This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Microsoft Office 2010
BlogHer asked some bloggers to share their tips and advice on savvy back-to-school shopping.
i would love to share some of mine with you.
i have been doing this task for 12 years now.
my oldest will be going to college next year? i can hardly believe that is possible.
………………………….. SCHOOL SUPPLY SHOPPING TIPS ………………………………….
NUMBER ONE:
take them ALONE to have a special time with you.
my kids LOVE when we do this.
we get a snack before or after and they feel like you wanted to be with them.
picking out supplies for just one child at a time is so much more enjoyable too.
but sometimes you can't do that and you have to squeeze school supply shopping in between a big brother's basketball tournament games when you are all in one place and able to get it done.
so in that case….
NUMBER TWO:
start your shopping experience with a huge coffee.
i would never consider school shopping without this.
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NUMBER THREE:
look over your list and if several children need the same supplies then buy in bulk.
during back to school time they sell glue sticks for .22 sense each in bulk packs.
they are $1.50 and up during the rest of the year.
buying in bulk saves a lot of money.
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NUMBER FOUR:
check the prices of what your kids pick.
it seems like a very obvious tip but sometimes stores put an expensive item right next to the sale item and if you aren't paying close attention your kid will accidently grab the pricey one.
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NUMBER FIVE:
think about what they REALLY need.
decide BEFORE you get to the store if you are getting backpacks, lunchboxes, shoes, trapper, etc.
i like to warn my kids ahead of time "we are only getting new backpacks this year…not lunch boxes" or whatever the item i am holding back on.
they can know what to expect and your budget can stay on track.
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NUMBER SIX:
stick with the list.
she is saying in this photo "BUT THESE ARE SO PLAIN?!!"
yep.
and they are .70 so deal with it kid.
buy the basics from the school supply list only and you will keep costs way down…no need for a puppy dog notebook for $3 when the .70 cent one will do just fine.
NUMBER SEVEN:
stock up for your own craft supply closet, birthday party gifts and goodie bags, stocking stuffers or charity offering (operation christmas child) now while supplies are so affordable.
when markers are .99 a pack…it's crazy of you NOT to stock up.
i love being able to pull out a notebook, markers and a box of crayons for a party gift!
or even on a sunday morning on our way to church.
less than $2 several months before for a happy quiet kid at church is so worth it.
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NUMBER EIGHT:
have fun.
the school supply section is the most chaotic part of the store for a month straight.
it overwhelms me and makes me cranky.
but if i go in armed with my giant coffee and adjust my attitude…. it can be fun.
i like to say encouraging things like
"Good Choice!"
"Ohhh GREAT find!"
"Thank you for finding that less expensive option"
"WOW! where did you find that great deal!"
"High five for your eagle eyes kid"
letting my kids know i appreciate when they look for good prices and not throw fits at the store.
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Emma Cay - Man that looks like an awesome way to shop. I’m a young mother and I’ve got the twins starting kindergarten this next year. How do I get ready? What kind of bulk school supplies should I be looking to buy?
Penny Smith - The best thing they (our kids school) offer is pre sale school supply packs via the school in the spring for fall, no hassle pick up. My kids use to go to private school… I will happily pay $35 for the box sitting on their desk waiting for them at “unpack your backpack” night! This was the first year I did it. <3!!!!
My tip. Buy LLBean backpacks and lunch packs. We are on their third year, and even on the bottom at "points" there is NO wear!! The commonly have free shipping, and sales on the backpacks themselves. They are $10, MAYBE $20 if ya got the super deluxe packs, as the ones from the big box stores that last one year!! We had no back to school shopping AT ALL! Praise! :0) I did not miss it! Went out for ice cream instead! :0)
Penny Smith - But besides their preference, if her kids school is like ours, the teachers want specific colors for specific purposes…
Tiffany - Thanks for the motivation to get the school supply shopping done!
I first got my BIG coffee and made sure I had a positive attitude!
My son was excited and I complimented him on his choices. He didn’t
even get aggrivates when I made him switch something out for the less
expensive one.
Just reminds me that how a positive attitude on my part rubs off on my
kiddo too!
Awesome tips Meg….THX!
melissa @jonahbonah - *I* need one of those pretty binders!!! NEED!
Beth - Glue sticks were TEN CENTS at Walmart. I got 150. I wanted to get more but my kids wouldn’t let me. That won’t even last me the whole year, but it’s a good start. TEN CENTS.
Tracie - Thank You for #8, I so needed some positive encouragement for positive encouragement. I get so wrapped up in getting the job done, I forget to have fun and smile. You Rock. God put you here in my computer for a reason. I have no idea how I found this blog, but wanted you to know you touch my life in just the right ways. My daughter had a brain tumor removed this summer and somedays when I was freaking out, your cute things, quotes, your freak outs, pictures,”whatever” was exactly what I needed. Good news is we’ve been 100 percent blessed and she is back to her perfect self 3 months later. I figured you needed some encouragement too, so thank you for blogging you really helped me this year.
sandi - our school generates their own list so each student has the same thing… we also have to stock the clinic (tissues, cough drops) and teacher supplies (dry erase markers, clorox wipes for cleaning desks). another tip is to look in several different places in the store… school supplies are in one section but some higher priced markers/crayons and single glue sticks are in the arts and craft section. of course they would rather you buy the higher priced item not knowing it was in another location in bulk cheaper.
bonnie - I was pretty disappointed to see how you responded to your child’s request for ‘cute’ notebooks. Your blog is filled with all the things you buy for yourself for daily use – and each time you choose it because it is cute – coffee mugs, aprons, artwork, shoes, and so on. You spend time, money and effort making things in your regular life cute and fun. You even spend a lot of energy helping others do that for themselves. I would bet that if you were choosing a notebook or daily planner for yourself, you would find a cute one. Probably at decent price as well, but you would opt for the cute because it makes you happy. School is not always a happy and fun place, but notebooks are used daily – wouldn’t it be better if those small things (like a kitty notebook) could bring your kids a smile on a tough day at school? I am really not trying to be unkind, but I was really struck by this in your post because it seemed so opposite from who you seemed to be, and it just stayed with me. Now, for some, the extra money is a big issue – then having the cheapest option is a necessity. Maybe then the post could have included how to make cheap school supplies cuter?
Amy Vaughan - I love school supplies 🙂
We always get plain folders/notebooks. Then we can create our own art with colored sharpies.
Stephanie - I always got my girls the cute notebooks. It was important to them and I thought a few dollars was worth the splurge. Look how much us moms spend on at Starbucks??
Linda - My tip! Don’t buy much until your child goes to school for a day or 2. My 2nd set of kids are in middle school now. The others are long graduated. We have learned to only buy the minimum until they go to school for a few days! Amazing how much on those school and store generated lists they don’t need. Due to budget constraints our school now ask for parents ot buy their own supplies and extra for those who struggle. We toss in a few extras when we go supply shopping just for that purpose.
Jen Brandt - My Katy girl started 2nd grade today. Stood in our Target aisle that looks just like the one Annie was standing in. She wanted the yellow notebooks and red folders. Not my choice (I’m more blue, purple, green), but she’s happy – and that’s what matters!
Loved seeing pics of Lauren in your family vacation pictures. She’s beautiful.
Meg, you recommended/were reading a book not too long ago and I think it was called “7”. Is that right? Did you like it? I need a good book to read.
Kelly W. - My favorite part of school shopping is hitting Target’s clearance aisle AFTER school starts! Then you can find really cheap good stuff to pack back for next year. Or you can get that puppy dog notebook and put it in a Christmas stocking or craft box for a gift later!
colleen - This post got me motivated to go out and get it done… unlike others here I dread the back to school “shop”! Thx for writing such an uplifting post… i needed that!
Katie B - If I’m being really honest…most of us teachers prefer the plain notebooks. It makes things easier and more uniform. The puppy notebooks are the thorn in my side every year! So, good job steering them toward the ‘plain one’. haha
Terrie G - Gotta say, I don’t really miss this!!
Although, I’m feeling the need to go and get myself some new colored pencils and a notebook!!
LOL!!
Tracey - We have to get the plain notebooks for my little one. They don’t want the kids to be distracted by the pic and holograms on each others things. I heartily agree with your tips. We load up when supplies are ridiculously cheap at this time of year. In fact, I had to buy almost nothing this year because I still had quite a few extras from last year. And, we don’t buy backpacks every year either. In fact, most often not because I scooped up Land’s End packs on clearance a while back and they have held up great!
Tanya H - haha, had to show my son the picture of Annie and the plain notebooks. He and I just had a discussion about a $3+ notebook, vs the 15 I still have at home from last year! LOL!
Ashlyn@Pinecone - We were just talking about this today. We need to do it soon – before it is all picked over!!
I second the mention of caffeine for any of these tasks!! : )
Alicia @ La Famille - i JUST did this today…it was fun. i usually love it. and i’m totally with you on the plain jane notebooks. 70 cents will to the trick just fine!!
Jen - Taking each of mu kids shopping alone is truly one of the highlights of my year. They get to choose the lunch spot and I just listen and enjoy to them babble. Great tips.
sullyj - I got a similar face from my daughter when we purchased the same plain notebook 🙂 Our resolution? Scrapbook paper and modge podge! Two things I always have on hand (so no additional money spent)I just cut the paper to size and let her glue it on, looks super cute and better than if she just went after the thing with Pet Shop stickers (although she did add her name with some scrapbooking stickers) Hope your back to school goes well!
Jenny B. - Great tips! I like the one about going with each of them alone. I would also suggest going EARLY. Early in the morning AND early in the summer. I know sometimes that’s not possible if you have to wait to find out who your teacher is (for elementary) before you know the specific supplies you’ll need, but if at all possible, do it in July (or as soon as they put the stuff out). 🙂 I’m definitely going to try the alone shopping date thing when both of my guys are in school. LOVE that idea.
Lacey - You just inspired me to go back to school shopping even though we do not have any kids yet. I can’t believe I had not thought of using the back to school sales to stock up for fun gifts for kids through the year. My friends kids would love a gift full of markers, paints, and notebooks! Thank you for the great idea!!
Juli - My favorite thing about Back to School is finding the fun stuff. I still get excited about helping my 4 yr old find the glitzy unicorn notebook to do her “school”. The price differential is negligible when I consider how much that notebook is used & looked at every day. I may feel differently when I have to buy supplies for all 4 of my kids but I doubt it! My son picks the plainest notebooks he can find so he won’t be “weird” in front of his friends at homeschool co-op but they are so PLAIN and boring. School shopping is f.u.n. (at least for the girls & I) For the son who prefers plain, it is drudgery.
We stock up for Christmas gifts, too. My oldest used her $ to buy her first Christmas for her little sister: The super cheap Crayolas at Target + a coloring book off of the $1 aisle. perfect.
Katie - Actually, my favorite thing about back to school shopping was buying plain notebooks and then decorating them with stickers and patterned paper and pictures I’d torn out of magazines. The crazier the collage, the better I liked it, and it was nice to have really personalized notebooks!
Sylvia - There are great tips. My own child is now an adult, but because I am a teacher I take advantage of the great prices for back to school.
Flower Patch Farmgirl - My kids had to buy ZERO school supplies this year at their new school. I was astounded. I sort of missed it…but then I didn’t. Because it saved me lots of cash. This is what happens when a school is 97% poverty. Free lunch for everyone and no school supplies. Who knew???
Leah - A tip for the way too plane notepad: Have Annie decorate it with stickers.
beth - great tip about getting a coffee pre-shop, i will try that! this was a well timed post, I had just pulled my walmart flyer aside, the school supply special issue. no targets up here in british columbia, boo, – yet… they did buy out our ‘zellers’ chain, and within the next few years, are said to be converting all stores over to ‘target’ I CAN’T WAIT!!! my one or two trips to the states each year, where i spend hours wandering the isles of target, aren’t nearly enough! lol
April R - We home-schooled “year round” until 6th grade and generally avoided the back-to-school clammer. Didn’t even really know much about it. The kids are in school now so this was the first year of official “back-2-school” shopping for us.
The novelty of it lasted all of 5 minutes once we reached the store :/
I was sooooo naive and didn’t expect the craziness and the people and the options of puppy covers vs plain –
sure wish I had read this first!
We actually ended up walking away from the section to regroup! We took a breath, laughed at ourselves, then headed back into the fray. Next time coffee first, not after 😉 And we’ll take the opportunity to stock up on fun supplies too! I especially like your ideas about taking one child at a time (if you can) and giving encouraging words to the kids 🙂
Jen - These are fun but I have to say that I don’t like all these ads/sponsored posts. Sigh ….
Happy back to school!!
Jennifer - Thanks for these tips, Meg. My little fella is going to kindergarten this year, so we’re feeling a little anxious about school starting. We went this weekend to buy his school supplies and new school clothes. My hubby doesn’t normally like to go shopping, but I was shocked when he said he wanted to go with us to buy all the school gear. It was sweet to watch him help our son find all of his supplies. 🙂 Looking forward to the fall and all the fun memories that will be made this school year!
Lori Austin - Great tips. You are SO right about markers and crayons being a great
deal to stock up on this time of year. Always buy extra.
We were married in September (2003). I decided to use brown craft paper on the tables. We sat out terracotta pots filled with crayons for kids (and adults! 🙂 to draw pics for fun. I totally scored back to school crayons after all the kids were already back to school for clearance….think I paid 24 cents a box. Woohoo!
happygirl - Oh, I miss back to school shopping. My son is 25, that ship has sailed. Luckily, I’m a secretary, so every time I place an order, it’s like Back to School shopping. <3 office supplies.
Han - I have to do the school supplies shopping for the first time since I left uni in 2007 – that’s what happens when you become a foster mum all of a sudden lol.
I’m going to write a list and then go over to the retail park or supermarket one evening and get as much done as possible lol. Because Our Sidekick starts a new school they get given a starter pack but I can’t remember what’s in it lol. I think I might clear out his old stuff because his pencil case is really grubby and over used lol.