How to Get Kids Excited About Back-to-School Shopping

It’s that time of year again. Kids are getting ready to head back to school and at our house that means taking advantages of the great sales and buying most of the kids’ clothes for the year. That’s kind of exciting for mom, right? But maybe not so exciting for the kids.

My kids dread shopping. They would seriously rather scrub toilets. We have an unspoken 2 store limit and once we hit it any promises of good behavior are out the window.

So how do you make back-to-school shopping fun?

Let your kids pick out their own clothes. Kids love to express their individuality and clothes are the perfect way to do that. Give your kids a bit of freedom and let them choose their own clothes. My ten year old loves picking out his own clothes and it’s been interesting for me to see him begin to develop his own personal style.

Shop at stores that make shopping an experience. I’m all for finding a deal . . . which is largely why I buy most of our clothes for the year during the back-to-school sales but admittedly some stores are more fun than others. If you have a Gordmans near you, their tagline is “Something Unexpected” and they really mean that. They have name brand clothes at great prices and a fun atmosphere. They include features like:

“Gordmans Giggles” a children’s theatre with fun, colorful seating where kids may view children’s programming on a large-screen tv.

“Gordmans Grandstand” is a comfortable seating area in the men’s department where guests may view sports-oriented programming.

As an added bonus if you are a teacher you’ll get a discount of 20% on a single item when you show your Teacher ID at checkout. Runs August 1-Sept 2nd

Give your kids a budget. Back-to-school shopping can be a fun lesson in financial responsibility for your kids. I’ve known families who have given their older kids a budget and let them do their own back-to-school shopping. Kids realize really fast that if they shop at stores with lower prices that they can get more for their money. What a great way to prepare kids to manage their own money!

Shop when everyone is happy. We all know what it’s like to run errands of any kind with cranky kids. Do your back-to-school shopping on a day when you aren’t rushed and everyone is relaxed. It will make things go much smoother and you’ll be able to take the time and really think through your purchases. Sometimes this is easier if you break your shopping up into several trips so your kids don’t wear down before you are done.

Make back-to-school shopping about the whole family. Most things are more fun when you do them as a group. Back-to-school shopping isn’t just about the school aged kids in our house. Everyone gets new clothes so they can start fresh for the year and the excitement is contagious. Even my little one year old got in on the action with this fun little outfit from Gordmans. (I don’t have a Gordmans near me anymore unfortunately but my mom stopped by a location near her before coming out for a visit and she was very impressed with their selection.)

Gordmans Loyalty Program

Gordmans has a great loyalty program that can help you save money on your back-to-school purchases. You can sign up for the gRewards progam here and when you do you’ll get all these great perks:

Earn one point for every dollar you spend
Receive a $10 reward for every 200 points you earn
Special birthday discount of an additional 10% off your entire purchase
Use your Gordmans credit card and earn points faster
Spend $300+ to reach Platinum Status