I have a question: do you ever have an idea that you think is totally original and then come to find out it’s been done a million times? Do you love or hate that?

I had an idea to make a “Back to School Basket” for Ella– mostly because I love an excuse to find cute kids stuff but also to get her excited about transitioning out of the lazy days of summer. She loves school but she also loves when we make a big deal about things, so a Back to School Basket seemed like the perfect, original idea. Perfect, yes but not exactly original. But I love that! I’m not the only crazy one 😉

All summer, I’ve been putting things aside to add to her basket. I wanted it to have a mix of everything Ella loves and things that she’d need for the school year–just something fun and whimsical to get excited for school and make Ella feel special about going to Pre-K.

Cuddle & Kind Doll–  I’ve loved these dolls from afar for a while! They are exactly Ella’s style- whimsical and delicate and fun. There are a lot to choose from but a beautifully made unicorn named Ella?! No brainer.

Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True– this is a sequel to one of Ella’s all-time favorite books so it was a really fun surprise to add.

Alarm clock– Ella loves routines (thankfully!) and adding the alarm clock has given her more feelings of independence. Plus it’s cute and on sale!

Sunglasses– I loved the idea of clipping something to the front of the basket and Ella loves sunglasses so…

Flora and the Flamingo and Coco Chanel– I wanted to add new books to the basket and I’m obsessed with pink books and girl power so these two fit perfectly. Ella loves that she has a book about a real person.

Sketch Pad– One of Ella’s passions in life is drawing and after a summer of scrap paper, she finally has a sketch pad just for her.

Play Dough– Her play dough collection had a rough time during our move: a lot of it dried out. So now she can get back to fun imaginative play!

Wunderkin Co. Bows– During the school year, Ella wears a bow or a headband pretty much every day and I’m obsessed with Wunderkin Co. The bows stay in her hair and the patterns are so pretty. Love them!

Special Note– I wanted to include a letter to Ella because I love keepsakes and thought we could make this a tradition. You can use pretty craft paper and put confetti in the envelope to make it TCK-approved!

Now if you want to make your own Back to School Basket, here are some tips:

Ella was delighted and surprised to receive her little basket. It made me so happy and excited for her. Ella loves school and she loves to celebrate and she’s just such a good girl.

 

 

Fun fact: I’ve been finding a lot of fun kids shops through Instagram– whimsical and personalized businesses that I had never even heard of before and I feel like I’ve been missing out! I’m going to be putting up a post about my new favorite unique kids shops so stay tuned for that!

xo

eb

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