What are your hacks for being an organized parent during the school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd say this is a troll but I don't think trolls get this detailed...

I could consolidate OPs long lists into three main things, and keep my day job and my board seats.

Bless your heart!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

I agree. Every parent has been to 5 below and it’s crap. The PPs hack is basically being cheap and not caring.

[Anonymous]

What's interesting to me is that I doubt you'd ever have a Dad come on here and ask the same question. It's STILL up to us women, right? No wonder we're all in a bad mood!

[Anonymous]

I think it's a great list and am not sure why people are bent out of shape about it.

I love the meeting idea--thinking it might be good to schedule this monthly to coincide with when we give our kids their allowance. This would be a good fit too so they know what to budget for if they are planning on buying a souvenir or another purchase.

One of my hacks -- took me a while to figure this out -- one drawstring backpack per kid per activity with materials needed for that activity. Saves the last minute search for goggles, volleyball kneepads, etc.

Here's another little tip for people with multiple kids who wear similar sizes (or if they have the same shirt from a camp or neighborhood swim team) -- on the tag, I mark my oldest kid's item with one dot, my middle child with two, my third child's with three dots. If/when an item gets handed down, I add a dot to the tag so I know who it belongs to.

Now that my kids are old enough to maintain phones I make sure I invite them to their activities--maybe everyone does this, but it was a revelation to me when we started that this year.

We also have a weekly family meeting where we discuss the schedule for a week. Kids come with their phones (and paper calendar for my youngest).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

I agree. Every parent has been to 5 below and it’s crap. The PPs hack is basically being cheap and not caring.

PP here. You seem incredibly bothered and emotionally unstable. If you don't like the gifts my kid gives your kid for their incredibly useless and stupid birthday party, don't invite us. If you were only pretending to celebrate your child in an excuse for a gift grab, then send out a registry in your cheap ass evite. Get a grip Joanne.

[Anonymous]

Y’all still in here harping about long lists for common sense things and arguing about cheap plastic “gifts” from the dollar store. Man, good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

I agree. Every parent has been to 5 below and it’s crap. The PPs hack is basically being cheap and not caring.

PP here. You seem incredibly bothered and emotionally unstable. If you don't like the gifts my kid gives your kid for their incredibly useless and stupid birthday party, don't invite us. If you were only pretending to celebrate your child in an excuse for a gift grab, then send out a registry in your cheap ass evite. Get a grip Joanne.

New poster: I can't believe this is your answer to someone not agreeing with the gifts. Honestly, they are more favor type gifts. They aren't really the quality of items you would give as a gift for someone's birthday party. Again, I'm totally new to this thread, but just because I believe that, I'm not emotionally unstable, my kids don't have useless and stupid birthday parties, I don't think evite is cheap ass, and my parties aren't a gift grab. You could take away the card (write right on the gift or just regular paper), take away the tissue paper (not needed) and reuse gift bags or get cheap wrapping paper. You could give a few more dollars into each gift and give something a little nicer, especially if you shop ahead. If you buy from Amazon, there is virtually zero time you're spending shopping. Pull up app, type in science kid or spa kit or magic kit or Lego set or whatever, and you have your gift two days later.

[Anonymous]

This is the most depressing thread I have ever read

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread I have ever read

It’s the epitome of dcum nastiness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

I agree. Every parent has been to 5 below and it’s crap. The PPs hack is basically being cheap and not caring.

PP here. You seem incredibly bothered and emotionally unstable. If you don't like the gifts my kid gives your kid for their incredibly useless and stupid birthday party, don't invite us. If you were only pretending to celebrate your child in an excuse for a gift grab, then send out a registry in your cheap ass evite. Get a grip Joanne.

New poster: I can't believe this is your answer to someone not agreeing with the gifts. Honestly, they are more favor type gifts. They aren't really the quality of items you would give as a gift for someone's birthday party. Again, I'm totally new to this thread, but just because I believe that, I'm not emotionally unstable, my kids don't have useless and stupid birthday parties, I don't think evite is cheap ass, and my parties aren't a gift grab. You could take away the card (write right on the gift or just regular paper), take away the tissue paper (not needed) and reuse gift bags or get cheap wrapping paper. You could give a few more dollars into each gift and give something a little nicer, especially if you shop ahead. If you buy from Amazon, there is virtually zero time you're spending shopping. Pull up app, type in science kid or spa kit or magic kit or Lego set or whatever, and you have your gift two days later.

No. I cared enough to get up on a weekend morning, forgo better ways to spend the day with my family, drive to whatever unimaginative Chuck E Cheese/Badlands birthday party location you came up with, listen to the exact same insipid conversations and gossip with airhead moms like you, watch my kid be served cardboard pizza and a supermarket cupcake, then fight with my kid on the ride home about throwing away your bullshit "goody bag" filled with whistles and sugary corn syrup candy. Because as sucky as this experience is for me, I love my child. DD has fun and can't wait for the other 15 parties, not including her own. You put in zero effort, but are this unhinged about a gift for a little kid? Because for you, it was really a gift grab after all.

You want more expensive gifts? Save the little bit of money you spent on your Ledo's pizza and buy it for your kid yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

I agree. Every parent has been to 5 below and it’s crap. The PPs hack is basically being cheap and not caring.

PP here. You seem incredibly bothered and emotionally unstable. If you don't like the gifts my kid gives your kid for their incredibly useless and stupid birthday party, don't invite us. If you were only pretending to celebrate your child in an excuse for a gift grab, then send out a registry in your cheap ass evite. Get a grip Joanne.

New poster: I can't believe this is your answer to someone not agreeing with the gifts. Honestly, they are more favor type gifts. They aren't really the quality of items you would give as a gift for someone's birthday party. Again, I'm totally new to this thread, but just because I believe that, I'm not emotionally unstable, my kids don't have useless and stupid birthday parties, I don't think evite is cheap ass, and my parties aren't a gift grab. You could take away the card (write right on the gift or just regular paper), take away the tissue paper (not needed) and reuse gift bags or get cheap wrapping paper. You could give a few more dollars into each gift and give something a little nicer, especially if you shop ahead. If you buy from Amazon, there is virtually zero time you're spending shopping. Pull up app, type in science kid or spa kit or magic kit or Lego set or whatever, and you have your gift two days later.

No. I cared enough to get up on a weekend morning, forgo better ways to spend the day with my family, drive to whatever unimaginative Chuck E Cheese/Badlands birthday party location you came up with, listen to the exact same insipid conversations and gossip with airhead moms like you, watch my kid be served cardboard pizza and a supermarket cupcake, then fight with my kid on the ride home about throwing away your bullshit "goody bag" filled with whistles and sugary corn syrup candy. Because as sucky as this experience is for me, I love my child. DD has fun and can't wait for the other 15 parties, not including her own. You put in zero effort, but are this unhinged about a gift for a little kid? Because for you, it was really a gift grab after all.

You want more expensive gifts? Save the little bit of money you spent on your Ledo's pizza and buy it for your kid yourself.

NP here with some gentle advice: step away from your screen, get a snack, and feel better soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

Brilliant idea!!!!

I first thought five below stuff would be crap, but just went to their website and they have cool stuff that little kids would enjoy:

https://www.fivebelow.com/play/craft-activity-kits.html?___store=default

My kid has received these types of kits as a party favor - recently got the Nickelodeon slime kit. These are not birthday gift quality unless you buy a few.

I agree. Every parent has been to 5 below and it’s crap. The PPs hack is basically being cheap and not caring.

PP here. You seem incredibly bothered and emotionally unstable. If you don't like the gifts my kid gives your kid for their incredibly useless and stupid birthday party, don't invite us. If you were only pretending to celebrate your child in an excuse for a gift grab, then send out a registry in your cheap ass evite. Get a grip Joanne.

New poster: I can't believe this is your answer to someone not agreeing with the gifts. Honestly, they are more favor type gifts. They aren't really the quality of items you would give as a gift for someone's birthday party. Again, I'm totally new to this thread, but just because I believe that, I'm not emotionally unstable, my kids don't have useless and stupid birthday parties, I don't think evite is cheap ass, and my parties aren't a gift grab. You could take away the card (write right on the gift or just regular paper), take away the tissue paper (not needed) and reuse gift bags or get cheap wrapping paper. You could give a few more dollars into each gift and give something a little nicer, especially if you shop ahead. If you buy from Amazon, there is virtually zero time you're spending shopping. Pull up app, type in science kid or spa kit or magic kit or Lego set or whatever, and you have your gift two days later.

No. I cared enough to get up on a weekend morning, forgo better ways to spend the day with my family, drive to whatever unimaginative Chuck E Cheese/Badlands birthday party location you came up with, listen to the exact same insipid conversations and gossip with airhead moms like you, watch my kid be served cardboard pizza and a supermarket cupcake, then fight with my kid on the ride home about throwing away your bullshit "goody bag" filled with whistles and sugary corn syrup candy. Because as sucky as this experience is for me, I love my child. DD has fun and can't wait for the other 15 parties, not including her own. You put in zero effort, but are this unhinged about a gift for a little kid? Because for you, it was really a gift grab after all.

You want more expensive gifts? Save the little bit of money you spent on your Ledo's pizza and buy it for your kid yourself.

NP here with some gentle advice: step away from your screen, get a snack, and feel better soon.

Maybe I'll head to five below.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my hacks -- took me a while to figure this out -- one drawstring backpack per kid per activity with materials needed for that activity. Saves the last minute search for goggles, volleyball kneepads, etc.

Here's another little tip for people with multiple kids who wear similar sizes (or if they have the same shirt from a camp or neighborhood swim team) -- on the tag, I mark my oldest kid's item with one dot, my middle child with two, my third child's with three dots. If/when an item gets handed down, I add a dot to the tag so I know who it belongs to.

I like these ideas - thanks PP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a great list and am not sure why people are bent out of shape about it.

I love the meeting idea--thinking it might be good to schedule this monthly to coincide with when we give our kids their allowance. This would be a good fit too so they know what to budget for if they are planning on buying a souvenir or another purchase.

One of my hacks -- took me a while to figure this out -- one drawstring backpack per kid per activity with materials needed for that activity. Saves the last minute search for goggles, volleyball kneepads, etc.

Here's another little tip for people with multiple kids who wear similar sizes (or if they have the same shirt from a camp or neighborhood swim team) -- on the tag, I mark my oldest kid's item with one dot, my middle child with two, my third child's with three dots. If/when an item gets handed down, I add a dot to the tag so I know who it belongs to.

Now that my kids are old enough to maintain phones I make sure I invite them to their activities--maybe everyone does this, but it was a revelation to me when we started that this year.

We also have a weekly family meeting where we discuss the schedule for a week. Kids come with their phones (and paper calendar for my youngest).

Wow! This is also one of my favorite hacks. We stumbled upon it when we got a Nike drawstring gym-bag for a field-trip. Our school usually does not allow a book-bag and also ask us to bring the lunch in a brown paper bag. Our DD wanted to take something more durable than a paper bag, and wanted something that was very light, had a zipper compartment for her money, stuff from gift shop, lunch, hoodie, bottle and a rain cover etc and this seemed to fit the bill. Now we have the stuff needed for various activities in different bags and also for any tutoring classes that she attends. We found using a better quality string-bag much more durable.

We use Nike Brasilia Training Gymsack from Amazon because it also has a zipper pocket.