Sep
19
For the last couple of months I’ve been doing some community management work for Cherokee USA, which is a fancy way of saying I’m in charge of the stuff that appears on their Facebook page. For all my complaining about Facebook (seriously, would it KILL them to add an edit function? Does this not exist because of the fear that someone will post “I LOVE puppies, don’t you?” and 10,000 likes later, swap out puppies for “child pornography”? Because okay, that WOULD be sort of funny, not that there’s anything funny about—anyway, all I’m saying is I hate that I can’t fix a typo without deleting the whole thing and starting over), I’ve really been enjoying the gig. I’m basically just there to try and make the page a non-sucky place for parents to visit, so it’s pretty low-key and conversational—much more fun than the sort of corporate brand-bot weirdness where the writer attempts to pretend they actually ARE the product, not that I’m pointing fingers, BIZARRO-LAND MIRACLE WHIP TWITTER ACCOUNT.
Cherokee and Cozi have teamed up to offer up some Target gift cards to blog readers, and today I’m jumping on the giveaway bandwagon. I’ll get to that part in a minute, but just so everything’s all up front and tidy: not only is this a sponsored post, it’s sponsored by a client of mine. I’m just saying, if I was selling out any harder right now I’d have to launch an eponymously-named fragrance.
The general topic for the giveaway is back to school clothes—specifically, first day of school outfits, and how parents choose to capture the moment. This isn’t a subject I’m much of an expert on, frankly. On Riley’s first day I mostly looked for an outfit that wasn’t wrinkled or stained, and while I’ve seen plenty of inspiration for first day of school photos, I sort of phoned it in with a last-minute printed speech bubble:
So I didn’t exactly knock it out of the park creativity-wise for his first day photo, but I think I’ll try this idea from Kim (aka Miss Zoot): I’ll take the exact same photo—same outfit and all—on his last day, too. Check out how Kim’s first day/last day photo of her daughter turned out:
Cool, right? I would love to have a photo like that to see how Riley changed over the year.
I’m not super fussy about what he wears to school, but I do set out Riley’s outfit the night before. It makes things easier in the mornings, and also ensures that he’s not heading out the door in a pair of swim shorts with a Spiderman pajama top. My standards may be low, but they do exist.
Here’s my question for you, if you’ve got an opinion on the subject: what do you care about more, your kid’s outfit for the first day of school, or their first school picture day? I see by our calendar that our picture day is on October 21st, and I suspect I’ll be in a tizzy the night before trying to find a photogenic outfit for his FIRST PICTURE DAY OMG. Hopefully they have a different backdrop than the Infamous PenisTurtle Theme of ’07.
And with that unsavory image, on to the giveaway! The prize is a $100 gift card for Target, which you can of course use to buy a stack of new Cherokee clothes—or, you know, whatever else captures your fancy. To enter, leave a comment on this post (any comment will do, just be sure and include your email address). Contest ends . . . let’s say Wednesday morning, okay? Two days from now on the 21st.
Good luck!
PS: there’s another big giveaway going on where you can win a $1000 shopping spree from Cherokee and a $300 smart phone from Cozi. Contest info is here.
PS part deux: if you’re a Facebook user, I’d be super honored if you would visit Cherokee’s page and maybe even hit that Like button—only if you want to! No pressure!—if you’d like to see my updates appear in your, uh, stream-hole.
*** Contest now closed, winner to be announced soon ***
Comments
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I love Target, but who doesn’t? A shopping spree for my three little boys would be fun, but then I’m sure we would fight over clothing design!
I do something similar w/my first day of school photos, but I put the year in there too, so that when I’m old I’ll still know what year my girl was in 3rd grade.
School photo days are much more critical, especially with 2 girls. I have very little input at this point, other than pointing out stains, food on the face, stuff like that.
I have a “first day of school” photo of myself in second grade that I really love, so I’d have to say first day over picture day. It’s a different kind of pose, more natural instead of forced, I guess?
What sweet photos! I adore Target! Thanks so much for the chance to win! Cheers!
Whoa, that’s awesome – I could SO use this for my three year old. Preschool requires more clothing than I was expecting!
Picture day fo’ sure. Still love my 33 year old baby brother’s first grade picture day pics with the stitches on his cheek where he fell on a glass coffee table the night before.
We were more concerned with school pictures. It was important to me to have a shirt that looked okay with the background color this year, wierd I know.
My daughter just had her very first day of preschool last week, so I am a newbie at this one. But to be honest I think the first day of school picture is the most important one to me. I love the idea of a first and last day of school picture. Really cool.
I think the first school picture would cause me more panic than the first day of school. At least you can sort of take your own retakes of the first day of school picture…but sometimes the photographer doesn’t care if your kid looks less than stellar when they say cheese.
Mommy-taken first day photos are so much more ummm “real” in my mind. The school pictures are so staged and weird, although I buy them every year.
Definitely picture day. And I LOVE the 2007 photo! That ones lives in infamy.
That ONE not ones. Dammit.
My son is 11. As long as its clean, I have no say. oy
My daughter wears a uniform to school this year (something new for all of us to get used to) and much to my delight Cherokee makes uniform clothes. So the white collared shirts I got for her from Target were made by Cherokee! And she looks adorable in her uniform.
Great give-a-way. My daughter is old enough now (5th grade) to pick out her own clothes (with approval), so she is in charge of the 1st day outfit.
I think that the first day of school is about making an impression with their peers – so I would be more lenient and let the kids take more control (with some over-ruling power for mom/dad). School pics are for the parents – but I also think it’s fun to see their personalities shine through and will be very fun to look back on their individual style in photos…
Since Target is my favorite store ever ever amen, I thought I’d give this commenting thing a shot.
georgiaisyourfriend@gmail.com
My kids wear uniforms, so no picking of anything –except headbands for my daughter. But I do care a little more on picture day.
picture day and the first day are about equal for me. most of my son’s clothes are from the thrift store, but he still looks good! i must say that the cherokee shorts and pants that i have gotten used have held up well and fit him well.
thanks!
The problem with school pictures – you get immortalized in the YEARBOOK…
I’ll be honest, it stresses me out a little bit how much parents get into the perfect way to document their kid’s first day of school, will the pressure ever end? I’m only half joking by the way.
Hmm…. I guess I care more about the school photo, which is odd, because I do first day of school photos myself, and those are the ones I’ll likely keep…
I plant my girls on the same yellow bench every year for first day of school pics. I DO NOT, however, order those school photos with corporate sponsors. They rarely capture the cuteness of the kid and always cost too much!
I am a bad mother, but I don’t even remember what mine wore on the first day of school. I did take pictures but it was like two weeks ago and I’d have to consult them to see what they were wearing. In my defense, I am pregnant and tired. :)
Commenting…
wanna target gift card! please and thank you!
I’m going with school picture day.
Both definitely but I think I worry more about my girls hair for picture day because you can barely see the outfit.
cool. i like target :)
As a teacher, I LOVE seeing the cute and creative outfits that the kids and their parents throw together for the first day of school and school picture day!! I had a student wear a princess Halloween costume for picture day because it was her favorite! <3 Also, the little guys always look darling in a button-down, vest, and tie! <3
Fun giveaway!
4/5 of our family gets 1/2 of their clothes from Target so that’s, well, a lot of $ we spend at Target!
I probably care more about first day, because I take pictures then, and, well, it’s the first day. I always forget about picture day, but luckily my son generally manages to wear a whole outfit, not just underpants or something, so it works out okay. And his school gives you keychains with his picture on them, so that is rad.
Oh, my. “Penis turtle” made me snorfle.
My kids are 4.5 yrs and 2.5 yrs, and so far we’ve only done preschool photos. This year I’m definitely going to put more thought into the clothes!!
I enjoy Target immensely…I was there earlier today :)
Oh, uniforms are spoiling me. I’m now actually stressing out about picture day, as my kid doesn’t have to wear his uniform. GULP.
Love the penis turtle picture! Looks like some serious wailing occurred prior to the picture be taken. Poor Riley!
Why yes. I would love a gift card to Target! (Please!?)
You can write sponsored posts anytime, you are still so fun to read. Oh, and if you picked me it would make my day!
I have a soft spot for Tearful Turtle Riley, because I was also red, blotchy, and tearful in my kindergarten picture (the first picture day I ever had) because the little boy behind me would not take his hands off my shoulders. I wish I could have blamed the scary turtle theme, but all we had was a blue sky backdrop.
School pictures always turn out MEH for us so I am not super into them. I am annoying on this topic.
I would LOVE to win! Especially a Target gift card!!
Picture day always brought out the experimenter in me. Try a side-part on a day immortalized in photo history? Sure, why not?!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Penis turtle??? Too freaking hilarious
Oh the PenisTurtle theme of ’07… That shiz was golden! And not in the rain sense. ;) Anyway, I’d love $100 at Target seeing as my kid grows like a weed on meth and I’m about to have two more bodies to clothe…
I guess picture day is more important than first day of school outfit-wise. Either way I have tried to let my daughter pick her own clothes so her personality shines through. Her personality is noted so far as color-blind hobo.