I love back to school. I love how it always feels like a brand new, fresh start. I love all the opportunities ahead; opportunities to learn and achieve and succeed. I even love back to school shopping. I love the chance to start fresh while looking your best. I love getting and then saving that one outfit to make a first impression with. I love fresh, crisp, and empty notebooks that hold so much possibility. I love long, pointy-tipped pencils and pens full of ink that are just waiting to be useful.
I love all of this even now that I’m not going to school anymore. I love it for my kids, especially after watching my oldest learn and grow during his first year of school. I still love picking out school supplies too and getting him dressed for that first day back, but I admit that it is a little harder to get as excited when all that back to school stuff is coming out of my wallet.
This summer our family has made a serious decision to rein in our spending. It has been a frugal summer for us, but certainly not a bad one. However, this makes the whole back to school situation a little more stressful as we store-hop to prepare our one kid for Grade One. (I cannot imagine how much more stressful it will be once we have two and then three kids in school!)
Last summer we vacationed in the U.S. to shop for back to school. I used to do that as a kid too, so it feels like that is how it’s supposed to be done: you go away to find deals as if that actually saves money in the long run. This summer, of course, a trip like that didn’t fit into our frugal plan. Instead, we needed to consider whether we were even going to get a back to school outfit for Cameron at all.
I have such wonderful memories of back to school shopping as a kid, I didn’t want to deprive my child of that. So, we went to Walmart where I knew we could participate in the experience of back to school shopping without breaking the bank, especially with the fashionable George apparel line.
My kids always gravitate towards the graphic and licensed tees. The first thing Cameron picked out was a Mario shirt, and we let Gavin choose one too because it sucks being the little brother when you’re out shopping for the big brother.
After that, I was in charge of suggesting the clothes, and we grabbed a pair of jeans and a colour-blocked long-sleeved tee for that first day back. This outfit and Cam’s chosen licensed tee rang in at less than $30 which was a huge win. He chose a hoodie, we got him the backpack he wanted and a pair of indoor shoes to round out his back to school clothing requirements — all for under $100.
I’m thrilled that we have been able to cross a few things off our back to school list without the financial stress. While some years it’s nice to make back to school prep a huge cross-border shopping trip, other years it’s nice to just be able to find those back to school fashion finds for less. Walmart is definitely your spot for great on-trend George apparel at amazing prices!
This post was sponsored by Walmart Canada as part of the First Day of School Fashion Challenge program. In exchange for this review, I have received special perks in the form of products and/or compensation. all opinions on this blog are my own.
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