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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Definitely 1st day of school, that has to be perfect! The Picture Day photos are so horrendous, there’s no outfit on earth that would make those worth buying.
I worried about both equally in Kindergarten, but for first grade, definitely picture day. We were out of town until the day before school started so that might have been part of it too!
I have a preschooler who is four and she is in charge of picking out her own clothes. It’s like a rainbow threw up every day, but hey, she’s four and it makes her happy. I’m not going to kill that happiness in my own quest for matching socks (not to the outfit, just to themselves) or the like. There will plenty of time in her preteen and teenage years where she agonizes about her choices.
It may be weird, but I don’t care about/don’t like school portraits. They seem so ridiculously staged to me, and, yes, I realize that’s the point. But I take so many pictures, and like my camera so much, that I don’t feel the need to have school portraits. In other news, I also don’t stress over what he wears the first day of school, but maybe that’s because so far, his pre-school has also been his summer daycare, so a “first day,” per se, hasn’t exactly occurred. Maybe I’ll feel different next year when he starts, gulp, kindergarten.
School picture definitely counts more. Of course, that is the one I failed on last year. Totally forgot! Oh well, that will be the one we laugh at the hardest years from now.
School picture day is more important. The key for me is that outfit has to be representative of what he normally wears on a day to day basis, but newish and clean. My mom always tried to put me in a dress and curl my hair on picture day, and that just wasn’t me.
This is my first year working at a school, and if first day of school was a precursor for picture day, I cannot WAIT to see the outfits. All the kids were clearly wearing their best outfits & were very proud of their clothes.
My daughter is not in school yet, but I would definitely go with picture day.
Love the idea of first and last day pictures. Hopefully I will remember once my daugher goes to school.
You were the first blog I ever followed regularly, and still my favorite. Bonus when you post funny penis turtle pics and give away Target cards. For picture day I usually head out the night before and pick up something new off the sale rack, since by that time it’s still warm enough for short sleeves but the stores are stocking for winter. Don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $8.
I’d say picture day. First day was a little more, shall we say, rushed, and I don’t feel that my iphone captured the moment particularly well.
I don’t have children, and I *love* those first and last day photos. I’ve never seen the child in the same outfit, though. That’s too cute!
I’d like to say neither but I’m thinking it will be BOTH. Or at least , I will try for both and most likely fail. In the grand scheme of things, picture day is probably more important since the evidence might last longer on the walls of relatives.
ooh, I love Target!
I care more about first day of school, just because I have this fuzzy little dream of lining all of those pics up in a display at their HS graduation parties. And the weirder the school pics are, the better, I think.
First school picture for sure! And I always think your kids are dressed so cute, by the way.
I read a blog where the lady has a shirt made for each of her girls that reads Class of 2020 (or whatever class they each are). That is pretty cute. My kids where uniforms so there isn’t much in the way of creativity there. Backpacks, mums, fireplace. That seems to be the standard around here. My answer is picture day because they can wear real clothes that day.
I still love that pic with the turtle. Captures so much about that age!
Here’s my sell-out entry (fingers crossed)! Love your writing Linda!
First school picture, absolutely! Just be sure to put your kids in some horribly trendy outfit so they can look back and cringe at large collars/plaid pants/big bows like we wore.
Go penis turtle!
I loved your picture with the “thought bubble” saying kindergarten!
Love the idea of using the same outfit!
I didn’t know that first day pictures were supposed to be all creative and artsy…? I must be out of the mothering loop. When I was a kid the outfit I wore on the first day was always a big deal to me for some reason, and now that my kid started preschool a couple weeks ago I wanted her to look nice, but it wasn’t a very big deal at all. A little dress, a simple hairdo, a picture with her new bag, and we were good to go. :)
The cheesier the school photo, the better. I just spent good money for this sitting-on-top-of-a-pirate-chest pose… (And he was just wearing regular clothes. No eye patch or anything…)
I totally remember that penis turtle picture–hilarious!
I’m entering the giveaway yay!!
First school pic day is way more important. I didn’t even realize first day of school clothes was a thing! Either I forgot or my parents never cared haha!
I had almost forgotten the penis turtle!!! OMG. So seeing as Target is one of the main shopping places for the boyz..would love to win!! alloydneto@gmail.com is where you can reach me if I win.
First day, I usually pick something clean…sometimes a new shirt to help them get excited. School pictures…”just please god stay clean until it’s your turn and don’t do that crazy forced smile thing…pleeeeeeazzze!” I have two boys so I don’t really put a lot into fashion.
I let my kids pick their own first day outfits now that they are 10 and 7 and 7 respectively. They have gotten the part that it should be a little bit dress-upity, but not super formal. I love that they love to do it!
I think as a child I always picked out my first days clothes with more excitement. But I know my mom cared more about the school photo clothes. I remember having to retake school photos when I had spilled something down my shirt or hadn’t brushed my hair enough. But then there were also the wonderful class photo pics in elementary schhol. With a little three tiered stand and the teacher in the picture as well as the whole class. Those are awesome. Do they still do that these days?
I think I will care more about this kind of stuff when Eriana is in school school, not just “school”, which is what we call Mother’s Day Out once a week for 5 hours. Right now she looks cute in everything. I do plan on giving her a lot of freedom in decision-making for her clothes, so we’ll see how that turns out regarding pictures and stuff. :)
Our school principal has decided she wants the fall school pictures to be taken with the kids in uniform. “It will look so much better in the yearbook.” And no one will buy them.
First day! By picture day I’ve given up…I’m happy if she’s even smiling in the picture at that point…
That penis turtle picture is seriously the best thing ever.
Gotta vote for the first day of school pic. (And I LOVE the idea of doing the same outfit on the last day, too!) There’s something about that picture, the new lunch box and backpack, standing in front of the door FOR THE LAST TIME as a non-school-goer. As if they are going to be somehow magically transformed when they get home from that first day … yeah. Love it.
It took 45 minutes and lots of tears to get my six-year-old dressed for school this morning. I’ll settle for anything she is willing to put on her body that I find remotely acceptable, and I am starting to consider dropping the acceptability clause.
That “penisTurtle” theme cracks me up…hoo boy! I almost HOPE that’s the backdrop for my kid’s school picture this year!
First Day pictures are WAY better because generally parents remember that it’s the first day of school as opposed to Picture Day (um….SOME parents, anyway)…
Mine just turned 2 so these days are coming – now I’m going to stress about it! : )
both both both because retakes are such a pain in the ass! And thank GOD that our school photographer has the ability of touching up photos. That grape juice down the front of my kids new shirt was literally cleaned up in the photo lab!
Eh, I remember spending an equal amount of time preparing for both first day and picture day. My parents, on the other hand, only ever cared about picture day.
It doesn’t matter how hard I try – my kids always look like they were dressed in the dark by a colorblind fashion-phobe.
Both…and I have to think more about sibling wear on the first day since I make them pose together. My Charlie wore the same pirate shirt on his brother’s first day os 1st grade and on bis own first day od Pre-K. The horror!
School picture day is a week away…would love some Target cash to buy new outfits!
P.S. I found the first month of Kindergarten to be a huge adjustment for all of us, so I hope you and Dylan are coping and that Riley isn’t acting like a doofus like my son did. Not that I am calling your child a doofus. Okay, signing out.
I definitely care more about the first school picture outfit. It doesn’t matter now though because my kids wear uniforms.
Wahoo Target! (and I am *that* parent who never cared about picture day because the pictures are always terrible for us and we never purchased)
Aw I used to love picture day!
The penis turtle photo of Riley cracks me up every. single. time.
I love the first/last day photo idea! I also, LOVE me some Target. :-)
Riley is such a cutie.
Eeeek! Picture day is tommorrow, and I’ve already promised myself that I’m going to steer away from absolutely darling dresses–that don’t look at all impressive from the neck up. Mental inventory of my girl’s closet is commencing…now!
Oh, I hope I win. valerietrythall@gmail.com