Back-to-School Traditions In our family, we always got a new outfit to wear back to school. The first day was always special: new clothes, new school supplies, new teacher and new classmates. And of course we never had to go for more than a few hours on the first day. LL, Grand Forks In our family, the night before the first day back to school was always special. The whole family would get together and go out for a really nice dinner. It signified the official end of summer and the beginning of a brand new school year. It's something I am going to start with my own kids, as soon as they begin school. BC, Lethbridge Here in Vancouver, the arrival of the PNE signals the end of summer and we start thinking about back to school. The family goes en masse to the fair. We do all the regular stuff ­ visiting the animals, riding the roller coaster and the bumper cars, finding the best spiel from the guys selling all those handy household slicers, dicers and magic cloths. And the food! Gotta have those mini donuts, candy floss and hot dogs. And yes, we line up for the prize home and place a bet at the racetrack. MB, Vancouver Shopping for a back-to-school outfit is a family tradition that our kids love. We have three kids and each one gets my full attention for a day of shopping in the big city ­ Edmonton - and a special lunch. I pick the days and then the kids draw lots to see who gets the first day and so on. TR, Camrose My favourite back-to-school ritual was going shopping for school supplies. To this day I love fresh pencils, paper, binders, storage systems, etc. To this day I love wandering the aisles of stationary stores looking for items I really "need". MI, Calgary When I was a teenager, my parents gave me a back-to-school clothing allowance. I had to budget so that I could get the necessities ­ shoes, boots, coat ­ in addition to the hot new styles and colours that I had to have to be cool. I blew it once and had to wear last year's ratty old jacket. I learned to shop partly at the local thrift shop and that really stretched my money. JK, Kamloops Top