Do you have a good support system with your collecting?

[Mandy85]

My boyfriend lives with me and he's been very supportive of my toy collections. Though he doesn't take interest it it himself, he will often go around to stores with me when the latest doll or pony that I'm looking for comes out and help me search. He collects coins and is really into keeping aquariums, so he has his own hobbies and we each respect the other one's interests.

My mother on the other hand thinks it's ridiculous, but she's one of those people who thinks anything that isn't absolutely necessary for living is a waste of money. She isn't as bad about it now, but I still catch her rolling her eyes when she hears about my latest purchases, so I usually keep quiet about it when she comes to visit. She likes some of the MLP's, just because they were such a big part of my childhood that they're a sign of nostalgia for her as well, but she doesn't understand why an adult would ever want to collect them.

My friends are a mixed bag. Some of them collect things like Transformers, Barbies, Heroclix, Breyers, Legos, action figures, Anime figures, etc. and can relate, while others just don't get it. Most are very polite about it, while others will make jokes every now and then in good fun.

I usually don't bring it up in normal conversation, and most of my collection is neatly arranged in my bedroom and office, which is off the beaten path for most of my guests, but most people who hang around long enough come to realize I collect toys. I can say that I've definitely gotten more positive reactions than negative over it, so either most people are genuinely fine with it or I just have really polite friends, lol. 

[kaoskat]

Mine are used to my crazy ad support me completely. Usually....

[creampuf]

Yeah my family gets it...they know I love girly things and my hubby sometimes wonders if I'm compensating for not having a little girl.

My parents will keep an eye out for ponies or MH dolls, but mostly for special occasions. My hubby doesn't mind me walking away while shopping to go snoop the toy department and sometimes joins me.

[StarDragon]

I'm oddly surprised at how many of my friends and family I have told about my collection, but they all seem to support me. At first, my parents thought it was a bit weird, but then they were fine with it two days later, and ever since it's been fun!

[littlexflitter]

My mother hated it when I started collecting. I was a teenager spending my lunch money (from her...) on G3 ponies instead of actually buying lunch. She thought it was a waste of time and an abuse of lunch money. I had worked a part-time job the year before, but I unfortunately had to leave due to a long-term illness. When I started getting better and went back to school, I still wasn't ready to start working again. My siblings and I never received allowance, so at the time the lunch money was the only money to pass through my hands.

I completely understand why she was so upset, but I really liked these ponies and wanted to collect them. That being said, she no longer feels the same way. My mother is a really great person with a very loving heart. She started helping me look for certain ponies, buying me ponies for holidays, and encouraging my hobby with her actions even if her words chided me for spending money on toys. n_~ Now that I'm an adult, she still knows that I like and collect ponies. I still get to hear her worries about whether or not I'm responsibly spending my money, but that's because she's my mom! ♥

My husband is very supportive. ♥ He's my primary pony partner. He has a working knowledge of which ponies are in my collection and which are not, which makes him really handy for picking up new releases. He can identify most ponies by name, even though I own hundreds of them. He knows that I care about paint quality for eyes and Cutie Marks, so he pays very close attention and can choose the "best" pony out of a row of them. (Overall he's a wonderful guy, ponies or not!) As long as I don't spend my money irresponsibly, he never complains about how many there are in the house...and we live in a tiny, tiny place. Our kitchen has become pony storage... That's tolerance right there!

[MLPgal13]

I can't say that it's completely understood by the people around me. But I'm supported anyway. My husband often finds me great things and gets me what I ask for. My kids tend to feel the same, not really understood but they support what makes me happy. I actually think my younger son enjoy it almost as much as I do. Well the Show that is. He watches it often and if it's missed he'll youtube the episode 

My mother would initially refer to me as a hoarder. Which crawled deep under my skin. But she has grown to understand that it's NOT hoarding and that it makes me happy. For what ever reason, it does.

[SkyCakes]

Well, I think my family knows about it that I collect. As for my husband he doesn't want to hear too much about how I like ponies. I think hes ok with it because he collects video games and anime. I still buy them regardless and trade with people. Unfortunately, I think the only people who understand how much I love ponies are pony people on here or the MLPTP.

[VanillaBean]

I am an INCREDIBLY weird, quirky person, so it didn't take my mum & brother long to get used to it. 
My mum gave me some disapproving glances at first when ponies started popping up in my room, but she's fine with it now, as long as I don't clutter the place. She definitely prefers the pony collection to my obsession with serial killer books.   
My dad moved out before I started collecting, & I know for a fact that he would not be happy about it. He's a major control freak & has loads of problems with my personality & interests. But screw him   
I only have one friend who collects, but I openly tell people about my hobby if they ask. Everyone on my uni course thinks it's pretty neat.  :3 They thought I was a G4 collector at first, but I got two of them into G1s.  xD

[melodys_angel]

Humm..

parents have accepted it though dad will sometimes get in a playful mood and tease me a bit (the ponies are watching the rocket launchers---when I get upset, that might be something he says).

BF kind of had no choice, he was dragged into it from even before day 1 xD  And friends are ok with it too

[PandoraFox]

My father doesn't at all get why I like ponies or any of the toys I love collecting.
But he knows it makes me happy and he's fine with it.

His girlfriend is surprisingly supportive and loves to see what I'm adding to the collection. She was also marvelous enough to gift me her childhood ponies once she found them.

Most of my friend are as geeky as I am, so they don't think it's very odd at all.
More then one has told me they think it fits me somehow, the love for toys and other geeky things is a part of me, and I wouldn't be myself without it. Many of them also collect or at least enjoy things like transformers and game figurines and such, so they can relate.
I do get an occasional grin, or jibe, at the sudden inclusion of ponies in my otherwise fairly "boyish" collection of toys, but it's all in good fun.

[Skeen]

Of course.    My husband is very good about indulging my whims, lol!  He'll call me at work to tell me about ebay auctions, and he helped me sort through en entire box of blind bags to look for the few I wanted.  My mother supplied the vast majority of the funds for my collection in the early days (early-mid 90's, when I was too young to have a job) and she still looks for ponies for me when she's out.  Dad found me my very first Sea Pony shell at a flea market at least 15 years ago, and his boss at work sent me a lavender Dream Castle he found while cleaning out his attic (best day at the office ever!). 

Mr. Skeen recently walked into my pony room, announced that he likes Pinkie Pie the best, and could we please watch the new episode over dinner?  Then he wanted to know if such a thing as a cherry changa exists, and if not could I invent one.

[starrypawz]

I guess.
My parents don't seem to mind, as long as I keep the ponies to my room for the most part. My oldest brother doesn't get it, my other brother though has a passing interest and asks me questions about stuff and he's found my ponies in charity shops before.

[Tiella]

My husband is very very supportive and often encourages me to make purchases I wouldn't normally make, he also allows my collection to live in the living room for everyone to see! My in laws don't know much about my collection and don't come over to the house often where they would see it so I don't think they care one way or the other and then my mother really doesn't know about it and even if she did I doubt she would have anything to say about it.

[hathorcat]

My mum is the one who has to "suffer" the most....she is amazing...she doesnt think its "normal" but she also brags to people about my collection and dedication and she is always nagging me to get my collection sorted so all the ponies look beautiful! So I would say "yes" the person most important to me is more than supportive of my collecting...she even checks the supermarkets for me now for G4!

[Juri]

I think my mother just added it to the growing list of things that make me 'unique' lol.
My partner is very supportive, but I am always careful not to go overboard and the ponies live in my study so they don't invade the rest of the house.