Well that was all a bit of a shock to the system, after two glorious weeks of lie-ins and pyjama days. Christmas really is the most indulgent of times isn’t it?! I’m not just talking about the abundance to naughty food and booze here, I’m talking about the pure laze of just doing nothing… No alarms or schedules, the daily routine goes out the window and you have the opportunity to truly relax and hibernate for a week (or so). It’s bliss and I for one love it!

Then all of a sudden it’s January and before you know it, it’s time for the kids to go back to school and you suddenly realise that the PE bags haven’t been ‘dealt with’ and last term’s school shoes are not looking too good. To be fair, they do get battered every day on the concrete playground – playing football or British bulldog or whatever it is they play these days.

Anyway, I suddenly realised the ‘holidays’ were definitely over and I needed to ditch the online sale shopping and focus on getting the girls sorted for the beginning of a new term. My on-line shopping list looked like this…

Knee High Navy Socks (from £6) – because the girls have now decided that they don’t like wearing tights. Joy!

White Cotton Vests (from £6) – because it’s winter and I have a thing about wearing vests, which weirdly my husband doesn’t understand! Who doesn’t wear vests at this time of year?! What’s not to get?

Black Leather Shoes (from £22) – because one daughter has outgrown her pair from September and the other one has trashed her pair playing football.

Navy Cardigan (from £9) – because Lili (the one that plays football) keeps losing her cardigans!

Pack of two Navy Skirts (from £10) – because I just didn’t buy enough in September and while I was doing an online order I thought I’d better get a couple more.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Marks and Spencer is, and always will be, my one-step shop for all thing school related. I’ve never been disappointed with the quality and the prices offer great value for money.

With next day delivery everything was here just in time and girls went off to school looking smart and ready for all the adventures of a new term. They both bounced off to school with all the excitement of happy children, while I dragged my feet, wishing we could rewind the past two weeks and do it all over again!

Disclaimer: This is not a paid sponsored post but I was sent a voucher to buy a few back to school essentials.