With only a few days remaining in the summer holidays, children and parents are gearing up for back to school.
Jodi Lillico only had to pick up a few items on Friday morning.
She’s all too familiar with the frenzy that is school supply shopping over the Labour Day long weekend, but said this year has actually been a pretty good experience.
“(It’s) not bad actually. (There are) lots of options for things and lots of good deals. So it’s been OK.”
Her son James will be taking his first trip to school on Tuesday.
The four-year-old is entering Kindergarten.
“We had a lot of stuff left over too, so I didn’t actually have to buy too much this year. But the first year is always crazy,” Lillico said.
She tried to tackle purchasing the list of supplies throughout the summer, giving her less to worry about this weekend.
“I try and do it while I’m grocery shopping. I pick up what I need, what I can get, just wherever I go. And (Staples) was the last stop because I couldn’t find certain things anywhere else.”
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Staples Lethbridge is just one store parents can visit to find binders, pencil crayons and construction paper.
General manager Trish Nicholson is expecting a rush of people over Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve had people shopping as early as July. A lot of people like to get their shopping over with so they can go on holidays and not worry about it. But most definitely, we’re expecting a very, very busy weekend because a lot of people do like to leave it to the last minute,” she said.
A 2017 Angus Reid report found the average Canadian family spends about $100 on school supplies every year.
Tuesday will be a milestone for Lillico, and she’s still trying to wrap her head around James’ first day of classes.
But she knows that he will be well-equipped.