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spoons

spoons

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I've been dreading my kids getting older for a while now not least because the inevitable parties that will happen if I'm away (we've all been there).

With a vintage SW collection on display the teenage party brings an extra level of terror, not least as a colleague has just had their house properly trashed by some real arseholes after his daughter had a 'small do'. Apart form some serious internal locks has anyone any tips or is it a case that when the kids hit 14/15 the toys get locked away until they leave home :shock:

Anyone with older kids that's been through this already?
 
Take the collection with you :D

Or alternatively, I'd be locking it out of sight completely, under the stairs, in the loft, anywhere really.

Good luck!!
 
I don't have kids yet - but surely you either trust them or you don't? They know the value of your toys/car/jewellery or whatever and surely unless they are real tearaways no harm will come? I can't see that I'd ever lock stuff away en mass. We had some great 'get togethers' at that golden age and nothing got damaged that I remember - friends are generally pretty respectful.

I'd make sure that not putting events on facebook was a house rule though - we've all seen those events get out of hand, although I suspect this is a real minority of cases which make good news stories.

If you're really worried, make sure your insurance covers everything - although I imagine you'd need to get the police involved should the worst happen. Or just make sure you go on cool enough holidays that they want to come every time ;)

You've got more chance of getting burgled or a water leak damaging your stuff than some massive party trashing your stuff, IMO.
 
my colleague's kid's house party was checked on every hr by his wife but that still allowed time for four kids to go mental - not a trust issue rather unpredictable friends/uninvited guests.

Likewise no real damage was done at parties when I was a lad - there was respect. But a room full of vintage toys would have been tempting to some of my mates - lets rip those packages open!
 
I think the bigger issue isn't your collection getting trashed it's something getting pinched. People are clued up that vintage SW is valuable and all it takes is one bad apple to pocket a figure or two.

Small gatherings, with 4 or 5 of your kids close friends is not an issue, but its when its a proper party with maybe 40 or 50 kids that you haven't vetted (and perhaps your own son / daughter doesn't really know that well either), then I think its far safer to really put away as much of your stuff as possible and have a locked / out of bounds room.
 
I think I'd be hiring a venue if it was a party for 40/50. Disown the kids if they did it at home behind your back.

ETA - lots of display cases have locks, which would stop sticky fingers. Any good for smaller items?
 
I have two teenage step daughters (16 & 14) and there was a 15th party last year for the eldest but it was kept under control, well controlled chaos at least.

I also have a further 3 more to look forward too (current ages 8, 8 & 7)

Although my collection is not currently displayed when I do eventually get round to it it will be in my bedroom and no teenage kids will be passing through that door.

Before moving in with my current partner I had a display cabinet in the front room and it was just my two monkey's that I had to worry about, thankfully nothing got broken despite the odd bang or two or three.

If I were you I'd be worried any time friends are over particularly when it's party time :wink:

Good luck !
 
My eldest is 19 and the youngest is 12. With anything special it is made very clear that they don't go in that room. Full stop. Fortunately that hasn't been an issue.
 
good points of view chaps - very useful

My lot know that the toy room is out of bounds for their friends already, so I have no concerns there. Locked cabinets are an option but an expensive one, as I'd have to upgrade the existing shelves.

Its really the impromptu parties I'm concerned about rather than anything planned. My mates took it in turns to have a party every time the parents went away for the night. Nothing major but in this facebook age they could easily spiral. I think a lock on the door is the best plan to avoid temptation - if the rest of the house gets trashed its easily replaced :)
 
spoons said:
I've been dreading my kids getting older for a while now not least because the inevitable parties that will happen if I'm away (we've all been there).

With a vintage SW collection on display the teenage party brings an extra level of terror, not least as a colleague has just had their house properly trashed by some real arseholes after his daughter had a 'small do'. Apart form some serious internal locks has anyone any tips or is it a case that when the kids hit 14/15 the toys get locked away until they leave home :shock:

Anyone with older kids that's been through this already?
Click to expand...

Yeah, adopt your kids before they get too old. :wink:
 
Both my kids are under 5 but I've thought about this already. When their older I'll remind them that it's their inheritance for a start. Doors will get locked and any problems heads will role. :lol:
 
Both my teenage sons realize how much I value my collection and how quickly their balls would get chopped off If said collection were ever ****ed with...broken or stolen. :D
 
I don't have any kids but I think the main concern would be gate crashesers as your own kids will appreciate /acknowledged what your collection means to you. Just read on the news about a bunch of 18 year olds gate crashing a 14 year old birthday party!
Best way forward I think is to get a lock on a door so there isn't any temptation (and hope for the best!).
 
Another sane person here (ie no kids), but i'd say a locked door is your best bet.
Thinking back to when i was a kid i could just imagine a locked cabinet getting accidentally knocked over by some pissed up mate who couldn't handle his/her 3WKD. As the others have said loose toys, mocs, boxed items etc is just asking for trouble. Keep them all in a room you can lock and as Todd suggests make sure they know how much you value the collection (and how little you'll value your children's lives should the collection get damaged).
 
I'm a tight bastird and there's no way on earth I would let my step kids have a party in our house when I wasn't there ...even then it probably wouldn't be happening. The small birthday parties little kids have is fine but NO WAY would I let a bunch of teenagers loose in my house. These people who get their houses trashed - i'm sorry but their trust was misplaced. Peer pressure is a bitch but i'm not one to learn the hard way. In my line of work I see a lot of parents who say 'not my child..'. The reality is that on whole when you turn your back you cannot be 100% certain what your kids, or more importantly their friends, are up to.

My wife's oldest has problems anyway and he's not allowed in the house on his own after school and so on. That's another story. One of the other reasons I wouldn't let kids take over my house is that I know what I was like. Scary. **** that! :wink:
 

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