Anonymous wrote:We did new ones every year. Agree it’s wasteful.

+1

I caved to my DH on this, and he finally agreed that the old bags basically looked new. We repurposed some of the bags. One set we bought matching luggage for and they are going on the 7th year of use. We keep each kid a camp/sleepover backpack. And we donated the rest.

Buy one that your kid will carry for several years.

Anonymous wrote:Get a fun one the first few years and then a plainer and sturdy one for the rest of elementary.

This! For my kids, it made going back to school more fun and the backpacks always lasted at least through the year. But once they hit 2nd or 3rd grade, they will no longer care about characters and you can buy them a sturdier one that will last for many years. Wasteful? Probably. But I have two boys who get a ton of hand-me-downs so it was the one new thing to get excited about each year (my boys do not get into school supply and shoe shopping the way I did).

We do tend to get new lunchboxes each year--those just wear out quickly.

We did new ones every year. Agree it’s wasteful.