Making Back to School Shopping Special

Back to School shopping.  I am a novice “back to school” shopper because thankfully for my boys’ preschool years, all I have needed is a small backpack and lots of hugs and kisses.  But now, I have reached that moment.  Kindergarten is upon us and in one month, I will stand at a door and give my son a giant hug and watch his little self enter the doors of a big elementary school.  I will try my hardest to give him the biggest smile as he looks back, but inside tears will be forming as this is a big step for me and him.  So as back to school season has started, it was time to do our first major shopping trip.  I actually have been dreading it and was a little (or majorly) bummed that I missed the box of supplies that the school prepares for you earlier this summer.  But then I thought to myself, this is my first time at this so let’s embrace this moment and make it special.  Make it a really big deal.  So this past week, my husband arrived home in time to put my youngest two to bed while Aiden (my oldest) and I loaded in the car and headed to our favorite store, Target.  And this trip was going to be a trip to remember, something special, for my little boy as we joined together to pick out the long list of supplies & necessities for the year ahead.

As we entered Target, Aiden immediately got out the list.  You all know what I am talking about.  Clorox wipes.  Boxes of Kleenex.  Sharpened Pencils.  Markers.  Notebook.  Etc.  He was in charge of crossing off our list & I told myself that I would NOT leave this store until that list was done.  I was fairly certain that Target with their great selection carried all the items on the list and this was going to be our one and only special school supply shopping trip.

After grabbing all the paper goods and cleaning supplies that were needed, it was time to hit the Back to School shop area.  Immediately, Aiden ran to the backpack aisle.  Now, what does every child need but a fun backpack?  Aiden is Minion-obsessed so when he saw this awesome backpack, it was immediately popped into the cart.  Target has a backpack for every kid out there.  He wanted me to take a picture of the Spiderman backpack for his brother and there is a great amount of character finds for all of our “character-obsesssed” children!  After a full aisle of these backpacks, we turned and found another full aisle of more funky and stylish backpacks for older children.  It was great fun watching other kids there with their parents in the battle over what backpack should we get for the year.  Backpacks are kind of a big deal, right?

Aiden was starting to get a little antsy in the “necessary” supply area, so we had a couple more items to pick up to make this back to school shopping trip extra special.  We headed over to the water bottle section where I honestly thought he would pick one of the superhero Thermos bottles, but instead he decided on the water bottle that looks just like his mommy and daddy’s.  Last, we said good-bye to the school section with everything crossed off our list and headed across the store to the book area.  First, we picked out a new book to help continue to practice his reading, which of course it was Meet the Minions.  There was also a great “Back to School” end-cap where Aiden picked out the perfect book to help kick off the school year, Kindergarten Hear I Come.

So in the end, here are some great ideas on how to make the back to school shopping experience special and fun for kids: