pin trading early on as a way to get her used to spotting, and talking to CMs (in case we got separated).

All of the other tricks I use have been mentioned her. Tinkerbell leaves behind metallic mickey icon confetti for us. As for crayons, I always stock up in August. Most Targets and Office Places have the box of 24 crayolas for a quarter. I'll buy about a dozen boxes, just to have them handy.

 

[huntforjulia]

It's not pre buying but my kids loved it & it's pretty cheap, Pressed pennies, empty a mini M & M container & fill it with 2 quarters,then a penny till it's full. It is small enough to carry & you will have change ready when you need it. You can't beat a 51 cent souvenEar, use them at home to decorate a frame or make a necklace/bracelet.

 

[fakereadhed]

We always fly, so I prebuy
Disney themed stuff and pack it in the Mickey backpack for the plane ride.
So far I have Buzz and Woody suckers, Buzz plush, Mickey coloring book and crayons, Disney pool toys(ball, soft frisbee, etc), Disney sunglasses. He looks forward to the backpack(I won't let him open it until we take off) and it includes stuff he needs plus stuff to keep him busy at the resort. I also bring the spinners(always find them at yard sales) and dole them out while waiting for nightime parades and shows. I also premake a couple of custom t's. Check out the Creative DISigns board!

 

[luvdisney00]

I was at the Disney store outlet (in NJ ) last week and they had great stuff for 3.99. I picked up some tees for DD7 and for my 5yo newphew who we will be visiting on the drive home. They had these really cute cups with characters on them with attached straws and I got a Minnie one for a co-workers 3yo daughter who just got back from WDW. They also had sippy cups and plastic dinnerware very cute and cheap. Select adult tees were 5.99 so I got DH a new Mickey tee.

We used to always do the tink gifts when the kids were younger, but I think I'll just do glo stuff for DD7 and new pins this year. I bought 20 pins on ebay for $15 so I'll throw in one more and they'll each have 7 to trade, and I'm going to Michaels now to look for new lanyards. Each of them has a lanyard purchased in WDW full of pins that they carefully traded for, and I think they will leave them hanging on their bedroom walls and take their new "trading" lanyards. It kills me to buy the pins full price in the parks and then have them trade them away!

I plan on giving each DD about $30 to spend on whatever they want, but that's it. Older DD's will probably want to save the $$ rather than buy souveniers and that's fine too. DD 15 would ratehr buy makeup than a Disney tee or trinket LOL.

 

[Darcy03231]

Wow! You guys are amazing! I am getting so many great ideas here

I love the Disney boxers idea...I may have to steal this one to surprise DH

The kids will really believe that the gifts are being "left" by one of the characters, so that part should be fun! And I can imagine that they would really look forward to seeing what is left for them each day (maybe this will prevent too many "I want that" episodes from my DD).

I will look into the autograph books too. I think that they would want to get the autographs, so that should be fun.

I don't really think that they are old enough (or even aware of) the pins & I am not really sure what they even are at this point. I remember buying flag pins at Epcot when I was a kid - wish I still had those because my DS is totally into world flags right now.
Thanks again everyone! I am excited about this!

I took my niece for her first trip when she was four. Pin trading was one of her top three things when we asked her about her favorite parts of the trip.

Basically you get a lanyard and put pins on it. You can trade with CMs (I only let her trade with CMs) or others for pins you like better or want. You give them one of your pins and get one of theirs. There are CMs that can only trade with children (I think they have the green lanyards). She had a great time doing it!

 

[lilandvisma]

Hi all! I have been reading to prepare for our upcoming trip, and I wanted to get more info on the idea of "prepurchasing" our souveniers for the kids. Can I get some tips from people who have done this?

I have 2 kids (4 - girl, 6 - boy). My DD is really into the princesses. DS isn't into any particular character, but he likes all of the movies.

I was thinking of buying things before we go (dollar store, disney outlet, target?) and putting them in little bags with the kids names on them....from Mickey, Minnie, etc. Then leaving them on their pillows?

Any other ideas?

Thanks so much in advance!

We tried the whole pre buying thing...went to disney store and there were a ton of deals so of course we bought a bunch in hopes of our kids wanting less while there. Yea..umm...that didn't work LOL

The only thing it did work for was the girls princesses dresses. Even though DD#1 still begged for a mulan and pocahontas outfit while there and still complains about it till this day! That part saved us a ton as the same dress we paid $20 for cost over $100 in DW.

We went over budget on suvies while there but looking back I don't regret a thing.

 

[amylynne01]

I am pre-buying some stuff for my girls for our trip in January. I've been scoping out Target's dollar spot as well as clearance toys and clothes for Disney stuff. I just bought them 4 sets of matching princess t-shirts from the Disney store for 4.99 each. They are going to look so cute!

We also will not be buying a ton of souvenirs while we're there. While my older DD knows that we buy stuff at a store, she knows that she doesn't get stuff every time we go to a store. We won't be frequenting stores at DW. They'll get one thing while we're on vacation, and they really won't know any differently. Just having the memories is an awesome souvenir.

 

[mnmhouston]

I also buy things that have been mentioned before. My daughter knows that Micky leaves her a gift everyday so she doesn't really ask for stuff in the parks. I leave the gifts in different places in the room when we leave in the morning and it is there when we return to the room.

I also ship these things to the hotel so I don't have to worry about the kids seeing them while packing/unpacking.

For our August trip I got them magic washclothes (the kind that "grow" in water), princess water guns for the pool, minnie t-shirts, etc, also got trading pins on ebay for my older daughter (this will be her first time trading).

 

[MrsPooh]

I love the Disney boxers idea...I may have to steal this one to surprise DH

My dh is a Pooh-sized guy himself and I was really struggling trying to find anything Disney for him and Pooh is his favorite character.

I finally ended up purchasing regular, solid-color boxers and found a great iron-on patch at the fabric store that was a Winnie the Pooh. He absolutely loved them and it didn't look homemade at all.