A frugal family's tale - my budget baby articles and review of Aldi's Lelli-Kelly-style shoes

First of all, let me say that we regularly shop at Aldi, so when I was offered a sample of the Lelli-Kelly-style shoes for Michela, I was happy to accept. I was not surprised to find out that Aldi won Which? Supermarket of the Year 2012 - its international offerings (sliced cooked meat, cheese and the cheapest but quality maple syrup you can find) had us hooked for the past three years or so. Aldi's brochures are so well written - as a copywriter I find them delightful. I have kept the Halloween edition as it offered ideas for spooky face paint and fun themed dishes.

Without further ado, here is my review of Aldi's Lelli-Kelly-style shoes. The
headline of the press release says it all: Spend or Splurge? Well, we are no splurgers, we love a bargain and we are charity shop addicts. I even wrote baby-on-a-budget/credit crunch articles a few years back (scroll down for links) for various publications.

Back to the Aldi shoes, we tested them on a walk into central Cambridge and at school (Michela's school uniform policy doesn't apply to shoes). It was a welcome change from the usual, sensible shoe we buy for Michela - we bought plimsolls, boy-style boots (sturdy, rainproof and kickproof) and croc lookalikes at Aldi, so we have tested its kid range out of our own pockets since she started school. We buy most shoes from supermarkets anyway, we tried Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda for trainers, sandals and wellies. We only shop at shoe shops during the sales and it's more like TK Maxx anyway.

The shoes did well, they were a bit dirty after a day at school but the sequins were still stuck on! Lelli Kelly shoes come with little gifts but retail at a whopping £49.99, while these lookalikes are £8.99. They have been available from June 27, so if you are lucky you can still find a pair at your store. Sizes are from 7 to 12. Pity they don't do size 3 as I'd have bought a pair from myself! These pink and silver sparklers are part of a special range, so they won't be gathering dust on the shelves... I hope Aldi will reissue them at some point. Children grow out of shoes pretty soon.

My credit crunch series in full

Baby on a budget (online version)
Baby on a budget (print version)
Buying secondhand high chairs
Buying secondhand for your pregnancy, baby and toddler
Have a green Christmas
Family garden on a budget
Build your first aid kit