Back to school for us was all about the fab gear (although looking back, our definition of ‘fab’ could have used a little bit of work). Now that we’re parents, we’re more about essentials versus things like pretty erasers and fancy pencils: think coat, boots, lunch bags, and backpacks. Fortunately, we still have lots of fabulousness to recommend:
To keep lunches cool, we were excited to see that one of our fab favourites, So Young Mother, has come out with a messenger-style cooler bag that is perfectly-sized for lunch and a water bottle.
But while lunch bags are fun, we’ve found backpacks to be a bit of a pain in the neck – literally. There are lots of good-looking backpacks out there, but we also try to heed back health recommendations, which include appropriate size, a sternum strap, and a waist belt. If you ever find a backpack that has all three let us know! We were happy with the Deauter Schumsebar daypack for preschool, but it’s too small for school. Northface’s Recon Squash is the perfect size for kindergarten to grade three, with a sternum strap, well-moulded shoulder straps, and well placed pockets. Plus, it has magical powers; our kindergartener-to-be tester has been using it for summer camp and hasn’t (permanently) lost anything!
Since fall weather can be unpredictable we like to send the kiddos out the door with layers. So we tested two great layering pieces from Northface: the girl’s Mossbud Soft Shell Jacket, and the boy’s Resolve Jacket. “Insanely cozy” only begins to describe the fleece lining of the Mossbud Soft Shell, while the Resolve’s practicality (waterproof and breathable, but light and easily stow-able) strongly appealed.
Last but not least, defuse the boot war this fall and winter by starting off with fun boots they’ll love to wear. We like Kamik, which are made in Canada, wear well, and have some stylin’ prints. If you’ve got extra room in boots, toss in the Stonz Boot Linerz, which transform a simple rain boot into a full on cozy winter boot.
And there you go: everything that should be warm is warm, everything that should be cold is cold, and everybody is very hip and cool as they head back to school.
Sadly we couldn’t fit in images of all these fabulous products here, but if you’d like to take a boo at them we’ve posted them all in our diary!
Yo, mama! If you are big on safe and litterless lunch containers you might find these timely: