*I received a gift card from Children’s Place in exchange for this post. All of the opinions are my own.
As the weather starts turning colder, it signals a usual ritual of going through closets and drawers to see what cold-weather stuff we need. My eldest daughter, who loves to wear cardigans, can make her short-sleeves last a while and my middle one is pretty set with hand-me-downs, but my youngest, who will be 2 in January, needs sweaters, long-sleeve tops and pants. The hand-me-downs in her current size are more for spring and summer and so I find that I’m buying more for her than I did for my 2nd one. But I don’t mind because there’s so many adorable options to choose from at my usual place for stocking up: The Children’s Place. My ritual of sifting through clothes by season is usually followed by a shopping trip in store or online. As I mentioned in my Spring Shopping Tips post, I’m a card-carrying shopper (you get an extra %5 off purchases) AND I live about 20 minutes away from the outlet, and so I’m always there for the essentials. And it’s not just the style and variety (which I love), but it’s one of the few brands that fits my girls perfectly. I know we can get comfortably fitting jeans, pants, and especially shoes at Children’s Place. And so when I’m shopping for the holidays, and want to get them some things without having to try them on, I know I can and keep it a surprise for Christmas Day. And thanks to The Children’s Place, I got a kick start to my holiday shopping.
At this time of year, my Winter list looks like the following:
– A Christmas dress
– Christmas/Special Occasion shoes
– Sweaters and/or Long-Sleeve shirts
– Boots
– Hats/Mittens/Gloves/Scarves
– PJs
Since I was pretty settled on some of the items for my older two, I’m mostly shopping for my youngest right now.
Shopping Tip: I always run into a situation at gift-giving time where I don’t know what to give right away and what to save as a gift. In the Spring, it was my eldest’s birthday around the same time that she needed new clothes anyway. The way I split up the distribution of new clothes is to a) give the essentials like plain T’s, pants, socks/tights and b) save the fun prints and styles as gifts. Think of it as: give what she NEEDS and save what she WANTS. It doesn’t matter as much for babies since all they really care about is ripping paper.
Winter Style: Don’t let the phrase “no white after Labor Day” deter you from wearing bright colors in the winter. It’s pretty standard to see darker clothes come out in the colder months, but there’s also a reason we have something called “winter whites.” Keep the wardrobe bright and happy to give your mood a boost too. When I stopped in to the Children’s Place store at the mall to get an idea of what the holiday and winter selection was, it was as if I was walking into a Winter Wonderland with bright pastels, glitter, and tulle. Just being in the store put me in a good mood. What’s nice too about TCP is that I can find something for all 3 of my girls, ranging from size 24 months to size 8. They have older tween styles that are appropriate, and they also have a wide selection of options for the little ones. It’s always one-stop shopping there.
The haul: With a combination of my Place Card, a coupon on RetailMeNot, and the generous gift card from Children’s Place, I was able to stock up on a lot of goodies for the girls. And in the 2 weeks since I’ve made my purchases, a lot of these items are already on sale!
I accomplished one of my goals to get a Christmas dress for my youngest. I don’t do typical Christmas colors for the actual day (although we do have more holiday specific dresses for our holiday card) and this year I decided on shades of blue. I spotted the Short Sleeve Empire Mesh Dress online first, and then loved it even more in the store. I still was undecided about it though when I was shopping. I wasn’t sure if it was fancy enough for the holiday, but I kept going back to it during my online shopping “trip.” I couldn’t get it out of my mind and decided not to fight it any longer. I’m so glad I got it. It’s absolutely precious. And I paired it with stunning June T-Strap Ballet Flat which I would want in my own size! They fit like a glove too.
I then stocked up on some sweaters, a pair of pants, and boots. She already has a bunch of similar colors in her closet, so I know I’m going to get a lot of wear out of these items.
And I couldn’t go into winter without a hat, gloves, and fuzzy PJs! I would buy all of the PJs if I could, but I might just go back later and get her some as Christmas gifts. Pictured is the Heart Print Microfleece Hat And Mitten Set, Cable Knit Gloves for Girls, and cat earmuffs (which I can’t find online anymore, but here are others that are equally cute)
I was done with my youngest and still had a little left to spend. As I was browsing dresses for big girls, I spotted the Photo-Real Candy Cane Dress and knew my middle daughter would love it. She’s more adventurous with her style, whereas my eldest likes things pretty plain and simple. The candy cane dress was another one where I wasn’t sure about it at first, but was so pleased I got it. When my daughter saw it and was so excited about wearing it, I figured why not. She also picked out a pair of animal print cat earmuffs. The two items together just screams her personality.
Lastly, I picked up a few scarves and mittens for both older girls. My eldest LOVES infinity scarves but doesn’t have any wintery ones. Pretty soon, she’ll need an entire drawer dedicated to her scarves, but it helps me knowing she loves them. I always know I can get her one as a gift. Pictured is the Fringe Infinity Scarf (avail in other colors) and the Cable Knit Infinity Scarf.
Now that I have a lot of the necessary things off my list, I can focus on some of the fun stuff for the girls and other littles on our holiday lists. In addition to clothing, TCP has a lot of great stocking stuffer accessories. The girls love getting gifts for their BFFs from there as well. There’s always a reason to shop at The Children’s Place.
What are some of your winter musts?
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Sarah from Finnegan & The Hughes
