Shopping Can Be...Fun?

Friday was a half day at school. It was also my day to get a few errands run. At the mall. When I told my children this you would have thought I'd suggested an outing to the stock yards.

"You're going to ruin my half day off!" LMH exclaimed.

I sighed. They'd caught my distaste for shopping. Perhaps it is not a bad thing in the battle to avoid materialism, but it's definitely un-American. And given the extra time we had together, I didn't want them to think their day was ruined. So I did what any sane mom would - I gave them cash. A dollar apiece to add to the bits in their wallets and the open invitation to spend what they had on whatever they wanted.

Naturally I also gave each child the option to visit a store of their choosing. We ended up at the Disney Store, Claire's Boutique and...that was enough. All three wallets were sufficiently drained in two shops and three girls were pleased with their purchases.

After a snack of Cinnabon rolls, they declared it a fun afternoon.

As for me? The company of my children was enjoyable. I took satisfaction in getting most of my errands accomplished and even in finding a nice outfit for a good price. But shopping? It's still pretty much a drag.