It’s that time of year again! Summer is winding down and kids and parents are all getting ready to go back to school. Shopping for school clothes and supplies can be a daunting and stressful task and can get expensive if you aren’t prepared. The trick is to not get overwhelmed and to have fun with it. I take a moment to breathe, reassess, and begin planning my shopping escapade. As parents, we all have to get the necessary items for our kids to be ready for school. So, I’ve found some great tips to make back-to-school shopping fun and affordable.
Enjoy Back To School Shopping With These Four Tips
My youngest is starting kindergarten this year. I know! Where in the world did the time go? Just yesterday she was a little baby that I carried around everywhere and who would cry if I left the room. Now she is going to be in school all day for the entire week. It is a mix of emotions, I’m excited, nervous, and a little sad, but I am so happy that we can get our shopping done together and have fun with it.
Shop by Theme
All my kids love animated movies and fun Disney films. It’s no surprise that Frozen was one of their top choices. Knowing how much they loved the movie helped me plan what kind of theme I was going to shop for. Target has a whole section for school supplies and all the different back-to-school themed supplies. They have Avengers, Minions, Star Wars, and (WooHoo!) Frozen. Madisyn was so excited to hear that I was buying everything with Elsa, Anna, and Olaf on them.
Vayda, not quite as upbeat about starting school again, developed a glimmer of excitement in her eyes and started helping Mattie pick out some Frozen gear. She helped Mattie choose which Frozen notebook to get and convinced her she needed all three and they gathered a thermos, lunchbox, book bag, and a bunch of folders. They were both so animated about back-to-school shopping they forgot they were going back to school, ha ha!
Personalize School Uniforms
Several years ago my husband and I decided to try sending our kids to a private school. Thankfully it’s been a great school with wonderful teachers and programs. The students are required to wear uniforms, which doesn’t always sit well with the kids. My children, however, aren’t always too bothered by it. That’s mostly because they understand that rules are rules and also because I let them personalize their uniforms. We find fun accessories and colors that fit their personalities and still follow the uniform policy. Plus, they are excited that the first day of school is a free day, so they get to wear their favorite shirt with nice slacks and shoes. Of course Mattie will be wearing her new Frozen shirt to match her Frozen school supplies, backpack and socks from Target.
At Target, we found a lot of adorable head bands and bows to let the world know that they are still princesses. Also, I thought it would be fun to get some cute socks to wear under the uniform. I found a cute pair of Frozen socks with Elsa on them and they were super soft. I can’t wait to see them sliding around on the wooden floor! When we saw the socks, Mattie then spotted some awesome tights with a variety of colors and designs to wear with their uniforms. Plus, with all the different school shoe options, we can’t wait for another Target trip.
Make a Game
Shopping for back-to-school and really, shopping in general, can be a hassle. My kids go to the store with me a lot of the time and they do pretty well. But, like all kids, they have their moments when they become irritable, grumpy, and (for lack of a better word) whiney. So, one thing I do is to let them choose a toy and I give them a time limit. They scramble to find the perfect toy and when the time limit is up, whatever toy they’re holding is the one they are getting. When we headed to Target for their school shopping, I had a list of everything I needed and a plan. We went to the toy section and I let the girls loose. I gave them a 10-minute time frame and I headed over a couple aisles to the school supply section. It was so organized and everything was so easy to find, I was able to get all their supplies in that same time frame. After the time limit was up, I headed back to the toys where my girls were franticly searching for the perfect item. I yelled, “Time” and they both looked at what they had in their hands and just smiled. It is always a super fun way to keep them entertained and I get my shopping done. It’s a win-win kind of deal.
Back-to-School Fashion Show
Like I mentioned before, my youngest is starting her first year of school and is insanely stoked to get there. I am still torn on how I feel about it, so I am just taking it in stride. Well, aside from my emotional dilemma, Mattie can’t wait to get to school and is so excited to show off all her cool school stuff. When we were shopping at Target, I had to remind her that she couldn’t wear or use her back-to-school stuff until school started. I think I heard her little heart break a bit, so I had to come up with something.
To make it fun for us, I let her model her new school look and give us a Back-to-School Fashion Show. She did a little cat walk in the shoe section and a full runway show when we got home. We can’t wait to get her dressed up and hair done cute for the first day of school. Honestly, I’m counting the days just as much as the kids are. The mini fashion show we had at Target and later at home helped to satisfy our excitement a bit until the real first day arrives.
Being a kid is such a great time and school is a huge part of growing up. The start of a new year is a chance for kids and parents to start fresh. Shopping for back-to-school can be a bummer and not a whole lot of fun, but it’s important to have fun with it. When the kids and I did our back-to-school shopping at Target, we had a lot of fun and it gave the girls even more to look forward to. Mattie can’t wait to show off all her Frozen gear that we got and she is excited to use all her Frozen school supplies from Target too.
This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are our own. We only share information about products or services we personally use or feel our readers will enjoy.
