I’m the biggest slacker on the face of the planet. It’s February and I still haven’t had Christmas photos taken of my kiddos. Is it too late? It might be too late, huh? SO I thought maybe I’d do Valentine’s Day cards, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was probably getting too close to Cupid’s Holiday to have pics taken and cards made in time to have them sent out before Valentine’s Day. So, I’m thinking Easter pictures? I don’t know. We’ll see how this goes, yeah?
That brings me to the next problem: They don’t have any really nice clothes to wear for photos. The Nerd has some things that we got from Cookie’s Kids in 2011 that still fit him really well. I could use one of The Workaholic’s ties to make it “new” again, and also to match the babies. But what on earth would the Babies wear?
I decided to employ my contacts at Cookie’s Kids for more affordable Holiday wear. I’m in lust with Cookie’s Kids. Their clothes range from name brands like Baby Phat to boutique brands to smaller brands. They are also a leading source for children’s school uniforms and school accessories like backpacks. I used a North Face backpack when I was growing up, but my poor parents had to spend over $100 on mine.
Cookies Kids is awesome because all of their prices are affordable, even their North Face Backpacks! Just how affordable? Keep reading to find out. Plus, their story is so neat. Did you know Cookie’s Kids is celebrating their 40th Anniversary this year? That’s what I would consider success in business!
In 1972, a young man named Cookie and his brother Marvin went into business together. They rented a 1600 square foot store in Jamaica, Queens, fixed it up, bought inventory and Summer and Fall, and opened a day after Thanksgiving with a full stock of holiday toys. The toys were a success and they put the extra money toward buying children’s clothing for the next season. When that did well, they bought more clothing. The business was on it’s way.
As the brothers Cookie, Marvin and Sonny, who had come in as a third partner in the business, began to open new stores in new locations, inventory expanded. Besides the latest fashions, our customers wanted shoes, toys, backpacks and accessories and we were prepared to deliver.
By the late 1990’s there were six superstores throughout the NYC area, and though they previously had different names, by that time they were all named Cookie’s Kids. Also in the late ’90s came an important addition to Cookie’s Kids’ inventory: school uniforms. It was the steady success in uniform sales that paved the way for founding CookiesKids.com in 2007, which originally sold uniforms and soon after the entire Cookie’s Kids Inventory.
That’s what I call success in business!
Anyways, The Muffin is incredibly fashion conscious. She gleans her fashion expertise from planet LaLaLand and puts amazing oufits together, like this Christmas dress in January , paired with legit ballet shoes. I love the outfits that she puts together for herself and I always give her a say in any new clothes that we buy for her. There’s nothing worse than a toddler who hates what she’s wearing. And with such awesome fashion sense, how could I leave her out of the process?
SO I went to the Cookie’s Kids website and used their extremely user-friendly website to search for “Girls Dresses”, then narrowed the field to only include size 4. I had a few specific things I had in mind, namely some pink, purple, or red. They are going to be using them for Valentine’s Day, so the colors needed to be “right”, right? Right.
I knew The Muffin would want anything Hello Kitty, so I tried to be all ninja about putting stuff in the kart that wasn’t Hello Kitty. I have nothing against Hello Kitty at all, but I wanted her to get something maybe a little more fancy or general. It would be difficult to match the boys if The Muffin was wearing Hello Kitty.
She saw Hello Kitty anyways. I did a bad, bad thing. I lied to her. I told her that they didn’t have that Hello Kitty dress in her size.
I’m horrible, I know.
The truth is, I LOVE this Hello Kitty dress and I feel bad, so I think I’m going to get it for her anyways. Hopefully they still have her size come Friday.
Moving on . . .
I chose some non-traditional dresses, and a few more that she could wear day-to-day. I put those dresses in my shopping cart, and let her choose which dress she liked the best. She chose begrudgingly since her beloved Hello Kitty dress wasn’t on the list.
The dress she eventually chose is SO stinking cute. I LOVE it. It has a belt and a cute three tier necklace attached at the neckline. The necklace comes off so that the dress can be washed easily, then reattached. You could even attach your own necklace if you wanted to!
Because her dress is black and white, I had free reign with Grady. I immediately had red in mind, but I found this amazingly adorable 4-piece suit with a purple shirt, vest, tie, and slacks. The Workaholic wears a lot of purple, and I thought that they could match! SO CUTE! Plus, the price couldn’t be beat. I paid less than $15 for this outfit!
I couldn’t WAIT to get this outfit in so The Stinky could wear it. The Muffin kept calling it his Prince Outfit. Love.
Do you see the arrow in the photo above? It points to a really cool feature on Cookie’s Kids. I often have reservations about ordering online because sizes can vary so much. In some things, The Stinky is a 24 month, in some things he is a 2T, and in others he is an 18 month. With a few simple measurements, this tool will tell you which size in each outfit you should get for your child. That can really take a lot of guess work out of shopping online. Now, if only my favorite adult clothing websites had the same tool, we’d be golden!
Once our package arrived, in record time, we immediately played dress up. The Muffin (AKA The Messy Fashionista) had a lot to say about her new dress, and The Stinky’s outfit too.
So now we’re all set for our Valentine’s photo shoot tomorrow! I can’t wait to show you all the pictures of my little Valentines once they are taken and edited!
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® follow Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ #CBias #SocialFabric As always, all content and opinions are my very own and were not influenced in any way.
Brooke says
He’s so adorable. I wonder if he would sit still long enough to let you do some of the special tie knots that you’ve been doing for the hubby!
Brooke recently posted.. Homemade Applesauce
Summer says
SO funny because I was thinking the same thing!
mel says
How cute! What great outfits you picked out!
mel recently posted.. The Perfect Valentine’s Day Photo Collage Using The Walgreens App! #Cbias
Summer says
Thanks! I let The Muffin pick her outfit out, but I loved this little purple one for The Stinky!
Maegan L. says
Cute outfits!
Maegan L. recently posted.. Money Saving Monday 2/4
Elizabeth Towns says
I love Cookies Kids. When I would visit New York and New Jersey, I never came home without visiting a Cookies and getting almost a complete seasonal wardrobe for my kids. They are so reasonable and have such a variety. I even get my kids uniform pieces there.
Elizabeth Towns recently posted.. Lenny Finds His Line…and Elijah does too! Book Review
Sarah @ East9thStreet says
What a cute video and your kids are too stinking (had to use that since you call him Stinky) adorable! I hope you’ll join us for the Cookies Kids Twitter party on February 18th! They are always fun!
Sarah @ East9thStreet recently posted.. An Evening At Publican Quality Meats
Summer says
I HOPE to be able to do the Cookie’s Kids twitter party! I have a hard time with evening stuff because my hubby works nights so I’m tasked with taking care of the kids, our nightly routine, then cleaning. Hopefully he’s off that night so I can participate!
Heather Budler-Ronzoni says
I’ve never heard of Cookie’s Kids! It’s always soooo difficult to pick out kids clothing and even to find stuff that fits nice and coordinates. Plus you were able to order it all online. Even better!! I hate dragging my kids out to store after store.
Heather Budler-Ronzoni recently posted.. February Fan Appreciation Giveaway!
Desiree Eaglin says
I love that little purple boys suit!
Desiree Eaglin recently posted.. 6 Month Baby Tradition – Wordless Wednesday
Jenn {Mommie Couture} says
I just finished linking you up to my BLOG LOVE page as promised via Instagram! 🙂 Can’t wait to see the pictures from the Valentine’s Day photoshoot! I’m waiting for my boys’ shirts to arrive – hopefully before V-day! haha xo
Jenn {Mommie Couture} recently posted.. “Can you hear that? It’s SILENCE.”
Sara Blake @ CleverPinkPirate.com says
Oh the video, I DIE! That is way too cute! I love the chocolate and the commentary and even better the out-takes 🙂
Cute outfit choices and your kids are adorable!
Sara Blake @ CleverPinkPirate.com recently posted.. Thrifty Thursday: 60 Second Shoe Shining Trick
Mallery Schuplin says
I am pretty sure you were talking about me in that first paragraph. Way to try and steal all of my sucky glory! 🙂
Mallery Schuplin recently posted.. How to Create Seductive Tables for Two
Summer says
No stinking WAY. We are totally separated sisters from childhood, because I SUCK at housewifery too. SUCK.
Cookies Kids says
I think chocolate gotees will be all the rage next season.