Back-To-School Shoe Shopping – Tips To Keep You Sane

Back-to-school shopping for children’s school shoes can be quite a challenge. Here’s some tips for making the entire shopping process a bit easier and a bit more effective!

Before you actually begin shopping there are two things you must do: the first is to make a list of the shoes that you need to buy and the second is to make an inventory of the shoes that you already have so that you don’t spend your money on unnecessary items. Generally, for back-to-school purchases you will only need to buy some good trainers, casual shoes and perhaps a pair of smart school shoes.

Look for strong, sturdy shoes which can be worn on a number of occasions that are made to last, not made just for fashion. Making a list of the shoes that you already have will prevent you from overspending. By assessing the shoes you already have you can also discard the shoes that your child has outgrown or does not use any more and keep aside the ones that are in good condition and use them further.

Parents often end up spending a lot of money while doing back to school shoe shopping for the children. While good quality shoes are extremely important, it is possible to buy them at reasonable rates as well. Children tend to grow up fast and as the shoe sizes keep fluctuating, always get your children’s feet fitted properly before buying a new pair of shoes.

Here’s a video with more info on fitting new shoe from Start-rite Shoes,  who do a range of school shoes as well as an older kid’s range called Rhino Shoes:

When purchasing shoes it makes sense to buy at sales and discounts stores and save some valuable money. Clearance sales are the best places to pick up good shoes from. Some of the best times to buy your children’s shoes would be the months of December, February and August where with the change of season, you might be able to find the perfect pair of shoes on sale. These end-of-season sales often have smart, strong shoes available at hefty discounts.

Buying shoes online can also take the stress out of back to school shopping, and of course has the benefits of being able to shop anytime of the day or night while getting the best standards of style, quality, comfort and durability.  Just make sure you’ve measured your child’s feet first.

After you have bought the school shoes for your child’s needs, it is important to take good care of them. It may sound obvious, but cleaning and polishing shoes regularly will help them last longer. Shoes that are kept out of sight tend to be ignored and it is better to keep them where they are visible so that the child uses them regularly.

Christmas Jewellery

So this year I opted for a new type of gift for my number one niece. I know I shouldn’t have favourites but let us be honest with our selves we all have them, so why not spend accordingly.

My niece is 8, she is at that age where she is not as easily impressed as she used to be. You actually have to buy her something relatively impressive to get the praise, cuddles and appreciation that she used to give out at the site of anything shiny. So this year I wanted to also get her something that would last, and maybe even that would make her remember her generous auntie from time to time.

I eventually decided that I wanted to purchase her some jewellery. A few searches later I came across a girl’s jewellery site called Molly Brow that had a vast collection of jewellery specially designed and targeted at young girls. It was difficult to  settle on just one item as there were so many lovely pieces many of which would have been ideal.

In the end I choose this lovely pink fairy necklace from their ‘Aurora Collection’, which comes on a sterling silver chain and features a fresh water pearl – and the lovely little legs even move also! Super cute!

My Niece was absolutely delighted with the necklace, and I took great pleasure in seeing her staring in awe of it over the Christmas period.

I would highly recommend Molly Brown for presents and will certainly be them again in the future. The necklace came with lovely wrapping free of charge, which added to the pleasure of buying from the company and meant less time and money spent on wrapping also.

With more snow coming wellies are a must.

This Christmas was a slushy one to say the least. The Christmas walk, an essential part of the slow digestion of the Christmas meal, was made a lot harder this year due to the fact I was without wellies. Silly I know! We usually walk down a long country track with the whole family, and this year I found myself poorly equiped and regretting it big time. Even the children had lovely stylish wellies, and were enjoying warm feet whilst I suffered in the sludge. Typical.

I didn’t even have a proper warm jacket and was showing my displeasure with the situation all over my frozen grumpy face. What a scrooge!

These start rite kids wellies were the ones my youngest cousin was sporting. Very Flashy I think you’d agree! She was happy as Larry jumping about in the puddles, splashing me, and generally making it very clear she was having a great time in her new wellies which she knew I was jealous of.

I think stylish comfortable wellies are often something that is at the back of the ‘to buy’ list. Sure they are pretty unglamorous and are usually quite expensive for an item that is unlikely to get you noticed by the man of your dreams. That is not the point though, they are a peace of mind item that will insure you don’t ruin other footwear in these sludgy winter months. They ensure your feet are kept snug and don’t freeze every time you step in a puddle. I’m definitely going to make an investment. I will keep you informed what I find.

Happy New Year everyone!

Children’s clothing tips

By popular demand, we bring you our fashion tips for children!

Children’s clothes are a really difficult thing to get right. On the one hand they grow out of them so quickly, on the other you want them to feel that they fit in and that they look good. When I grew up in the 80′s the kids fashion was fabulous. Bright colours and ridiculous hairstyles… You really could get away with anything! We loved (and dressed like) our favourite television and cartoon characters. But in these modern times of ‘baby gap’ and ‘zara kids’ children’s fashion has gotten so much more… boring…

So the best approach these days is a compromise between value and fashion. When it comes to shoes a good fit is essential and it is well worth paying over the odds to get the best possible pair of shoes. When it comes to other items of clothing there is considerable scope to slash the budget.

Plain essentials such as trousers and coats are worth spending that bit extra on, they will last longer and do a better job of protecting your child from the elements. Fancier items such as pretty t-shirts and accessories can be where your budget can be made to stretch further. Consider items from charity shops or from supermarkets, you’ll be surprised what you can get for your money!

Spend money on the important things and save when it comes to fashion. Compromise is the key to dressing your children wisely yet cheaply!

Children will be children

Is it extremely unnecessary to spend large amounts of money on children’s clothing.
There are so many places now where one can buy children’s clothing where it is good quality but does not break the bank. After all children will be children and are therefore likely to mess up the clothes which they wear pretty quickly so there is little point in dressing a child in something expensive at the worry that they are going to ruin it.

Also children grow so quickly that it is probably not even worth spending allot of money on a really nice outfit for them to wear for parties etc because the chances are that they will wear it once and then have grown out of it by the next time they come to wear it.

The fact that children grow so quickly and people continue to buy these expensive clothes means that the bargain hunter can buy children’s clothes in excellent condition from charity shops for a tenth of the price than they would have been new.