For the first time ever, I’m looking forward to going “back to school!” Maybe it’s because I finally have a child old enough to go back to school. Tommy will be going to pre-school 3 days a week from 8:30-1pm and I am pretty excited although it is 90 minutes shorter and 10 minutes further than the daycare he went to last year.

In preparation for this fall, I wanted to share some of my favorites for back to school!

Stitch Fix Kids

I’ve done a few sponsored posts with Stitch Fix in the past and so when they reached out to me to see if I wanted to try their new kids box for back to school season, I of course said yes. Finding cute boy clothes that is reasonably priced is tough! With a new baby, I don’t have time to search the internet for cute stuff or visit the mall.

Stitch Fix Kids provides unique, affordable kids clothing—in sizes 2T through 14—across a diverse range of styles to help kids feel confident in who they are. Each Fix will include 8–12 items personalized to each kid’s sense of style and interests, and curated to deliver head-to-toe looks, ranging in price from $10–$35 per item. At launch, available brands will include Kate Spade, Under Armour, Nike, TOMS, Hanna Anderson, Hurley, Sovereign Code and more, as well as Stitch Fix Kids exclusive brand, Rumi + Ryder.

Just like regular Stitch Fix, there is free shipping both ways, 25% off if you keep everything and no subscription is required. You keep what you like, and send back what you don’t.

Filling out Tommy’s style profile was pretty funny. Nick is very opinionated about Tommy’s wardrobe and he enjoys matching so I basically answered it like I was Nick plus a dose of sharks which meant preppy attire and NO graphic t-shirts especially ones with words.

I think they nailed our box out of the park and Tommy is already obsessed with his Sharky Sweatshirt. Unfortunately, its way too hot to wear right now but we have a good balance of items. The most expensive were the shoes at $44 and the rest were between $14 and $28. Again, if you keep everything, you get an additional 25% off. The prices were reasonable and I loved some of the items from labels I was not familiar with. I recognized a few from Nordstrom Rack.

Here is what we got in Tommy’s box –

You can try it out yourself by visiting StitchFix.com. Sorry my items are not modeled by my toddler but I chose not to force him to dress up in outfits to take them off and most are for fall!

Stride Rite Shoes

When it comes to shoes, we are huge fans of any brand carried on the Stride Rite site because they have shoes that comes in wide sizes! Sadly there are few stores left where you can go in and actually try shoes on but unlike Native’s, you can be confident these fit well if your kid has fat feet. Shipping is free on orders and returns above $30. These boat shoes by Sperry are velcro and a favorite of Tommy’s.

Lunch Boxes

I love Weelicious. Not only is Catherine nice in person, but her online food ideas for kids are genius. She also has a child that LOVES vegetables so that may be frustrating but if you can get past the jealously there, she’s one of my favorite people on Instagram stories to follow (that was obviously sarcasm back there). She uses these PlanetBox lunch boxes that I think are genius for little ones who like one thing one day and hate it the next. It allows you to pack variety and is perfect for snackers. They are pricey but contain no lead, PVC, phthalates or BPA materials.

I also love this Bentgo lunchbox and think I’ll be buying it for Tommy this year. This one is only $28 vs the above which is $56! It is BPA free.

Currently, I’ve been using these Easy Lunch Boxes which worked great for us in daycare but for the school year, I may pull the trigger since they do not keep food cold and our lids no longer stay on tight and I need to use a rubber band to keep them shut. It’s also not great for variety.

Backpacks

For daycare we used this SkipHop backpack and Tommy loved it but he was too small to actually wear it. It has become his toy bag this summer and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to remove the association in time for preschool to start. It’s about $19.99 on Amazon.

I also love this JJ Cole backpack. Tommy is a huge fan of trains and they have other designs as well. I like this one for preschool because it’s a little bigger to fit a folder for papers as well as lunch and extra clothes for a typical toddler. It’s a couple dollars more than the SkipHop at $22.

Lastly, of course I love a good Pottery Barn backpack.  The small is $23.

What are some of your back to school must haves?