Does anyone else buy their kids new clothes for the trip?

[gary4jenn]

For the last 4 trips to Disney, I've bought my kids all new clothes to wear. New tops, bottoms, socks, pajamas, swimsuits and even underwear.

Am I crazy? I always buy on sale or on clearance and I typically buy matching outfits for my 2 DD's (ages 6 and 3). That way if one gets lost, the other one has on the exact same outfit to help identify her.

But, I think that going on vacation is so special that it deserves new clothes too!

I almost get their clothes at 50-75% off or more because I buy at the end of the season and the stuff I buy can be worn again when it get warm in the spring so the clothes do get worn more than just for the trip. I also like that the girl's have new clothes and that they match because the pictures look especially nice.

I think I do this so it makes me feel closer to my trip. Last night I picked up matching hot pink Cinderella windbreakers at the Disney Store for the girls.

As soon as I have a trip planned- I start packing. For each thing I put in the suitcase makes me feel closer to the trip even though it's over 6 months away. I love the little "rush" of finding a new outfit or toy to bring along!

Anyways- just wondering if anyone else does this too!

 

[CEDmom]

I don't buy DD all new clothes but I do buy her some. She's kind of a rough and tumble kid so a lot of her clothes look kind of worn. I don't mind that for play or school but not anything nice. I also like to give a good 1st impression to people and lets face it that's usual done through appearance.

We'll be going on vacation in June (not WDW ) and I have several new summer outfits set aside for the trip. Once we get home I don't care how beat up they get.

BTW, I also get most of DD's clothes on sale. Several weeks ago she got hold of a Lands End catalog and went through picking out things she liked. I went into their overstocks section and found almost the exact same style/patterns of clothes from last season at 50%+ off. If you haven't shopped there it's worth checking out.

Have a fun trip.

 

[rmae624]

Yes! I do this too. I should mention that I'm totally addicted to buying my girls clothes anyway though. (I figure that they will only let me dress them for so long, so I might as well enjoy it now!)

I just returned from WDW and they had all new clothes (of course they needed them anyway since it is the beginning of a new season). Most of their outfits were matching or coordinating or at least the same color scheme. Also, we stayed at the Polynesian so several of the outfits fit the "theme" of the Polynesian. Wierd, maybe, but I enjoyed it!

 

[swilshire]

If this makes you happy, by all means do it and enjoy. Other than having the kids look half way decent in the vacation photos, I could care less how they're dressed at DW as far as looks. We definitely go for comfort, not style. Those long, hot days lead to a lot of dribbles and spills along with sitting, sprawling, wallowing on the ground. They always come back from the parks just filthy. I would prefer they NOT be wearing new clothes.

I do use any vacation as an incentive to clean out the smaller boys' closets. It's a good time to store things that are outgrown and generally tidy up. It makes packing a lot easier and I usually find things that I had forgotten they own.

I do see the families with matching shirts and think it's a great idea in crowds, but three of my four probably wouldn't wear the shirts I had selected for them anyway. Matching their siblings and parents is the last thing they would want to do.

Sheila

 

[luvabargain]

I do buy the kids and my hubby and I some new clothes for vacations. Usually a few pairs of shorts and some tops, maybe some shoes. I ALWAYS buy clothes that are on sale or clearance. The kids usually come home with souvenir t-shirts and hats that they like to wear right away so I don't like to get too overboard.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I'm so glad I'm not the only nut. Not only do I buy the kids all new clothes, they're mostly Disney and I put them away so they can't wear them before the trip. I even buy them Disney underwear! I don't even tell DH because he thinks I overbuy the kids clothes already. It's nice to know that other people do this too. Don't you think it adds to the anticipation and excitement? By the way I also dress the girls alike, ds gets all new clothes too but it's a lot easier to find girls Disney clothes than boys!

 

[daystar]

I did this right before we went on our trip to WDW...A great place to buy kids clothes cheap is Osh Kosh outlet....I think it's like once a month or once every two months they have a sale where there clothes are 70% off and it's not the clearance items....I just bought my son 5 his whole summer wardrobe in that store under 100.00 ....They do also have a clearance rack which they give you extra off the clearance ticket....I find great buys in this store....

 

[cobbler]

I was recently at the Disney store and got my son the tropical type top to wear for the Luau we will be going to

 

[HenDuck]

Before my son's first trip to DL, I was lucky enough to hit a mega sale at TDS. I bought him t-shirts and shorts for $2.99! I also "saved" some of his new Disney t-shirts which he got for his birthday and Christmas just before the trip.

Grandma bought us all matching Disney t-shirts and had our names embroidered on them special for the trip.

As for myself, I always buy a new pair of walking/running shoes a few months before the trip.

I do buy myself special body wash just for the trip though - Soap Suds from Origins!

Other than that, we use what we have and leave room in the suitcase to buy more on the trip!

 

[dzneelvr]

Of course!!
My DS and DD are now teens, so the disney stuff is long gone but it's a great chance for them to get new summer clothes and swimwear that's suitable for our end of June/first of July trips. They've basically grown out of everything from the last year anyway.
I buy myself end of season new resort wear and keep them for the Disney trip the next summer. My DH also gets new shirts that are suitable for all day wear plus a nice dinner at a sit down in the evening. I just have a thing about not being sloppy or unkempt while at WDW.
Never new shoes though! This is not the time to wear those flip-flops for the first time, no matter how comfie they first feel.

 

[BrerMama]

We always plan our vacations (Disney or not) for the first week after school ends. We buy our kids summer clothes, but then I won't let them wear them until vacation -- with some exceptions for special events towards the end of school. After vacation, they can wear whatever they want. But it's summer and they tend to wear older, more comfortable clothing. Then when school starts, the clothes they wore on vacation are still in decent condition and they can wear them to school for a few months until it starts getting cold again.

 

[aikodude]

We had to buy DD6 all new clothes for this trip. Couple weeks ago I was gathering clothes to donate to good will and I accidentally gave away all her summer clothes!

We each (DS, DH, DD6 and DD7) usually get a new bathing suit, a couple t-shirts and some shorts for the trip. New sneakers (walking shoes) for all should be purchased a couple months prior to allow for "break in". You hate to be breaking in a new pair of sneaks at WDW while walking all over the parks! Ouch!!!

dave

 

[HappyLawyer]

No our vacation costs more then enough, we wear what we have

 

[DisneyMin]

My kids were Disney clothes when we go to WDW. They each have a few disney tshirts and thats the only time they wear them. I was at the Disney store yesterday,and got some 'stitch' pj's for $3.99! Also a stitch tshirt and a teachers pet tshirt for $4.99. They also have their beach towels on sale for 9.99. Anyway,,Of course,,all our vacation photo's look alike,,since they're wearing the same tshirts,,LOL(we go every few months for a long wknd,,we're not far away). But i think vacation is a good time to buy clothes,,esp. when they're on clearance!

 

[WhispyPixie]

As our Disney Trips are seasonal, the answer is most definately yes!! They rarely even see the outfits until we unpack. The kids now know that is what I am doing and they can't wait to unpack now!! What can I say, I like good pictures and kids that arent wearing stained clothes for them..lol I have kids that are rough on clothes and this helps alot!! I buy them ON SALE and pack them away till the trip!

 

[gary4jenn]

I was hoping I wasn't the only one who did this! Thanks for all your responses.

Since we only afford to go once per year (usually December or January), and it's usually quite cold in Minnesota when we go, I love getting great deals on summer clothes in August and Sept. for our trip. The the girls can wear the clothes again in the sping/summer back home.

We usually don't buy much in the parks for souveniers. I let them get one Princess dress-up dress each at The World of Disney ($55 each) and a couple of other smaller items.

I buy a special Disney treasure for each night to give the girls when we get back to the hotel room. I purchase stuff each from Target, Walmart, TDS, etc. and then I ship the box of stuff down the week before we arrive. I try to buy Disney toys/activities that they can play with when we are in the hotel room. I can't wait for the girls to play with all the cool stuff I've found.

This way we don't blow our budget on all the tempting stuff in the gift shops, the girls look forward to going back to the room at the end of the day and they are guaranteed to have something to keep them busy in the room!

 

[Schmeck]

For our first three trips with DD10 and DD13, I used to dress them alike, in new outfits bought from either The Children's Place or Land's End. Both places have great options to get different colors for the girls (one loves lima-bean green, the other red, pink and orange) of the same shirt, shorts, etc.

But for this trip I wasn't sure if the matching clothes would go over well with my new teenager (how can she be 13 already? ) Well, she agreed to it for this trip, yippee! So, there's a box upstairs in my room right now, with three new, matching outfits for them, and I'll be ordering a few more from Land's End this week.

Three things I love about dressing them in matching clothing:

1. They don't argue about what to wear - they just take turns picking which set each day

2. The photos look really great, kind of like family portraits, where everyone wears complimentary colors

3. If one child wanders off, I just have to look at the other one to remember what they were each wearing that day, LOL! I even could just grab the unlost child and say "here, she looks just like this one, but her outfit is pink..."

 

[saymama]

I've bought some new stuff for me and DH. Only because we have recently lost each 20 lbs and nothing fits. New bathing suits, shoes for me, socks. Older ds has tons of stuff so he's set. Younger ds is another story. We had to buy him new shorts recently. He's 4 and weighs 62 lbs. So he NEEDED new stuff. Both of the boys have autism and the younger one decided about a year ago to stop wearing anything buy red tshirts or tshirts with a disney character on them. He's a bit obsessed literally. So, the shirts he has are just run into the ground. We are planning on stopping at one of the outside shops before Disney world and buying him a ton of shirts. Then his granny can buy him all the overpriced shirts in the parks. So his suitcase will be very light on the trip there. It'll only be socks and shorts! We plan on buying enough to last!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

My name is SnoWhiteRabbit and I have a problem....

I just bought two adorable red and white polka dot dresses for my two DD's for our December trip -- I thought they would be perfect for one of the character meal dinners mith Minnie Mouse! They were 40% off at Macy's and I couldn't resist. (They will get other wear out of them -- after WDW).

ANyhow, I love you guys! I feel better about myself already! I though I was a little too obsessesd! LOL.

I buy my girls (ages 3 and 5) new clothes for most vacations. Not an entire wardrobe, but quite a few new things. It is usually on sale and color coordinated - sometimes the same, but mostly coordinated (same outfit, different colors from Lands End Overstocks or different outfits, similar colors, and definitely some Disney stuff, too!). I have 1 DS, age 2, and he gets new stuff too. Sometimes I try to coordinate it with the girsl, mainly for the photos (I scrap!!).

Now, I wouldn't say these clothes were purchased "just for vacation" because I buy only what they need and can use again --but it is put away "just for vacation" FIRST and then relinquished into their dressers for everyday wear!

I also buy surprises during the year when I find great prices, and it does get me very excited for vacation! Same thing - to keep them busy on the plane or in the car, and in the hotel room.

We don't buy very many souvenours (sp?) in the parks -- usually just the photos, one Disney outfit per kid, of their choice, and one other toy per child, their choice with their own money (from aunts and grandparents, etc.) Maybe a few other things that we a re sure to use - beach towels, kids dishes, that we have gotten our use out of long after returning home.

It's fun!! Glad to hear others do the same!

I also buy coordinated new pajamas before every major holiday, that I give the kids the night before the big morning (Christmas and Easter) so they look spiffy in photos

 

[Peg]

of course I do!
(and they are in their 30's ) They buy for their kids and I buy for them
Peg