Is a $40 GC enough for souvenirs for a 6yo?

The gift shops are pricey so be prepared for a bit of sticker shock. It really depends on what she wants/what catches her eye. If you are strict with the $40 limit, she could certainly find things for under $40 but it won't get you too far (especially if she wants more than one thing).

The smaller/trinket type of items such as pens/pencils, magnets, key chains will run you in the $10-$15 range. You can get souvenir cups in the $15-$20 range. But the clothing items, stuffed animals, toy sets, princess dresses and sets of ears for example (which tend to be the things the kids want) are going to run you in the $25-$50 and even upwards depending on what it is. If I were you I would let her spend the $40 but be ready to supplement.
 
Thank you everybody! My daughter's birthday is in December and she usually gets plenty of toys between that and Christmas, so we're really not looking forward to bring lots of things/toys from our trip, we are planning on trying to do some DIY ears to keep her busy and also help with the "why is February so far away?" daily question and we are going with the DDP so she'll be getting the snacks and the souvenir mug as part of that. I was having a hard time picturing what else could she possibly want from there besides ears, the mug and the clothing items we are also planning to get her for her birthday, but I haven't think about the earrings, jewelry and all the gorgeous backpacks/purses, I think we will have to rethink the amount if she falls in love with any of those things
 
I just wanted to comment on this...the perk for declining housekeeping is an egiftcard, not a physical card. If your plan is for your DD to have the physical card to use, you’ll need to bring or buy one.

As for the amount - as others have said, that largely depends on your family’s budget, values or expectations. It would be fine for my family but others would expect to spend more.

Enjoy your vacation!
Thank you for the tip I didn't know that, how do you use the egiftcard? We are getting another 3 for the Gift of Magic offer, can we combined them all into one?
 
I think it's enough. I was planning on giving my kids $25 for souvenirs. We're doing the dining plan and we will get ears, autograph book and some fun light up stuff before we go. My older kids (7 and 9) will supplement with their own money that they've been saving. If they want stuff and can't afford it we just tell them to put it on their Christmas lists. Last time my one son really wanted a Buzz but he'd already blown through his souvenir money so we made him wait until Christmas. I think it made him even more excited for it.
 
There are things you can purchase ahead, like an autograph book, pen and lanyard, We did one souvenir each in Jan. (ears for the 5 yo, soft Tiana doll for her sister, Mickey pirate boat for brother) but Tinker Bell also left a surprise each morning (many from the dollar store--bubbles, light up wands, etc.)
 
Agree with @DisArmyWife215, this is a great learning tool. Going to MK and a cruise with grand niece and nephews next year (they don't know about it just yet). Been giving them DGC for birthdays and Xmas. But when they finally go, they will have "Mickey Mouse Money" (found how to print up MMM). Kids don't understand plastic GC money, but having paper MMM in their hands they realize handing over their money for something is meaningful, and they will have to count their remaining money daily. Good math time.
 


$40 bucks will get her a bubble wand and a magnet..... I did $75 per kid and both opted for one large thing. I had already purchased autograph books prior to the trip since our first fastpass was to meet Mickey and Friends. I also did the ebay thing and bought a bag full of pins cheaply that they could use for trading. As far as purses and such, if there's one over budget if there is a second adult in your party they could sneak off to buy it and have it shipped back to the resort then picked up when she is asleep and it could be a Christmas present.
 
There is really no right or wrong answer here, it's up to you and how much you want to give. We have done as much as $120/kid for a trip, and as little as $25. I have generally found that I give them less as they get older, but that's partly because I expect them to save up some of their allowance by then as well. Plus, we've now been enough times that I don't really want an entire toy store coming home with us after each trip. It seemed more "magical" to do that the first couple of times, lol!
 
We did $20 per kid per day- if they didn’t spend it one day it rolled over. It worked well enough- no tantrums, but occasional moments where my kids had to really think about what they wanted, which isn’t a bad thing!

Edit to add- a lot of that budget came from GCs given by family members or saved up allowances.


I agree. At that age my DGD had envelopes for every day with $20 in each one. She put whatever she did not spend in the next day's envelope. That child was so thoughtful in her spending that year and learned from that experience the benefits of saving towards a larger purchase. At 18 she is still very cognizant of costs and saving for what she really wants.
 
Op.... maybe match those $40? That would get her alot farther I have a 6 yr old and I know he has no knowledge of what things cost nor how to budget very well. I mean it is her birthday and while disney is a great birthday gift it inly last so long while anything she buys to take home with her will help the trip magic follow her home.
 
Not if you are including food or snacks or drinks. I will say that my DD was very patient about browsing gift shops, and she still uses the backpack she chose as her souvenir, 2-3 years later. Maybe something useful that will get used when you get back and not a stuffie or a bubble wand.
 
Thank you for the tip I didn't know that, how do you use the egiftcard? We are getting another 3 for the Gift of Magic offer, can we combined them all into one?

I'm not much help here, hopefully someone else can chime in. I know the egiftcard for declining housekeeping comes as an email, but I haven't used one so I'm not sure exactly how it works. Other (non-Disney) e-giftcards that I have used either had a link for online purchasing or the email notification could be printed and included a bar code. I don't know how the Gift of Magic offer will give gift cards - if it'll be a physical card or electronic. People have used the Disney giftcard website to combine the housekeeping egiftcard with another on the account, so that should be possible for any you receive.

Enjoy your vacation!
 
It really is up to you but $40 will for example buy her one plush and that may be enough for her. But as an example I have a 10 year old Star Wars freak (see my avatar bug surprise) on her birthday she is choosing Hollywood Studios, I have seen her list it includes a druid, a lighsaber (OUCH) and a full costume of Rey.
 
6 year old little girls love costumes, and you'll see them in the parks...this one is marked down to $69.96...and it doesn't even include the crown or the shoes shown. I'd up the amount for a bday trip.

Belle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the Beast

$99.95 $69.96
Belle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the BeastBelle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the Beast
Belle Deluxe Costume for Kids – Beauty and the Beast
 
It really depends, we always gave our kids $50 but we would buy them ears/or a hat and a clothing item.
I also didn't include snacks or drinks in their souvenir money.
$50 was good for my kids but depending on what your's wants and what you allow it may not be for yours. I would let them have the $40 but maybe keep a little extra for them just in case. You don't need to tell them beforehand that they can spend more and who knows maybe they will be able to stay within the $40 budget.
 
We have a family tradition on vacation. Everyone gets a t shirt and keychain. We pay for all food items as well. Anything else the kids want, they have to use their own money. I wouldn't give a child less than $50 to spend on souvenirs.
 
I always give my kids about $40 each, but I don't make them use that for snacks. I allow them 1 "special" snack a day. Most of my older kids save up before our trips to add to that, but my littles think $40 is a lot, so it works for us. I have 5 kids so we have set a budget for sure.

Editing to add: my parents only let us get a pen or keychain as a kids, so I feel like this is plenty.
 
We bought fun things on clearance at the Disney store ahead of the trip, one thing for each day we'd be there, and every day our daughter woke up to a "gift from Tinkerbell to make your day more magical." She looked forward to it every morning, and when she work up one morning to discover no gift (we'd been out until nearly midnight the night before and were exhausted and forgot) it ended up being even more exciting when we got back from breakfast to find the gift ready for her (I ran back to the room when we were walking down the hall to breakfast saying oops forgot my mickey hat and packed it up quickly). Her grandpa gave her $50 for souvenirs before the trip and on day two she decided she really wanted a set of Lion King action figures, but I had pulled her into a gift shop while we waited for our table at Tusker House, otherwise she would have just kept playing with the glowing ice cube I picked up in Pandora.

She was so excited about what was going on around the parks each day that we didn't even step foot into gift shops at her request, over the course of seven days. Even when we were doing the Epcot passport, which often involves walking into the gift shops to find the KidCot stops, she had zero interest. Maybe we just lucked out, but the magic of Disney is way cooler than the toys. With a little pre-planning I think you can avoid having your kid ask for tons of toys during the trip. I brought along two felt bags, one with 50 pennies, and one with 100 quarters. We managed to find 41 pressed pennies around the parks, which was a fun experience for her. I also bought some pins ahead of time, but she ended up having zero interest in pin trading and it was something you had to go out of your way to do, since we were usually walking briskly to the next ride or meet and greet/experience and stopping to chat with the CM's to browse their lanyard is not as cool as meeting a princess for her.

Good luck!
 

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