I don’t know about you but I used to love a little mooch around Tesco. Post kids however this has turned into a wrestling the girls into the trolley / heaving the trolley around the supermarket / spending waaay too much money / getting wet in the rain / listening to the girls bicker the whole time bundle of joy.
Now, most of these things I can’t help you with (but online grocery shopping can!!). But for those days where you must venture out to the real supermarket take these tips with you.
- Take snacks / drinks for the kids. Something like raisins which will keep them slowly entertained.
- Let bigger children help get food off the shelves. They can also read the shopping list and cross items off.
- Take a list with you. Use my free printable template if you like. This makes for a quicker shop and you won’t pick up all those things that you don’t need.
- Keep a stash of re-usable carrier bags in the car because of course you will forget the ones you meant to bring from home.
- Make sure all kiddies go to the toilet as you go into the shop. This significantly reduces, but doesn’t altogether get rid of the middle-of-the-shop-wee.
- Talk to your children as you go – who can see the bananas, can anyone see where the beans are? etc.
- Lay your shopping out on the conveyor according to type. Household items together then fridge, then freezer etc. This means the cold things stay colder and you can unpack it in stages accordingly.
- Get someone else to unpack it when you get home – after all you have done all the hard work right?! If that fails I put all the shopping on the table and get the girls to pass it to me. No eggs have ever been broken in this process. Yet.
