Shopping for Kids
If you have kids, then read on you will relate to this and find this useful. If on the other hand you don’t have kids, read on, for one day you may. When you shop for kids, these are some handy tips to keep in mind:
Don’t take them along: if you have the luxury of being able to do so, keep the kids as home when you go shopping for them. Less distraction, and less likelihood of coming home with a lot of attractive looking useless stuff that you were tantrum-suckered into buying. If you have gone shopping with kids you will know how difficult it is to keep little fingers from picking up sweets, bright toys and other junk and how tiring it is to have to keep fishing items out of the shopping cart and returning them to the shelves.
Join or check Yahoo groups: I have found yahoo groups to be a source of great information about all kinds of things, such as product reviews, bargains, great deals etc. You can join one of like minded people who share their experiences with different brands, great deals that they found etc. For instance there is the mommy community where women are encouraged to “network and experience sisterhood thru chats, sharing of stories, tips, ideas, advice, goals, opportunities and inspiration.”
Kids Consignment Sales: This is a site that has a lot to offer if you are shopping for children. Parents know how fast children outgrow things, not just clothes but also strollers, car seats, bouncers and things like that. Seasonal consignment sales is a sort of exchange opportunity for both sellers and shoppers. These sales set up shop for a weekend or a few days more in the spring and fall. Some sales also offer a holiday sale around December that specializes in toys and holiday clothes. You may be able to find clothing, baby gear, toys, children’s furniture, maternity and postpartum items. Perhaps you can find branded items like Baby Gap, Ralph Lauren, Gymboree, Abercrombie, Peg Perego, Pottery Barn, Britax etc.
Buy for next year: Wait for the sales and buy on discount even if the clothes are a bit big to fit right away. They will fit next year if not now, nothing is going get wasted! So keep an eye open for the clearances and remember, clothes as also toys don’t spoil! Like I tell my significant other, if kids weren’t so expensive to bring up, maybe we’d have one or two more!
