kid's $ and souvenirs ?????

[magic cruiser]

We will be taking our 6 yr old grandson to WDW in Aug. I am wondering how to handle souvenir situation ? I'd love some ideas from you parents on kids and their spending money.

 

[WDW2002]

My kids are 11 & 9 I plan on giving them X amount of disney dollars at the beginning of our trip for them to spend as they please. They will have to pay for any unplanned snacks and all suveniors they want. They will have to budget this money to last for the entire 14 day trip or if they don't then they will have to "suffer" the consequences of not having any spending money at the end of the trip.

 

[MELSMICE]

Our 3 children get Disney dollars throughout the year for birthdays, Christmas, etc. so they have their own money to spend on souvenirs.

Sometimes when we are in World of Disney my husband will tell them there is a 1/2 price special just for the next 15 minutes & they get so excited. They get to pick out a few more souvenirs that they wouldn't have been able to get with their own money & we pick up the difference.

They really enjoy having their own $ to spend. I think it's a good idea to let him have his own & learn how to budget it a little bit.

 

[jldriscoll]

I give my girls disney dollars before we go, just $10. This is their "I can buy anything I want even if mom doesn't like it money". Then we tell them we will buy them one toy or trinket a day (these have to be authorized by mom). I'm fortunate, this has never cost us more than $2-5 a day for each. This works for us because we've learned... The appeal of the gift shops is just too much for kids, but the reality of one thing a day makes them a little choosy. And they ususally pick bean bag guys or wind up cars etc that give them some imaginative play back in the room during down time. The day they start picking the expensive stuff I'll have to rethink the whole thing.

 

[ChiTownZee]

my husband will tell them there is a 1/2 price special just for the next 15 minutes & they get so excited.

That is an awesome idea!!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We have done the budget thing with our 9 year old and it works OK. A six year old might have a little more trouble grasping the whole concept and keeping up with the amount spent. My Ds is not bad about asking for a lot of stuff and I find it much more fun to just set a few ground rules, then to buy what he want as we go. My bigest rule is I will not carry stuff all over the parks so we don't buy during our park days except at the end of the day. This cuts down on instant gratification as they come off a ride into a shop. As a grandparent you don't have to worry about the spoiling factor as parents do. I say let your bugdet be the guide.


jordan's mom

 

[melindaandrob]

We let the kids (9,7,4) earn Disney Dollars throughout the months leading up to our trip. They earned them as you would an allowance and it was a great tool for rewarding the 'above and beyond the call of duty' for example dd (7) put her bike away and helped her younger brother put his away. I gave her a Disney Dollar for being a great sister. When we got to WDW they all had $100 in Disney Dollars to spend during our 10 day trip, they thought before they spent and we didn't hear "I want" ever.

 

[Meagansmom]

Our daughter also earns her own money to spend on certain things she wants to buy. She really has to think on alot of things. We will also look in the shops during the day and remember where we saw something, and go back if it something she really wants to buy. This sometimes helps on impulse buying. And carrying things around the parks all day.

I do not know if you are members of the Disney Club but it sure saves us alot of money. We also tell her that if she waits to make some purchases until we go back to Down town Disney, she will save money to buy more also. Disney Club members save 10% discount on most stores at Downtown Disney. Most of the items sold in the parks are sold at Downtown Disney.

Enjoy!

 

[Diznyqt]

Well, everyone knows about the Disney love in this house, so Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny & everyone else knows to leave some Disney Dollars on occasion. Also, when we have a trip planned, the kids make their own little plan about what to save out of allowance toward their trip. They add that to the "change jug" where they put all the loose change they find. Whatever they save is what they can spend on their vacation. When we count it all up, we divide that number between the 2 kids & then we divide it per day, so that is the spending limit per day. It helps my daughter with her math, helps them learn to save & lets them take part in getting their own treats. They love it!

 

[goofy4tink]

My now 8 y/o dd always gets Disney Dollars from family members during the year. She can use that money any way she wants. Our deal with her is....she gets $10 a day to spend. Unless she sees something she wants badly enough to haul around all day she usually waits until we get back to the resort gift shop that night. Last time down...she actually came home with Disney Dollars for the next trip!!!! We also buy her one big thing at the end of the trip, usually from DD's huge Disney store. With my DC membership I can save 10% there.