They Grow Like Weeds! Cookie's Kids Can Help

This Winter, when the days finally turned cold, I grabbed a sweatsuit for my son to wear. We go for comfortable and casual around the house. I tossed it over the door of the closet and went back in to find an outfit for my daughter to wear.

I didn't hear a peep. In fact, when I came back out of the closet he was already dressed, downstairs and gone. Off to play or explore as usual. What wasn't usual was the site that met me over breakfast. Somehow my son had grown into a giant overnight! The pants were inches above his ankles and the sleeves were far too short. He didn't seem to notice (or care!), but I knew he had grown more over the past year than I had realized.

It seems like my kids are growing like weeds these days!

My wallet can hardly keep up with all their growing, but there are some great places I have found to buy cute clothing for my kids that won't break the bank. You might remember me posting about my first shopping experience with #CookiesKids last Summer? Well, I headed back to see what deals they had waiting for me.

Celebrating their 40th year of business, here is a little about Cookie's Kids:

In 1972, a young man named Cookie and his brother Marvin went into business together. They rented a 1600 square foot store in Jamaica, Queens, fixed it up, bought inventory and Summer and Fall, and opened a day after Thanksgiving with a full stock of holiday toys. The toys were a success and they put the extra money toward buying children's clothing for the next season. When that did well, they bought more clothing. The business was on it's way.

As the brothers Cookie, Marvin and Sonny, who had come in as a third partner in the business, began to open new stores in new locations, inventory expanded. Besides the latest fashions, our customers wanted shoes, toys, backpacks and accessories and we were prepared to deliver.

Cookie’s Kids also has 7 brick and mortar stores in the NYC area in Bronx, Brooklyn and Jamaica, but I have shopped with them at CookiesKids.com. I would love to hear if anyone has had the chance to shop in-store with this brand. If I ever have the chance, I will be sure to make a stop.

My daughter is 3 and far too indecisive for her own good, so I decided to surprise her with an outfit I found on the site. I love that I can search by size and category to cut down on my shopping time. My son, on the other hand, is 5 and I like him to have more of a say in his clothes. I was happy to see items like a Northface Backpack on the site. I know that will come in handy when my son starts Kindergarten in the Fall.

We sat together and picked out new jeans for him and then when I saw the Cookie's Kids Facebook update announcing the Jeans and Hoodies sale, I wanted to add one of those to the cart as well.

My son loves The Avengers and spotted the Captain America Hoodie instantly. I noticed the Alva Kids icon near the size option for checkout and tried it out for the first time. My son is tall and thin, usual sizing doesn't always apply to him and I often have to return items that don't fit properly.

This feature made it much easier for me. Set up was simple and now the site will have his size preferences. All you have to do is:

1. Pick your item, I chose the Marvel Hoodie for my son
2. put in your child's height, weight and age with their simple prompts
3. It calculates the right size for you!

I was given my order confirmation right away, but after a few days I was informed that the hoodie my son had chosen was very popular and on back order. At that time I was given the choice to change my selection or have my other items sent ahead. My son had his heart set on that hoodie, so I agreed to wait. Kindly, I was sent a small credit to my account for the hassle.

I thought the whole process was very fair, even generous, and I appreciated being informed instead of just waiting unaware for my items. While I was shopping on the site I did take a peak at the baby section and will be returning to put that credit towards some last minute items for baby #3. With 3 kids I will really need to stretch out my clothing budget!

These little Baby Phat Ballet "Bootie Socks" really caught my eye. I will be back to snag them if I am having a girl. I am excited to be finding out next week!

Our order arrived and I was so excited! You can see my virtual shopping trip with explanations in my Google+ album. The hoodie will be coming sometime next week, but I know it will be worth the wait to my son.

Despite the great sales, clearance and deals you can find on Cookie's Kids, it is the same name brand details and quality that I would normally pay full price for. My daughter's outfit has adorable sequins on the straps and color coordinated embellishments on the leggings. My son's jeans have an adjustable waist, great for skinny guys, and durable Levi's material and stitching.

I let my kids try out their new clothes... basically turning them wild in the living room. I think they should be able to play hard in their clothes and still look good. My son doesn't care about labels or price, but he does care about having fun and being able to be the busiest 5-year old he can be.

I think he succeeded.

Honestly, I didn't expect the kids to be quite this coordinated. I must have subconsciously grabbed that orange polo out of the closet this morning. We are not usually a matching family.

Kids should love the clothes, and you should love the price!

My daughter only cares about looking and feeling like a princess in her outfits. She loved the way this Pogo Club “Flapper Fun” 2-Piece Outfit  moved as she twirled. I like how easy it is to layer a white shirt or turtle neck underneath for cold days. We spend so much time in the living room, in front of the fire place, that I thought she would enjoy this simple and light top well into the Spring and Summer.

I know, my kids are going to keep growing. We are going to keep buying clothes and I am always going to be shopping for a great bargain. This shopping trip never caused a tear, tantrum or for anyone to inquire, "Are we done yet?". So, I think CookiesKids.com will remain on the top of my kids clothing choices.

What items of clothing did your kids outgrow this season?

A big thanks to my crazy crew for our fun day of photos and absolute silliness! It was a blast.

Connect with Cookie's Kids on Twitter and Facebook.

*Disclaimer - I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and CookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions and fun were are own.