Pick your favourite back to school pieces from George at ASDA and share your back to school tips - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

It’s never too early to start thinking about the kids starting or heading back to school. There’s so much to buy that it’s hard to remember everything or even know how much of each thing you need - are 5 shirts enough/too much? Where should I shop? What should I buy? Are all common questions our MNers have.

Here’s what George at ASDA has to say: “Our schoolwear and footwear are such brilliant quality, we’re proud to offer a no-quibble 100 day satisfaction guarantee. This means that if you’re not happy with an item you’ve brought with 100 days, we’ll give you a full refund. So you can shop with complete confidence.”

George at ASDA would like you to go to their website here and pick out your favourite back to school items, whether that’s uniform, shoes, lunchboxes, or stationary and come back and share them (ideally with a link to make it easy on anyone who wants to check them out). It would be great if you could also share your back to school tips and tricks with your fellow MNers, especially those who may have DC going to school for the first time this year!

So how many shirts do you buy? Don’t forget about the PE kit! What are the most comfy school shoes for your DC? Have you found an amazing lunchbox with lots of handy compartments? Do you label EVERYTHING? How do you get your kids in the mindset for going back to school? Whatever your favourite back to school items and tricks, please share them on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 George at ASDA voucher.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

It can be too early to talk about going back to school... My daughter loves the Frozen school shoes. I would say that it is a good idea to buy a few extra spares in case of things going tits up!

v neck cotton knitted jumper

I would get this for my dd's in secondary if you had the sizes....
Shop around, is my advice, not just for price but quality and fit.
I rarely bought direct off the school, and used to do the rounds for the most comfy clothes: John Lewis for 100% cotton polo shirt of correct colour, matalan for softest cardies a d george for best fit trousers for girls.

Now they are at secondary I have to start from scratch!

So far I think tesco trousers are terrible. I have some hand me down trousers from m&s which are alright but the current ones they sell are not as good....

I always order the grey joggers. It surprisingly difficult to find decent, affordable joggers in light grey but Asda always stocks them.

Tips
Use a biro to label clothes. After five kids and decades of school I have found it the easiest and most effective way of putting names on kid's clothing.
Biro will survive lots of washing and its easy to re-apply when it does fade.
Keep one by the door so you can label stuff at the last minute just in case.

When you have a child start school make things a little easier for them by leaving the top few buttons of their polo shirts open. It won't look scruffy but it makes it possible for them to get changed for PE without asking for help.
Same with lunches. If they have pre packaged food loosen the packaging so they can get at it more easily. This isn't practical for everything but you can do it with a lot of stuff. It might be better to decant it into tubs (be prepared to lose a few though).

I buy several cheaper lunch boxes (the soft ones with handle a the top) and label them with thick black permanent marker. This works better for older kids who may not be so fussed about having a 'nice' lunch box. They cost about £1.50 and can be put in the washing machine. Having several avoids hassle and means you always have a clean one ready.

But uniform in the first week of the holidays. Don't let the draughting prospect be hanging over you in the last week of the holidays - you should let the fun last as long as possible.

My son likes the fact that the labels on your items already his name in

I find the boys trousers really need ironing so I'm afraid I'll be back to Tescos for them this year.

direct.asda.com/george/school/pinafores-dresses/girls-school-2-in-1-jersey-dress-grey/GEM316383
Love the 2 in one pinifores. My daughter finds them really comfortable. I also label them with our surname only so it's easy to hand down to my 2nd youngest

This school trousers with half elesticated waist are a brilliant buy great value and comfortable fit
direct.asda.com/george/school/trousers/boys-school-2-pack-half-elasticated-waist-trousers-grey/GEM318371,default,pd.html

I also find these polo shirts wash very well at a great price
direct.asda.com/george/girls-school-polo-shirts/school-2-pack-slim-fit-teflon-stain-release-polo-shirt-white/GEM574565,default,pd.html

This is the rucksack my DS wants for school in September
direct.asda.com/george/kids/accessories/geometric-print-rucksack/GEM561065,default,pd.html

This is the lunchbox we've already brought
direct.asda.com/george/home-garden/kids-lunchbags-dining-sets/sistema-1-5l-slimline-quaddie-silver/050210377,default,pd.html?cgid=D26M08G08C20

My Top Back To School Tip is to make packed lunches ( whenever possible) the night before and pop the entire lunchbox in the fridge you never know what might crop up in the morning and also I find I have more time to prep a healthier lunchbox i.e fruit and vegetables when doing it the night before and this comes from years of having to prepare three lunchboxes everyday

I have a heck of a time finding trousers/shorts to fit my 10 year old DS. He's big for his age, and everything seems so slim fitting - he's not even vaguely fat - just well built. (I'm not deluded LOL) Asda did the only shorts that fit him direct.asda.com/george/school/shorts/boys-school-cargo-shorts-charcoal/GEM396931,default,pd.html this year. I think I bought the 12-13 which weren't too tight across his hips.

I honestly love Asda click and collect. Yes, getting ready for Sept v important but in my experience the growing monsters are very unpredictable and it really is fab to just go online and pick the items up a day later, and you can experiment with sizes too.

My tip is water bottles - if you find one you like and your little likes, buy 2/3. These are the most lost item. Decorate with a waterproof pen and you hopefully get yours back most of the time! But have an immediate back up if it does go wandering. Asda do a fab range of very reasonable bottles that so far have been blessedly leak-free.

Also, sew labels in unusual places - involving your child in the site. They get far better at identifying their own cardi/jumper when it has their own special secret label!

direct.asda.com/george/school/trousers/boys-school-half-elasticated-waistband-trousers-black/G005412753,default,pd.html#choice:size Boys black elasticated waist trousers for my 7 year old. They are really smart. Also the 5 pack red polo shirts I got from George. I like the idea of Teflon in the material to make it easier to tackle stains. Also George school clothes are quite hard wearing and last the whole year.

direct.asda.com/george/home-garden/kids-lunchbags-dining-sets/panda-lunch-bag/050192833,default,pd.html?cgid=D26M08G08C20. Love this lunch bag, so cute

direct.asda.com/george/school/pinafores-dresses/girls-school-playsuit-grey/GEM470814,default,pd.html
Brilliant for cartwheels in the playground.
Get 5 t shirts. They get wrecked.
Patent leather is indestructible.

Good point, off to ASDA tomorrow to fill up for the year ahead. Buy now, in August there will be less choice! Except shoes, the feet will grow two sizes in August, it's the law.

These or any other stretch trousers. Not quite indestructable, but they do survive longer than most whilst being really soft.

Buy at least a week's worth of everything, for mine this is 5, nothing can ever be worn twice (not the cleanest kid). Buy as many socks/ tights as you can carry and then some, come January blue socks or red tights are like hen's teeth. Get a sharpie for labelling. Shoes can be labelled on the inside with white TipEx. PE kit? Good grief, I think we had to buy three to make sure one is available, one left in the park and one at school in a different classroom.

Oh, and if socks say "white or blue/grey/black" take the not-white colour.

Laundry pen to write names on clothing labels.

Label maker for naming everything else.

Check shoes and uniform and PE kit in plenty of time before term starts - there's often nothing left in Sept.

If your school uses ParentPay for lunches - put £10 on now; the site can be really busy and slow just before term starts

Oops forgot to add that my favourite Asda things for school are the jersey trousers - such good value and wash brilliantly, don't need ironing. The rest of our uniform has to be bought from school with the school badges on, but we also love the stationery from Asda - new pencil cases, pens, pencils, erasers etc. and water bottles. Packs of tissues and mini bottles of hand sanitiser for the school bag and a keychain to attach frontdoor key to school bag.

You can't go wrong with these polo shirts for the price. Those with children in reception will understand the struggle so five sets of uniform takes the pressure off during the week, allowing some time after school to talk about each other's day rather than a mad dash to get ready for the next day!

https://direct.asda.com/george/girls-school-polo-shirts/girls-school-5-pack-scallop-teflon-polo-shirts-white/GEM462944,default,pd.html.

Love the Embroidered Parka Jacket for girls. And same tips ... don't left nothing for last minute be practical.😚

Do buy a CHEAP raincoat and winter coat, so you won't mind the inevitable losses.

Don't worry about the inevitable stains, once washed it counts as "clean dirt" and can be worn again. You'd spend your life removing stains otherwise. If the polo shirts in your school are not white, buy enough to last the year (perhaps some the size up), the right shade of gold or green is hard to get in January.

I love these polo shirts https://direct.asda.com/george/girls-school-polo-shirts/girls-school-2-pack-scallop-polo-shirts-blue/GEM3878,default,pd.html

They are super cute having the little scalloped edges to the collar so it makes them a little bit different and more girly.

Top tips - buy proper trainers for indoor shoes, we usually get Nike or similar as they spend the majority of the day in them.
Label everything with a fabric marker pen,

We usually leave buying uniform to the last two weeks of the hols or they've grown out of it by the time they start back!

We have a morning in town getting everything from shoes to bags and then go to the park/soft play as a treat for being so good!

Just did ours today and it feels great knowing it's all done (Scotland)

I always get DD's uniform from Asda. It's good quality, washes well and is a great price. I have found it washes better than some of the stuff I got from M&S which was a lot more expensive. We always get the jersey material polo shirts, a few of the dresses (one of which does a great swoosh when you turn around in a circle!), and a couple of skirts and cardigans. Our favourite items have been a gingham skirt (which was unfortunately not on the site this year) and a gingham skirt with white top attached, which makes a really pretty and comfortable dress that's ideal for hot days. Can't recommend George uniform enough!

3 of everything because my LO's uniform always gets dirty during the school week. I love the George Slim fit trousers. They look so smart on my boy :)

My son loves all the minion themed items, in particular the backpack. We will be buying five of polo tshirts / trousers / socks etc so each week we have everything for each day already in the wardrobe ready to go.

I'm really fond of this backpack - cheap, roomy and looks great! direct.asda.com/george/kids/accessories/faux-suede-panel-rucksack/GEM561061,default,pd.html