How do you manage all the toys?

[SaintsManiac]

I will probably get slammed for this but on last years trip I gave each girl $800 for a 10 day trip (I was very poor as a child). The older girl (18) spent maybe $150 total she could find so little worth the prices there. She told me that she was going home and hitting Amazon. The other was 9 then between Star War and Pokémon she murdered hers but she didn't ask for anything else,

Nothing wrong with that. I do plenty of things for my kid that I didn't get when I was a child. As long as she continues to be grateful and respectful and get good grades then she wins in my book.

 

[tinkerjo]

We try to buy T-shirt’s, hats, and stuffed animals before going. Also we buy the cheap trading pins and honestly that one is the best. Now DS12 is obsessed with stopping in the gift shops but only to see what magical pin he wants to trade for. We don’t do a lot of souvenir shopping. The trip is what’s important to us and the kids have never bugged too much. They usually have gift cards from grandparents at Christmas if we are going the next year and they spend that ( usually churro money) I did splurge on an Aerosmith T-shirt for DD when she was about 13 for $50 and I told her not one more thing, this is it!! $50 on a t-shirt ???!!!! (she is 26 now) we have that T-shirt still- she wore it for her senior pictures so it was money well spent but I still shudder lol

 

[DISNEY1975]

I never gave my kids a budget. They had no concept of cost or money at that age.

What I did do was buy some thing online prior to the trip, when on sale, at shop disney. Tshirts, stuffed animal, autograph books etc... and I packed them and gave them to her at the hotel. That way she felt like she got something "new", which we needed for the trip anyway (well..not the stuffed animal, but she was happy to sleep with them!). When she saw it in a gift shop, she didnt even ask, knowing she just got one!

When she started to ask for things, I told her there were so many things to look at, that we would look at everything before picking something to buy. I promised her at the end of the trip, we would get the one thing she really wanted. She was fine with that. She enjoyed the shopping and thinking about if she liked it better than what she had seen previously.

We also went with pins she could trade, rather than buying new ones. I let her pick out a new lanyard when we were there.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

I tell my kids they can pick one thing: a toy, shirt, hat, etc. I encourage them to look around, remember things they liked, and during the last few days they choose what they want, and we buy it.

 

[sullyfam]

We have 3 kids and we have a fairly strict 2-3 items per kid per trip rule. We don't necessarily set a budget but try to keep it even as possible. When you have more than one kid, it's all about "she got 2 things and I only got 1" type of thing so they always get the same amount of "things."

Our strategy is usually to browse for the first couple of days. There is stuff everywhere. Any time you come off a ride, you are put right into a gift shop. So we tell them they should take an inventory of what they like and we usually keep a wish-list of sorts. You will see lots of the same gifts over and over again so it's easy enough to pick things up in multiple places.

They typically each get a clothing item plus 1-2 other things. And we also let them get some treats for the trip home. Our oldest has gotten to the age where he wants to buy things for friends while he's there. We have him bring his own $ for that (he's 12).

For us it's all about keeping it to 2-3 items per kid and once they've gotten those 2-3 things, they are done. They have learned over the years that it's better to browse and see what they really like first as opposed to buying it all on day 1. I think like many things, it gets easier as they age.

 

[ClapYourHands]

We have 3 kids and we have a fairly strict 2-3 items per kid per trip rule. We don't necessarily set a budget but try to keep it even as possible. When you have more than one kid, it's all about "she got 2 things and I only got 1" type of thing so they always get the same amount of "things."
... I think like many things, it gets easier as they age.

It also gets easier for older kids to see equality in $ spend rather than number of items. My older kids are 9 and 11, and they understand the things they want are more expensive than the toys I buy for the 4-year-old.

Even when not at Disney, my husband is a sucker for buying them stupid trinkets at Walgreens, CVS, etc. My oldest is saving for a pricy Lego set, and has started asking if he can skip getting a $4 drug store bauble, and have that money applied to his Lego fund. Works for me.

Delayed gratification is a really important skill to develop.

 

[NotUrsula]

We started very early on making it clear that we travel for the experience, not to acquire "stuff". In fact, the fact that we don't acquire "stuff" when we travel allows us to travel more often, because it reduces the cost. Each of our kids know they got one thing per trip, and the price of it was limited, though it rose a bit as they got older.

 

[Duck143]

My kids will obsess over things and not enjoy the parks and 'family' time, so DH and I need to plan a strategy of getting them things early in the trip and then use the rest of the trip to focus on all the non-material things to enjoy.

 

[TwinkleKS]

We go often enough that my kids know they can't have everything. They are to the point now where they kind of know when to say it is the one item they want for the trip, and they know not to beg for things. If I say it is too expensive, it is too expensive. We also have strategies for certain items. The kids love having their faces painted ... but it is expensive and only lasts a day at most. Now we get henna tattoos at the beginning of the trip - the kids are happy and they last for a few weeks - a longer waste of money .

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We spend a fair bit in souvenirs. Always have, but much of it is for things that are special to us that we cherish. I buy an ornament every trip. They are used every Christmas. DD collects the little shoes themed for different characters, and she has a special shelf in her room to display them. I usually get a pin for any special event we attend like MNSSHP, MVMCP, Food and Wine ect. They are memories of our trips and the fun we had. We pretty much wear out any tees we get for the same reason. DD got a banshee at Avatar, and it lives on her dresser. We are massive star wars fans so Galaxy's edge is going to eat into our souvenir budget next trip.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Nothing wrong with that. I do plenty of things for my kid that I didn't get when I was a child. As long as she continues to be grateful and respectful and get good grades then she wins in my book.

I am so glad to hear someone else say this. A lot of people say I do too much for my DD. She is my only, and we had some lean times when I was growing up too. I remember not being able to do things others were because we just couldn't.

I do buy her pretty much what she wants, but she never asks for anything unreasonable. I look at school as her "job". She is in a demanding academic program and apprenticing at her dance studio (requires 15 hours a week after school). As long as she maintains her grades, I pay for her to dance and take care of her financial needs. Even when it's my money, she shops smart, hits the sales and will wait for a deal. Her homecoming dress this year was $19. She tried on $250 dollar dresses, but passed on them as "not worth it".

 

[Hatboxer]

Original poster here - THANK YOU so much for all of these great replies! Some really helpful ideas here. I’m glad to hear I’m not alone with having a “things-obsessed” kid, but also nice to hear experiences with just letting it happen versus trying to shut it down. Thx again, all!

 

[Dcgc28]

I will probably get slammed for this but on last years trip I gave each girl $800 for a 10 day trip (I was very poor as a child). The older girl (18) spent maybe $150 total she could find so little worth the prices there. She told me that she was going home and hitting Amazon. The other was 9 then between Star War and Pokémon she murdered hers but she didn't ask for anything else,

Your money, people saw ours getting a lot and probably judged us a little but it is what it is.

 

[starearedkid]

We are giving DD a budget of 100 dollars for her MAW trip (she is 8). She has TWO things she wants in her mind--she saw them at the Orlando Airport Disney Store over the summer, but not online or at our Disney store. If they do have the mini animator doll sets, they were about 30 dollars.

We also let her pick out a pin as a souvenir, which doesn't come out of her budget. (She has been wearing the same Minnie ears since she was 3; doesn't like t-shirts and super picky about stuffed animals.)

The toddler we will probably spend about 30-40 on (she is 15 months), most likely a stuffed animal.

 

[KMarston]

When our kids were young (er) I always shopped ahead at the Disney Store or online. That was back in the day that they would give you a big Disney cube box. I’d have stuffed animals, T-shirts, Disney PJs, autograph books, hats, Fanny packs, stickers, etc... and I’d get to the room while DH took them exploring and set up the box. They got to choose one thing in the parks. It’s wasn’t usually a fight! When my son went with classmates for his senior trip he text me a picture of his empty bed and said, “Mickey didn’t send us any treats!” He was serious!

My sweet grandson is on the spectrum and even at four, admires everything he sees and puts it back! My DH and I are begging him to pick out toys and he says nope and puts them back! I slip back in and buy something and leave it on his bed!

 

[zelda2013]

After our first WDW trip, during which my 6 year old daughter wanted to shop in every single store, my smart mother made the rule that the kids had to do all their shopping on the last day, usually at the big store in Disney Springs. Such a relief! We get to ride more rides instead of wasting time in every gift shop after getting off a ride. Yeah, occasionally we’ve been distracted by something like a big barrel of rubber snakes near the Indiana Jones show, but as others have mentioned, a photo with the snakes “attacking” does the trick, and no one really wanted to buy one of those snakes. Each child has a set amount to spend on that last day.

 

[KenHutch]

Your money, people saw ours getting a lot and probably judged us a little but it is what it is.

My problem is my parents raised 9 of us on $15000K a year. I make a lot more than that and I only have 2 to worry about, One is studying engineering in college and the other gets good grades. I just like spending on them.

 

[Dcgc28]

My problem is my parents raised 9 of us on $15000K a year. I make a lot more than that and I only have 2 to worry about, One is studying engineering in college and the other gets good grades. I just like spending on them.

My parents did well enough for me to go to Disney often but not well enough to give me that “perfect trip”. Staying on property. Having the dining plan. Not worrying about spending money to a certain extent.

So I’m in the same boat as you, I can swing those things so I want mine to experience that trip.

 

[KenHutch]

My parents did well enough for me to go to Disney often but not well enough to give me that “perfect trip”. Staying on property. Having the dining plan. Not worrying about spending money to a certain extent.

So I’m in the same boat as you, I can swing those things so I want mine to experience that trip.

Exactly back in 2006 when we went on what I was calling the one and done we went for 10 days. Well we got home and Gwen called her grandmother to talk about it. Well my mother asked me how much I had spent. I said around 6K. Total silence on the other end I actually worried about my mother on the other end when she yelld You Spent 6K on a vacation. My answer Well she's my little girl and she had fun.

 

[monorailsilver]

Just say no! Lol! My kids learned early on when we would go to target, Walmart, stop and shop that I would say no. Can we have this toy...no. Can I get that cereal...no I don’t have a coupon.

In Disney they have some gift cards-I get them one for Christmas and fmsilh May get them one too and they bring a little money but that’s it. We wait until we go to Disney springs and get stuff there this way they have a chance to look all over. If it’s something at the resort/resort specific they know not to get it on the first day but to keep looking.

I trained them well as babies, lol!