Back-to-school shopping: Top picks from Chicago Parent
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Parent's August Back to School issue is out and they've got their top picks for what to get the kiddos this back to school season. Not just your average pencils and pens, either!
Lunch Box
Let your little one pick out this year's lunch box ($15) from 27 animal options in Skip Hop's Zoo Packs. (Our personal faves are the London Leopard and Dax Dalmatian.) Complete the look with a matching water bottle ($7) and adorable backpack ($20) that will leave you smiling as they head out the door for school.
Unique Post-its
With the unconventional and fun styles of Post-it Notes, that is. The emoji face Post-its are sure to be a huge hit with your kids. One pack includes four different emotions for kids to explore and stick on every surface imaginable (from $2.99) so maybe they'll stay more organized. For trendy kids or parents, pick up a fun vintage Polaroid paperweight and Post-it dispenser (from $9.99).
Locker Odor Neutralizers
$9.99, remodeez.com
Parents of active kids know that their odors can be overwhelming (hazmat suit, anyone?). Now Remodeez comes to the stinky rescue. Packs of activated charcoal and coconut husks neutralize and absorb the odor without just covering it up. Perfectly sized for shoes, lockers and even gear bags and mini-vans filled with boys.
Lunch Baggies
$9.99-$11.99, stasherbag.com
The earth has a ton of baggage, specifically all those sandwich bags we use to pack our kids' lunches and snacks. Stasher is an easily sealable, freezable and reusable alternative. Did we mention that they are also microwave and dishwasher safe? The kids will love the fun variety of patterns or the special notes parents can write using a dry erase marker.
Cookie Snacks
If you consider yourself a smart cookie, the choice of Otis Spunkmeyer's Chocolate Chunk Cookie is easy for packing this year's lunches. And Spunkmeyer means no artificial flavors or colors for hungry tummies. Their snack cakes satisfy a multitude of tastes, including Iced Lemon loaf or this fall, the Iced Pumpkin and Cinnamon Crumb Loaf cakes.
Digital Notes
$149, irislink.com
While moms have the uncanny ability to find every misplaced item their kids lose, they can't recreate their kids' notes for that important test. Now your kid can digitally store their notes with the IRISNotes Air 3. It creates editable digital copies of any notes or drawings when the receiver is clipped onto standard paper and paired with the digital pen. Come to think of it, moms might want one, too.
Clean Up Cloth
$7.99, ecloth.com
We don't know about you, but the crud that comes home in the bottom of the kids' lunchboxes can be seriously disgusting! That's where e-cloth comes in. Made with micro-sized polyester and polyamide fibers that naturally attract dirt, the allergy-friendly cloth makes nightly lunchbox cleanup a breeze to wipe away bacteria, yeast and mold. It is reusable up to 300 washes.
Lunch Box
Nalgene's dishwasher-safe Lunch Box Buddy ($24.99) is a parent's best friend. Just add Nalgene's portion control storage containers and you'll have making lunches the night before mastered. Plus, you probably already know few water bottles beat Nalgene's; this year's line Marvel Collection includes kid faves Spider-Man and Captain America ($11.99).
