Souvenir Ideas

[kylieh]

Hi all - DD5 has let me know that she would like to bring back all her classmates & teacher a souvenir specifically from Disneyland later this year. There are 15 others in her class, mix of boys and girls, between 5 and just 6.

I was thinking of a simple writing pencil or an eraser for each of the kids, and a pen for the teacher. Food items are out of the question as I need to bring it back through Australian customs (too hard.) I don't want to spend a fortune, maybe a $2-$3 for each child?

I'm also aware that many of the kids won't get the opportunity to do such a trip. On our US trip we're also visiting the Grand Canyon, so I'm wondering if I should talk DD into something similar from there instead. Or am I being too politically correct, and let DD stick with the DL idea? Are there any other ideas for a simple easy and cheap souvenirs that may be exciting for a young child?

 

[mikayla73]

I just wanted to say that is awesome that your DD wants to do that for her class!

I can't really think of anything right now, because I need to be in bed, but saw some "little" stuff when we were in DTD to at WOD today. The Mickey head bracelets I saw for girls I thought were really cute. They were just little plastic beads that were very colorful. I think they were ~$3. They have all sorts of little stuff like that at the stores. I am at DL now so when we are out and about tomorrow, I'll keep my eye out and take some pics if I have my camera with me when we are shopping. (DH is really gonna think I lost my mind )

 

[VegasMike21]

your best bet would probably be pencils, i believe they sell a pack of DL pencils that you can buy for the kids, that would come out to way cheaper then $2 per child. also they have some neat trickets around all the cash registers that also could be considered...gotta check around, never know what you may find.

 

[Corpsebride]

Here is an idea your DD can do that will be fun for her too! There are a bunch of pressed coin machines all around the park. You can get a map from city hall. You basically press a penny in the machine for $1.00? or something close to it and the machine will press out a penny of a Disney character or the haunted mansion or what ever Disney theme you choose. It is super cheap, it will be cool too because it will be on a US coin, stretched out kinda long. You can get a bunch with out breaking the bank. They can all be different and are definately Disney souvineer worthy.
There is also a cut glass shop in NOS across from Le Bat En Rouge that sells really cute tiny tiny glass Disney character figurines on little tiny round mirrors for about 4- ea. There are very nice things in there that would also be great gifts.
good luck!

 

[VegasMike21]

Here is an idea your DD can do that will be fun for her too! There are a bunch of pressed coin machines all around the park. You can get a map from city hall. You basically press a penny in the machine for $1.00? or something close to it and the machine will press out a penny of a Disney character or the haunted mansion or what ever Disney theme you choose. It is super cheap, it will be cool too because it will be on a US coin, stretched out kinda long. You can get a bunch with out breaking the bank. They can all be different and are definately Disney souvineer worthy.
There is also a cut glass shop in NOS across from Le Bat En Rouge that sells really cute tiny tiny glass Disney character figurines on little tiny round mirrors for about 4- ea. There are very nice things in there that would also be great gifts.
good luck!

good idea about the coins corpsebride, i didn't even think about those.

 

[boiseflyfisher]

Will you have a car? If you do, make a quick trip to the Character Warehouse. Be sure to bring a list of classmate names. In the past they have had really cheap keychains with characters and names. They also have lots of other fairly inexpensive things to pick up.

 

[nunzia]

Great idea about the pressed pennies! Also, some unique postcards would be fun and cheap and easy to pack

 

[Judy from Boise]

in the $4 range they have great magnets, but I love the penny idea!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

They have little mickey head suckers in different colors that you can buy in bunches of 5, I believe. Anyway if you buy enough for her class it breaks down to less than $1 per child. Very economical and easy to pack. Kids love them.

 

[Queenbillabong]

I think the pressed pennies are a great idea and a great bargain - they are 51 cent - 1 penny and two quarters - each, so nice and cheap. You can get all different kinds. If you DD likes them, you can even get a book to store them in Pencils are always good for school age kids too and the Mickey head suckers would be loved by the kids, I'm sure!

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

I love the pressed penny idea, and the postcard idea too....sometimes you can buy a book of postcards for less than buying them individually......Plus a map for the whole class would be fun, they could put it up on their wall like art....It can be really inexpensive, but still mean a lot!

 

[bumbershoot]

Will you have a car? If you do, make a quick trip to the Character Warehouse. Be sure to bring a list of classmate names. In the past they have had really cheap keychains with characters and names. They also have lots of other fairly inexpensive things to pick up.

I completely agree with the idea to visit the warehouse.

They have little mickey head suckers in different colors that you can buy in bunches of 5, I believe. Anyway if you buy enough for her class it breaks down to less than $1 per child. Very economical and easy to pack. Kids love them.

This might sound totally wacky, but I'm going to say it anyway.

A few months ago either the OP or another poster from Australia was talking about the food at DLR and, I believe, in America in general. Somehow (as always happens with me) we got onto the subject of ingredients in the food here, and high fructose corn syrup was brought up. The Australian poster mentioned that they don't really have those additives to foods, and they would probably avoid eating the foods that have those corn syrup ingredients in them.

Since all the lollipops I've seen at DLR have either corn syrup or HFCS in them, I would really recommend staying away from bringing those home to Australia.

But I'm hyper-sensitive on the subject of that sort of thing b/c my son has a horrible reaction to those things. I would just HATE for a kid who is not used to those things in their diet to suddenly flip out (my guy attacks, has massive tantrums, runs in circles running into people (THANK YOU DOLE WHIP for that), and just in general feels awful (thank you Uncrustables)), especially in a classroom setting.

Might just be my issue, but it's worth thinking about, if you're coming from a place that's not as used to junk in foods...



OP you mentioned Grand Canyon. I haven't been there since I was about 10, but I remember the souvenirs there being very very expensive. In fact I think we got more from our Disneyland stop on the way home from there than we got at Grand Canyon, b/c of the cost (though I do remember the paperweight with a scorpion in it that I got there, ew).

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

 

[kylieh]

What all great ideas. Thank you. I'm really fond of the pressed pennies and post cards. They will be effective, inexpensive, and won't take up too much room in our suitcases!

I like the lollipop ideas, but I'm not sure that it would work with her school. They don't sell any "junk" food and kid's aren't permitted it in their lunch boxes.

The map is great too. I'm sure the teacher will like that

I like the magnets for me!!! I like decorating my fridge.

Unfortuntley we won't have a car now - we decided against it. (I'll post an update in another post.)

Keep the ideas coming, I'll write them in my notebook and discuss with DD when the topic next comes up, or as a discussion topic whilst there! She responds better when we give her choices and direction.

 

[Corpsebride]

glad you liked the pressed pennies idea. heres another one that is gonna be on the cheap. If you can take pictures of the characters solo , you can photoshop each kids name in the pic like their own personal post card. I dunno, just a thought.also, if you have a car while you are here, there are discount stores called the 99 cent store and they have disney stuff like pencils and notebooks and colored pencils and lots of fun disney kind of school supply stuff for 99 cents each!! I send my niece and nephews tons of stuff from there for practically nothing. Just a thought!
regardless, you are going to have a blast and dont forget to get something fantastic for yourselves!!

 

[pippi]

I just put together goodie bags for some family members and good friends. I got the smallest bags from the DisneyStore(world of Disney), Ibought these very small Mickey heads for 1.95 ea. and wrote the names of the kids on them with a Sharpie (to personalize it), I got a pack of pens (for older kids) and a pack of pencils (for smaller kids). In the bag I also put a Mickey lollipop which are 3.95 for 5 or 4.95 for 5. Some were princess like the others mickey. And I got a pack of 24 ice cubes and put two in each bag. They are shaped liked Mickey. I spent about 4.50 for each kid. The penny press idea is good too. It's only .51. Two quarters and one penny (just make sure the pennies are very shiny.)
Pippi

 

[boiseflyfisher]

What about the free buttons? In the past they have had pirate and princess ones. I'm not sure if they have them still, but they do have the Honorary Citizen buttons. It might be worth asking about.

 

[sand2270]

OP you mentioned Grand Canyon. I haven't been there since I was about 10, but I remember the souvenirs there being very very expensive. In fact I think we got more from our Disneyland stop on the way home from there than we got at Grand Canyon, b/c of the cost (though I do remember the paperweight with a scorpion in it that I got there, ew).

I am laughing because I grew up in Tucson and those paperweights with scorpions in them are in every gift shop here. My brother had one when we were kids.