BACK TO SCHOOL ESSENTIALS

Well, somehow we have almost made it to the end of the Summer Holidays - I know I say this every year, but where did the time go?! The long heatwave of June and July seems like a distant memory and now I'm seeing posts about Halloween and Autumn pop up on my social media. (It's still summer!!!)

Elliot is due to start in just over a week and will be going into year 1. Unlike last year when I was a bit clueless and just bought EVERYTHING I thought he'd need, this time round we feel like we know the score. My back to school shopping has been quite painless and even the trip to Clarks for new school shoes wasn't so bad!

If you're panicking a bit about the imminent school year, take a look at my essentials list and hopefully we will have you covered!

Yazoo Milkshakes - No Added Sugar
My kids love milkshakes and I was really happy to see that Yazoo have launched a No Added Sugar version of their popular flavours. These would be ideal for lunchboxes or even an after school treat. Also good for Mums - my favourite is strawberry ;)

Bacofoil - Zipper Bags
As a parent, I can't get enough of zipper bags and they come in useful for so many things especially packed lunches! They are tear proof and water resistant and come in a variety of sizes. I like to pop Elliot's sandwiches in a zipper bag and then he has something to put all his lunch rubbish in once he's finished - it makes cleaning his lunchbox so much easier.

Personalised Name Labels - Petit Fernand
I've tried a few different types of name labels including iron on ones, sticky ones and even sew in ones (who has time for that!). Petit Fernand labels are the best I've found by far, you can design the label right down to the colour of the font and I love that there are so many different images you can add to your labels. I personally buy the stick on ones as they are super quick to use and pretty much stay put even with rigorous washing.

Ace - Stain Removal Products (Can be purchased from your local Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose or Sainsburys)
I would never have put this as an essential prior to my son starting school but I didn't realise just how dirty he would get!! His lovely white tshirts were coming home grubbier and grubbier but this stuff literally is Ace, and so good at removing stains. I find that roast dinner days are the worst - I will pop a pic up at the bottom so you can see for yourself! (And it came up like new with a bit of Ace!)

School Uniforms from Pep&Co
When you think of Poundland, you wouldn't automatically think of school uniforms but did you know they have their own fashion label, Pep&Co? They have some fab school bits and you can pick up an entire uniform from £6 which is one of the cheapest on the market!

Able Labels - Personalised Pencils
When I was at school (erm...a few years back!), I was always envious of the children who had personalised stationary. Able Labels do lovely pencil packs which would be ideal for pencil cases and they are all hand personlised which gives a beautiful finish. I'm totally envious of Elliot's new personalised pencils!

Sistema Bottles (Various prices and can be found in all of the big supermarkets)
We've been through quite a lot of water bottles this past year but Sistema is the brand we keep coming back to. I love the fact they are sturdy and don't leak, but they are easy for little hands to open too. My kitchen is starting to look like a Sistema shrine because we have a bit of a collection of them, all in different sizes! 

Fluffy Llama notebook - Ryman (£5.99)
I love stationary and I remember being so excited about going back to school because it meant new pencil cases and notebooks! Llama's seem to be in fashion right now so this fluffy notebook would make you instantly cool and popular with your school friends. I'm wondering if (at 37) I'm too old for a fluffy llama notebook.....

I hope you're feeling organised about the new school year started. Do you have any essentials I may have forgotten?! 

Roast dinner lunch day - when stain removal is very much needed!!