How many pairs of winter boots should you buy for your kids?

This morning at daycare drop-off, I ran into the mom of one of Isobel’s kindergarten friends. “I’m stressed,” she said. “I am not prepared for this weather. Jaime doesn’t even have boots! And her feet grow so fast, anything I buy isn’t going to make it through the winter.”

The kid really is growing like a weed. Jaime’s in JK, with a fall birthday (so she just turned four), and is already several inches taller than my five-year-old Izzy, and has bigger feet than her own big sister, who’s in grade one.

Winter boots can be a huge investment  — especially in a year in which you have to buy for yourself as well as for the kids, as is the case at my house. Thankfully, I covered Bronwyn’s knee-high Grey Wolf boots with a $50 Marshalls  gift card I received back in March, and I got Isobel’s on sale at The Children’s Place. My boots and Matt’s weren’t quite as inexpensive (although I did find mine discounted at The Shoe Company  — which, as those who’ve followed this blog already know, is my first stop for any footwear purchase).

I don’t dare presume that my expenses are over until this time next year, though. Last winter, both Bronwyn and Isobel blasted holes in their boots. (How? How? How? Do they do that???) And I find that toward the end of the season, Pair One develops a tendency to leak, so you have to buy Pair Two in order to avoid sending your kid to school with still-wet boots the next day. Honestly, since the I have never been able to pass along a pair of winter boots from one kid to the other, at least not since they were babies.

So, I’m setting aside some money to see us through the expected late-winter Second Boot Purchases.

How do you handle the expense of winter boots?

Photo by Tony the Misfit via Flickr.