To buy boots or not?

cmsdouglas

Here's the deal - we usually only have 1-2 pairs of shoes for DD.  She has her favorites and I can't see spending a ton of money on shoes that she'll only wear for a couple of months if she already has perfectly good shoes to wear.  We bought her snow boots last year when we lived in NC and she wore them a grand total of one time.  However, we moved to the panhandle of Texas this summer and we're looking at our second snowstorm of the year already (I know, I know.  I'm a wimp.  I grew up in southern NM and spent the last four years in NC.  There's not a whole lot of snow in those areas...).  

So, a question for practical mommas on a budget:  would you suck it up and buy a pair of snow boots for this winter?  Or would you hope that her regular shoes will be warm enough?  We won't need to spend a ton of time outside, but she LOVED the snow a couple of weeks ago.  I think she would have been out there all day if we let her.  

krispy83

Can you find relatively cheap snow boots somewhere?  I know Target will occasionally have crazy sales on them, and the kids' boots tend to be really cheap during those sales.  Or maybe look on Craigslist?  Someone may be in a similar situation where their kid wore them a couple of times and outgrew them.  If you think she'll want to play in the snow a lot, it is probably worth getting them. 

I totally understand though - my DS has one pair of shoes, and I kinda resisted buying a second pair for him to wear when he was in a wedding because I knew he'd only wear them a couple of times!  If we lived somewhere that had snow, I'd probably have boots for him though.

countrygrl5533

I have no idea. We live in Maine so therefore boots are necessary.

countrygrl5533

Do you thank a children's consignment store might have some? If not, check ebay for sure like some PP said.

countrygrl5533

Excited30 said:

I vote for second hand boots too. And I just have to say that I'm happy to hear that some of you ladies only have like 2 pairs of shoes for your child. I only have a cpl too. But it seems like all my mom friends around here have lots. I just don't see the point either

DD has a pair of slipper, a pair of dress shoes, a pair of sneakers (well, 2 because we found a hand me down pair after I bought a pair), and a pair of boots. In the summer it was sneakers, slippers, and sandals. Unless the shoes were given to me, I don't see the point in more than 4 pairs of shoes at a time. Now, my own shoes.....lol

nunzchucks

Ha! DD only has a pair of sneakers. They have sparkles, so that's dress up, right?


We don't have boots, but living in OH, I wonder if I should get her a pair. @countrygrl5533 do you have a snowsuit, too?

countrygrl5533

LilNunz1 said:

Ha! DD only has a pair of sneakers. They have sparkles, so that's dress up, right?

We don't have boots, but living in OH, I wonder if I should get her a pair. @countrygrl5533 do you have a snowsuit, too?

Sorta. She has a winter coat and snow pants. She's already worn them once when we went out in the woods to get our Christmas tree. Considering we'll have snow until into April, it is a necessity here.

Zimger

I just found a pair of and me down boots that thankfully fit properly. It is sleeting and will snow tomorrow. I think it may be a long winter. DS has two pairs of play shoes and one pair of dress up shoes. Most of his are hand me downs.

I think he has more shoes than I do.

nah82

This is not even a question for us in PA, but thankfully he has all of big brother's hand-me-downs.  Don't spend a lot on them, but I would probably get some for playing outside so she doesn't miss out on all the fun!  I got some from Children's Place for $15 when they had free shipping and a % off promo going on this year.  I got them around the same price from Old Navy last year doing the same thing.

eyenigh

Alexander has around 8 or 9 pairs of shoes plus boots. I like to buy shoes to match outfits (Gymboree kills me with this since they show me the whole outfit together and it's so cute that I have to buy them). We already used the boots on a trip to the park last weekend just because it was cold and wet so I was glad to have them. I bought some snow pants that I'm sure will get some wear, too. He loves playing outside so I figured that I may as well be prepared.

cmsdouglas

I guess y'all are right.  I guess I'll just bite the bullet and start looking for a pair for her!

Wipz

I have a list of things that are not ok second hand..  car seats and shoes are high on that list. Second hand shoes are already molded to the previous owner..and at this early age where they are still developing.. that's a no brainer to me.. Like NicB said, I'm not rolling in it either but I won't compromise on certain things.  

We just got hit with winter storms so I have/had no problem with spending out on extra winter stuff for him.  

cmsdouglas

I'm not entirely comfortable with secondhand shoes, but that might be because I'm thinking about how much DD wears hers.  They're fairly worn out by the time she's done.  

Anyways, it ended up not snowing, but it is 13 degrees.  I'll check online for some good deals!

Wipz

we got him some winter boots at Childrens place when they had a sale.. think we paid about $16 and they are like lil Frankenstein monster boots lol.. My main concern was something waterproof so we could still take him to the park and not worry about him getting chilled from wet clothes and shoes... he does like his puddles lol

eyenigh

@cmsdouglas Stride Rite is doing its 12 days of sales thing and is offering a different discount every day until Christmas (on weekdays, I assume). I bought Alexander some boots today that were originally almost $50 and with the 12% off and free shipping were right around $20. They aren't a snow boot but kind of an in between/hiking kind if thing that looked pretty durable for damp or sleety weather. I didn't look at the girls' section but it might be worth checking out.

cmsdouglas

Thanks @eyenigh!  I'll check it out!