I know there’s a month left til school really gets going, but the sales are already heating up, and duty-free weeks are taking place soon too.  Who doesn’t love the back-to-school supply rush?  Or at least have a weird love-hate relationship with it?  You have to drop a wad of cash, but at least the kids will soon be out of your hair for a good chunk of the day, and they may even learn something!

Some kids are content with a new box of pencils and a couple of clean folders, but there are SO many colorful, funky, personalized, designer, etcetera, objects for sale out there that it can be hard to get even one kid shopped for and organized, much less several.  My suggestion is to let each kid pick one really special thing, like the backpack of her dreams, or the sneakers he’s dying for, and buy everything else in bulk.  Get a humongous package of markers and split them up, that kind of thing.  And definitely look for bargains!

Crayons are crayons, but sometimes kids need to be unique (or fit in with the crowd!).  If you have to go crazy on something, I’d make it one of these items.

• Does your kid destroy every backpack you buy before February?  Then you’ve got two choices: either buy something unusually heavy-duty (preferably with a warranty), or buy a bunch of really cheap ones now, while they’re on sale, and hide the spares until they’re needed.
• Nothing’s more depressing at snack time than squashed fruit topped with crumbled cookies.  Invest in a nice lunch box with some small reusable containers to keep everything sorted and in one piece.  I like bento-box styles, but you can make your own with a cute bag and some tiny tupperwares.
• Alarm clocks, school bells, stopwatches: a lot goes into keeping your kids on schedule.  Help them manage their time by picking out a cool watch.  Recent trends include slap-bracelet styles, bright colorful plastic bands, and wraparounds that wind around the wrist a few times.  For the younger set, they come adorned with their favorite cartoon and storybook characters.
• Socks and tights are one of my favorite ways to jazz up a kid’s outfit.  My daughter has a pair of hula monkey socks that make me smile whenever I see them, and her legwarmers always attract comments.  If your children wear school uniforms, having fun, interesting footwear may be the best way to let her make some choices about what she wears every day, and show just a little of her personal taste.
• Buying weather-proof gear can be costly, so it’s often worthwhile to spend the money on a more expensive (but also more sturdy) rain or winter coat that can be handed down to siblings, or resold at a consignment store.  But the trimmings – hats, scarves, gloves, umbrellas – can be found for a lot less, and may reconcile a whiny kid to a plainer, or hand-me-down jacket.  Get a solid-colored warm hat, and then let your little girl pick a few of our flower pins so she can dress it up to suit her mood!