The more you know about a graduate's plans for the future, the easier it is to come up with a cheap graduation gift. However, the suggestions below should work for most any grad and cost less than $25.
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Cheap School Uniforms
Kmart has by far the cheapest school uniforms, but they are available only online. The brand is called French Toast and ranges in price from $6.39 to $7.99 for school uniform shirts; bottoms start at $8.79. Target also has low prices for its Cherokee brand uniform apparel, ranging from $7.99 to $12.99 for both boys and girls; there was limited selection in the store but a wider assortment of cheap school uniforms is available online. If you'd rather have your kids try things on, Old Navy is a good place to start. A good selection of uniform shirts for both boys and girls starts at $9.50 -- or $25 for a bundle of five boys shirts -- and bottoms start at $14.50.
Cheap Kids Pajamas.
Kids 7 to 10 still seem to appreciate printed pajamas. Boys, we found, favor comic book characters, video game personalities, sport figures, and the like. Girls tend to like Disney characters; Hello Kitty is also huge for this age group, as are generally girly things such as flowers. The cheapest kids pajamas we saw were at Target, where cheap boys pajamas cost $8.99 and girls pajamas cost $8. Walmart has a slightly better selection of cheap kids pajamas and charges $5 for boys and $12 for girls. Kohl's and JC Penney also offer wide selections of cheap kids pajamas, with prices of $24 to $28 at Kohl's and $12.99 at JC Penney. Old Navy didn't offer any boys or girls pajamas in store, but cheap kids pajamas are available online.
Cheap Kids Underwear.
Underwear is pretty straightforward for boys: boxers, briefs, and undershirts. Most stores on our list carry Hanes brand underwear and undershirts, and Walmart ended up being the cheapest, at $7.27 for five undershirts ($1.45 each) and $5.27 for three pairs of boxer briefs ($1.76 each). Kohl's, Sears, and JC Penney are at the high end, ranging from $2 apiece for boxers to $4 apiece for undershirts.Girls undergarments get a little trickier at this age. Several parents of girls at the older end of our 7-to-10 age range report that their daughters need training bras in addition to underwear, leggings, and tights. Girls underwear is extremely cheap, ranging from the Joe Boxer brand at Sears for 60 cents each to Hanes at Target for $2.33 each. Tights and leggings are cheapest at Walmart, where they cost $10 for a two-pack of Faded Glory leggings ($5 each) and $4.97 for a three pack of George tights ($1.66 each). Training bras cost anywhere from $12.99 at Kohl's to $2.99 each at Walmart. Among the frugal shoppers we polled, one mother notes that Walmart is perfect for stocking up on these cheap items because, as she says, no one sees them, and she doesn't mind if they fall apart a little sooner than they should because the price is so low. On the other hand, a mother of a 10-year-old girl says Kohl's is the place to buy underwear because it has a wide selection -- especially in training bras -- of high-quality pieces at low prices.
As with underwear, the cheapest socks are at Walmart: $4.47 for a 10-pack of boys socks (45 cents each) and $6.27 for a 10-pack of girls socks (63 cents each).
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Back To School Clothing Stores
JC Penney
One word -- uniforms. JC Penney has every imaginable uniform item your child would need for low prices that happen to be compatible with high quality. In fact, selection is good in most categories at this venerable department store, although prices can creep up on you. As for quality, the Arizona brand ranks up there with the best when comparing T-shirts, hoodies, and polo shirts. Customers say JC Penney is a convenient place to shop, especially if they need to buy uniforms.Kids Clothes Deals
| JC Penney.com |
Kmart
Kmart offers shoppers something of a mixed bag. Although jeans are well-priced and sturdy, most tops seem a bit flimsy. Customers seem split in their opinions of Kmart. One mom told us the quality of the cheap kids clothes seems to have improved over the past few years, while others say they don't shop at Kmart because of the flimsy materials used to make the clothing. In addition, the return policy is quite strict.Kids Clothes Deals
| Kmart.com |
Kohl's
Frugal shoppers say Kohl's offers a wide range of high-quality brands for low prices. While the store placed as the most expensive in our shopping cart test, the coupons and in-store discounts are impressive and help lower prices drastically. In our review of cheap kids clothes, we found that Kohl's kids dress clothes, including dresses and pants, surpass the rest with a large selection of items that should last a while. Plus, the return policy is unbeatable -- completely hassle-free, meaning you can return just about anything at any time with or without a receipt.Kids Clothes Deals
| Kohl's.com |
Old Navy
Excellent quality jeans and polo shirts at affordable prices make Old Navy a top store brand. This retailer also boasts the greatest assortment of styles in outerwear that we saw while shopping toward the end of July. Consumers seem to like Old Navy; they say the budget kids clothes are well-priced and right up there with the latest fashion trends. One arena where Old Navy flags is its return policy. In certain situations you can only get a store credit mailed to you rather than receiving it on the spot. We also found a very limited selection of budget kids shoes, and pajamas are available only online.Kids Clothes Deals
| Old Navy.com |
Sears
Everything you need for your child's back-to-school wardrobe can be found in-store at Sears. That's right -- from underwear to uniforms and everything in between, it's all there. But you may pay slightly higher prices for the one-stop-shopping convenience. Still, consumers don't have any complaints about shopping at Sears.Kids Clothes Deals
| Sears.com |
Target
Target outshines the competition in budget kids shoes. It boasts an outstanding selection at very low prices and several shoppers laud the quality. Cheap kids tops also seem to be a good value at Target; fabric used in the Cherokee brand seems quite durable. Most customers seem satisfied with Target's back-to-school options and consider the return policy easy to work with. On the downside, we found a limited selection in certain categories, such as uniforms, pajamas, and dress clothes.Kids Clothes Deals
| Target.com |
Walmart
In our shopping cart test of cheap kids clothes, Walmart was the clear winner with the lowest total: $218.36. The store also came out on top in the jeans and underwear match-ups. In jeans, Walmart offers the lowest prices for relatively high quality; the durable fabric is unlikely to rip or fray easily. Many retailers carry the same brands of panties and briefs, training bras, socks, undershirts, and tights, but Walmart sells them at the lowest prices. Customers seem to like Walmart as a place to stock up on these basic items.Kids Clothes Deals
| Walmart.com |
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