Welcome to the 5th post in a little series I’m going to refer to as All the Mummas Say Hell Yes! The Best Nest Goes Back to School 2016! Whoop whoop! Uniforms, BYOD, shoes, haircuts, stationery, lunch boxes, covering books, HELP! I’ve always loved the annual book covering …
Welcome to the 5th post in a little series I’m going to refer to as All the Mummas Say Hell Yes! The Best Nest Goes Back to School 2016! Whoop whoop! Shopping, lunchboxes, uniforms, shoes, pencil sharpeners, stationery, computers, Chromebooks, devices, BYOD!!!!! We’ve discussed BYOD before (here & …
Happy Saturday!
If there is one thing I’m a sucker for it’s leather shoes. The little bit extra you pay for them reaps dividends when you consider how much longer they last than their synthetic alternatives. I’ve found this especially true with school shoes for Ethan. His primary …
2016 has certainly blessed us with an abundance of sunshine hours thus far, and Summer (albeit an El Niño one!) means spending time with friends and family and getting creative in the kitchen as we share these lazy days together. If you’re looking for something …
Welcome to the third post in a little series I’m going to refer to as All the Mummas Say Hell Yes! The Best Nest Goes Back to School 2016! Whoop whoop! Shopping, lunchboxes, uniforms, shoes, pencil sharpeners, stationery, protractors, hold on, PROTRACTORS!!!!!
I don’t really get on my soapbox too often these days (in the public forum that is lol). But one thing that really pisses me off, and it happens this same time every year to varying degrees or another, is being told where I must shop for the kids Back to School stationery. That’s not how New Zealand works actually, especially if you attend a state run school. We live in a democratic society where the only current business monopoly is held by Sky TV – to whom we don’t subscribe lol, so I certainly don’t appreciate tactics by public schools to make money by hamstringing parents at the exact time of year when money is particularly tight.
The stationery list from E’s new school was full cloak and dagger style, no specifics listed at all, we were simply to buy the required PACK from a specific provider. This school year has so far cost us 1k+ (not including the $329 per term bus fare!) and we haven’t even considered the camps and sports camps that E will be busting his ass to attend. I don’t begrudge this expenditure at all, this is simply part and parcel of having kids these days. What I don’t appreciate is removing any choice I have to save a little bit of money where possible.
Needless to say, I received a copy of the stationery list in full and shopped for it myself!
Did I save money?
Yes.
My Shopping at Warehouse Stationery plus a specific item that will need to be purchased from the school came in $20 cheaper than the same order from the preferred vendor including shipping! The price differences were staggering; .05 / .51c, 1.09 / 2.60, .19 / 1.12! I realise that I didn’t save myself a mortgage payment or anything but $20 is $20 right?!
The team at Warehouse Stationery have extended opening hours throughout the Back to School season so I popped in this morning (Sunday) at 9am and was done and dusted in 10 minutes. Loved it. As well as the standard stationery supplies you’d expect, they also stock the biggest range of BYOD tech and furniture under one roof – totally a one stop shop to get the kids ready for a new school year.
A bit of an early start this morning courtesy of Nixon saw me considering plans for the day pre-7.30am. Plenty of time to cram some more sun into this summer holiday! I was considering inexpensive things the boys and I could do, beaches we could visit …
Dan Carter: My Story. Published by Upstart Press RRP $49.99 Oh lord. I finished this book 2 days ago and I’m still thinking about it. Whether you’re a die-hard rugby fan looking for something to tide you over until the Super Rugby season begins, a …
Welcome to the second post in a little series I’m going to refer to as All the Mummas Say Hell Yes! The Best Nest Goes Back to School 2016! Whoop whoop! Shopping, lunchboxes, uniforms, shoes, pencil sharpeners, stationery, schoolbags………
…..and we really are blessed for choice aren’t we? Sooo many places to choose between when shopping for back to school supplies and you can often tick multiple items off your list with a little smart shopping. That’s what we are going to do today, compare very similar offerings from two different retailers and find out just how much they differ in price.
Our Contenders;
Meet Smiggle® (online shopping not available in NZ), the super popular niche retailer selling bright, fun, colour-blocked stationery and accessory ranges.
Meet Kookie from Warehouse Stationery. Perhaps traditionally known for standard office and school supplies, this large retailer launched multiple ranges of on-trend ‘fashion-ery’ in 2015 and is now armed with it’s own cute and funky brands that will appeal to all ages. Kookie is made for Kiwi kids, featuring bold, colourful and functional products.
*The coloured bar graphs in the centre of the graphic show the price difference to scale.
Kookie Marine Pencil Case Tube $7.99 vs Smiggle Pals Tube Pencil Case $10.95
Price difference = $2.96 / 27%
Two great little pencil cases here! The Smiggle offering is a traditional, cylindrical tube made from PVC I think. Great length, definitely falls into the not-too-big category which some kids will like, but if your child likes to pack a full range of felts and coloured pencils, you’re going to need a bigger boat!
The case from Kookie is a canvas fabric which makes it a bit more flexible and possibly easier to rummage around in. A wee bit shorter than the Smiggle case which could cause some ruler issues lol. The super cute New Zealand endangered marine life series is pretty rad too!
Kookie Marine Key Ring $3.99 vs Smiggle Alphabet Key Ring $7.99
Price difference = $4 / 50%.
Ok, I don’t know that many kids with keys, so this is totally a novelty item for me, in which case price would be the main consideration. Again they’re both really cute and essentially the same quality. The letter from Smiggle is a rigid plastic, whereas the marine animal series from Kookie is a soft rubber.
Kookie Marine Lunchbox Stack of 4 $12.99 vs Smiggle Pop Up Lunch Box $16.95
Price difference = $3.96 / 23%.
A good lunchbox is one of the most essential pieces in the back to school puzzle in my opinion. Too bulky and it makes a school bag awkward and uncomfortable. Too small and it’s useless…
I would use both of these options as part of a bigger set I think. The Smiggle Pop Up lunchbox is definitely quite useful in that it collapses down nicely, not so good if there are any remnants leftover after lunch though. The Kookie set of 4 boxes would be an easy, inexpensive way to use an existing lunchbox cooler-bag as a bento-style lunchbox with individual compartments.
Kookie Fruit Backpack $34.99 vs Smiggle Wow Backpack $49.99
Price difference = $15 / 30%.
Another crucial purchase I think. Especially important for little wee kids and the bigger ones. A too-big bag on a Year 0 is a nightmare as is a too-small bag for a Year 7. Size matters lol.
These bags are essentially identical – same layout, the materials feel the same and are a very similar bright, fun aesthetic. Both are an awesome size for school with great strong zips (SO important!), lots of pockets that are actually a functional size, drink bottle holders on the sides, a slot for earphones (?) and lovely padded straps.
It only comes down to price with Kookie coming in $15 cheaper.
Kookie LED Spray Fibre Optic Crystal Lamp $9.99 vs Smiggle Mega Mix Light $24.99
Price difference = $15 / 60%.
Like the backpacks these are nearly identical, in fact if they didn’t come out of the same factory I would be very surprised! The Smiggle version has multicoloured strands of strandy stuff whereas the Kookie version is just clear. The LED’s in both lamps change colour, though this seems to show up better on the clear strands of the Kookie lamp – which is why Ethan chose that one as his fave.
* Please note some items in this image are not the same as those reviewed.
** Goods in this review were provided free for editorial consideration by Warehouse Stationery.
Welcome to the first post in a little series I’m going to refer to as All the Mummas Say Hell Yes! The Best Nest Goes Back to School 2016! Whoop whoop! Shopping, stationery, uniforms, shoes, pencil sharpeners, lunchboxes……… Bento style lunchboxes to be exact. I’m admittedly …