My family's back to school shopping tradition happened sort of by accident. I'm a mother of three boys. THREE BOYS. Have you ever brought little kids into a shoe department and tried to get them all fitted for shoes at the same time? I felt like I was doing more parenting then just enjoying the moment with my boys. So, I decided that I would take each of my kids back to school shopping separately. What started as a decision to maintain my sanity turned into a beloved family tradition - Every August my boys and I celebrate Jordan Day, Spencer Day, and Brady Day.
On each of my kid's days, they create the itinerary. What time we leave, where we go shopping, what restaurants we eat at. They also each get some extra money to spend however they want. Each of my boys are so incredibly different that it's fun to see what they come up with. For example, Brady (see above) wanted to leave first thing in the morning. We started our day with pancakes at The Original Pancake House. From there, we hit Target for school supplies and footy pajamas - one of his favorite things! We then shopped for clothes and shoes, grabbed a hot chocolate, raided the candy store, made sure to check out some video games, and hit the toy store. Our day finally wrapped up with dinner at his favorite Mexican Restaurant.
Now my middle kid, Spencer... he's my skateboarder. Spencer didn't want to leave until noon because he wanted to sleep in. We were off to Mall of America to hit his favorite stores - mainly Zumiez and Vans. Every year on Spencer Day, we visit Underwater World and make our way through the aquarium. Another tradition (that we had to skip this year due to Covid) is we ride the rollercoaster at MOA. Spencer day usually finishes up with sushi and ice cream at Cherry Berry.
Why am I giving you a rundown of each of my kid's agendas? To show you just how different each kid is and just how special their personal back to school shopping day is. The entire day focuses on them. I get to celebrate them, enjoy their personalites, and connect with them individually - which is so very important.
Next week I will be celebrating Jordan Day with my oldest. We'll be heading out to get cowboy boots (because that's how he rolls) and most likely visiting Carhartt and Cabelas. Like I said, each of my boys are different and they each deserve their own special day.
CONFESSION: I think I look forward to the back to school shopping days more then my kids. I don't know about you, but my kids are growing up way too fast.
I invite you to try our tradition in your own family. These back to school shopping day's are honestly some of our favorites. My kid's still reference their shopping days from the past - "Mom, remember when I got my hamster on Spencer Day?" or "Mom... remember when you bought me an axe for my Jordan Day surprise?" (no joke. If you knew my kid, you would understand... lol) And, I'll have you know that I caught my teenage boys arguing THIS YEAR as to who's day was the best. Talk about a mom win!
Happy shopping!
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Love Emily.
I love how you make their days so special! Sounds like a serious mom win! Wish I would have started this when my kiddos were little! Miss you friend, I think next it should be a LaCoe day with Emily! ❤️😘