Hopefully you already have all of your holiday shopping done, but if you want to get prepared ahead of time for next year, or you’re just tired of grocery shopping with the kids, there are things that you can do in order to make shopping a bit easier.
It can be fun to shop with the kids, and sometimes you just don’t have any choice but to take them along. However, fun or not, there are probably times when your kids are fussy and want everything in the store. It’s those times that probably have you thinking there has to be a better way to shop.
Consider Shopping Online
These days you can find many great deals online, with or without coupon codes to back you up. Shopping online doesn’t get you away from the kids, but you won’t have to worry about them adding things into the cart and throwing a tantrum when you put them back on the shelf. Shopping online can also save you money on the gas you won’t have to spend running from store to store. You can also look at websites like Price to find the best deals online that you can compare, so you are not paying a lot for things that you can get cheaper just by looking.
Sometimes there are things you need that you just can’t really get online, like fresh produce. You’ll need to take some different steps in these cases.
Go While They Are In School
Try doing your shopping when the kids are in school. If your children are too young to go to school you might be able to drop them off at grandma’s house, or shop when your spouse is home and can watch them. You obviously don’t want to have to hire a babysitter every time you need to do some shopping.
There may be times when you need your kids with you, like when you are back to school shopping. You can get all of their notebooks and pencils on your own, but kids are always growing, so they need to be with you when it comes to shopping for clothing.
Bring Something To Entertain Them
If the kids need to go along and there are times when they won’t simply be busy trying on shoes and clothes, it can help to take something along to entertain them, both in the vehicle and out. Try investing in a portable DVD player to entertain them while you are on the road.
You can find a cheap tablet for kids that they can take with them into stores and play games on. Then they’ll be too busy focused on the game to start adding stuff you don’t want into your shopping cart.
You can shop without the distraction of children, you just need to be willing to go the extra distance in order to get what you need and get out. Even if you normally don’t like to shop online you should give it a try. You may be surprised at the convenience.
