Good old days...who else wore bread bags on their feet all winter in elementary school?

[Ottakee]

Title about says it all....who else wore bread bags on their feet in the winter?

[Kerileanne99]

Oh wow, flashbacks.

Bread bags and moon boots. Icy cold, wet winters in Idaho!

[Melissa in Australia]

I wore bags under my shoes when working at a Protea farm in winter. Looking back I wonder why I didn't just wear gumboots. I guess I was 17 and vain/silly or something

[teachermom2834]

I did!!  Was just telling my kids about this last winter.  We lived Buffalo and I remember the hallways lined with boots and bags and winter coats, etc.  And we would bundle up to walk home and back at lunch time!!  

 

We live in the south now and just don't go out if boots would be needed.  I was thinking about it last winter and my siblings and I, as well as our peers, all had the cheapest boots you could buy at Hills or Ames or KMart.  If we moved to a cold climate now I am sure I would prioritize buying high quality winter gear but that just wasn't even on the radar for my family or our neighborhood.

[JennyD]

 

We wore shoes, plastic bags, and galoshes.  Do they even sell galoshes any more?

[rose]

I wish that I had been smart enough to think of that. I remember having wet feet at school for almost all winter through most of my school years. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wish that I had been smart enough to think of that. I remember having wet feet at school for almost all winter through most of my school years. 

 

Me too.  I hated that!

[Corraleno]

I totally forgot about that! I didn't wear them to school but we always wore them to play in the snow — several layers of socks, then bread bags with elastic bands around the tops, then boots.

[gardenmom5]

that brings back memories - but only when we had snow. . . . .

[Kalmia]

We did. In Maine in the 70s. Wonderbread bags were prized as I remember.

[1bassoon]

Totally. And I remember - our bus stop was honestly 1.5 miles from our home. Bus stopped at the intersection of main road and a new development; we walked through two developments to get to our home. Raining? "Take an umbrella," said my mom.

 

My neighbor won't let her daughter walk 300 feet up a short street to her house. She drives her to school because the bus won't stop at their door.

[lmrich]

Yes, My husband thought I was nuts when I told him about this. He grew up in the sunny south; I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

[Julie Smith]

I do. ... And so do my kids. :p

 

Eldest is so picky about boots. Nearing the end of the winter he really needed new boots, but he had so much trouble getting boots on his feet that didn't have velco to open them. So he had to make due with bread bags.

[Stacia]

Yes, My husband thought I was nuts when I told him about this. He grew up in the sunny south; I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.

I was kind-of thinking along the lines of your dh. I thought the wearing breadbags was an urban legend parents told their kids about the harsh winters, yada, yada. (You know, the "I used to walk 10 miles, uphill, in the snow each morning to get to school, during a blizzard, etc....")

 

Now it's dawning on me that maybe it wasn't urban legend. :001_unsure:

 

No, I didn't really grow up around snow.... :leaving:

[Julie Smith]

I grew up in Winnipeg.

 

I occasionally had to wear Vaseline on my face so I wouldn't get frostbite on my face.

[momacacia]

I did for riding horses. Moon boots were awesome!!

[Mergath]

I grew up on the northern MN border, so plenty of snow, but we never used bread bags. I'd never even heard of that until I was an adult. We all wore good, waterproof boots to school, and kept a separate pair of indoor shoes/socks in our cubbies. We'd put our boot liners upside-down on the classroom heater so they were dry by recess, and then again by the time we went home. 

[Momofeat]

Used to???

 

I still do! My boots leak.

[Kerileanne99]

I wish that I had been smart enough to think of that. I remember having wet feet at school for almost all winter through most of my school years.

No, no! Don't feel badly...half our school had nasty, peeling, bloody feet from those bags and moonboots! Then the teachers called it sore feet. Uh, yeah, AKA Trench foot. The bags keep the sweat and moisture trapped in the hot boots:(((

[redsquirrel]

I did in upstate NY, and have used it for my kids when their boots were soaked through. 

 

I win any of those 'back in my day' arguments in this house. I grew up on the canadian border and my town didn't have buses. Because there were no buses school was almost never cancelled.  So, I walked every day for 12 years.  It was often sub-zero for weeks at a time.  One year the snow banks were over my head.  I walked on them to get to school and looked down on car tops.  Looking back on it, I should not have walked on them.  If I had slipped off and fell into traffic it would have been the end of me.

 

You should hear me go off when they close schools here for a 'cold' day due to wind chill.  We are raising a generation of weaklings!  Get out of my yard!!

[Reefgazer]

Raising hand!  I had forgotten about that, but oh, yeah, all winter.

[Reefgazer]

I also grew up in northern NYS and now live in Virginia.  I can't believe the reasons they have for closing schools here.  True story:  My kids and I were walking to school several years ago on a beautiful, clear, and *dry* day.  But it was an odd day because no school buses were out, no crossing guards, less traffic on the route to school, etc...  Finally, a car with DS's classmate and his mom drove by.  As they passed us, they said "School's closed!"  I asked why, and as she was driving by, she said "Black ice".  The ground was dry, I kid you not.  Of course I had not listened to weather closings that day, even though it was January - there was no earthly reason to suspect schools would be closed.  We all just laughed and turned around to walk on home. 

I did in upstate NY, and have used it for my kids when their boots were soaked through. 

 

I win any of those 'back in my day' arguments in this house. I grew up on the canadian border and my town didn't have buses. Because there were no buses school was almost never cancelled.  So, I walked every day for 12 years.  It was often sub-zero for weeks at a time.  One year the snow banks were over my head.  I walked on them to get to school and looked down on car tops.  Looking back on it, I should not have walked on them.  If I had slipped off and fell into traffic it would have been the end of me.

 

You should hear me go off when they close schools here for a 'cold' day due to wind chill.  We are raising a generation of weaklings!  Get out of my yard!!

 

[Reefgazer]

I still do this here in Virginia on really blustery January days when I walk outside.  My skin is so sensitive, even January in Virginia deal it a bad blow!

I grew up in Winnipeg.

I occasionally had to wear Vaseline on my face so I wouldn't get frostbite on my face.

 

[Reefgazer]

Same here.  I think the bread bag thing was a function of growing up in a non-prosperous area; you just bought basic boots and fixed whatever ailed them with bread bags.

I did!!  Was just telling my kids about this last winter.  We lived Buffalo and I remember the hallways lined with boots and bags and winter coats, etc.  And we would bundle up to walk home and back at lunch time!!  

 

We live in the south now and just don't go out if boots would be needed.  I was thinking about it last winter and my siblings and I, as well as our peers, all had the cheapest boots you could buy at Hills or Ames or KMart.  If we moved to a cold climate now I am sure I would prioritize buying high quality winter gear but that just wasn't even on the radar for my family or our neighborhood.

 

[PeterPan]

Not all winter, but we were in VA, where there was only snow for brief flitches of time, hehe.  But in bread bags, yes we were.  THAT goes way back, lol.  I think my mom may have even put our feet in them *inside* our boots, to keep our feet dry.

[Starr]

We used bread bags over our shoes and slid our feet into rubber boots. I always thought it was to make it easier to put the boots on and off. We took the boots and bags off once we got to school. I was a walker. 

[Mergath]

I also grew up in northern NYS and now live in Virginia.  I can't believe the reasons they have for closing schools here.  True story:  My kids and I were walking to school several years ago on a beautiful, clear, and *dry* day.  But it was an odd day because no school buses were out, no crossing guards, less traffic on the route to school, etc...  Finally, a car with DS's classmate and his mom drove by.  As they passed us, they said "School's closed!"  I asked why, and as she was driving by, she said "Black ice".  The ground was dry, I kid you not.  Of course I had not listened to weather closings that day, even though it was January - there was no earthly reason to suspect schools would be closed.  We all just laughed and turned around to walk on home. 

 

They do that here in central MN, too. Dh and I laugh about it. When we were kids, if there was black ice and your bus slid off the road into the ditch, you just had to wait until they sent out another bus to pick you up. 

[TrixieB]

I remember wearing bread bags between two layers of socks, so we could play in the snow in our sneakers.  We didn't have snow boots.

[SeaConquest]

What exactly are bread bags?

[Jaz]

I remember! :)

[AndyJoy]

What exactly are bread bags?

Just the bags in which sliced bread is sold.

[Guest]

 

I occasionally had to wear Vaseline on my face so I wouldn't get frostbite on my face.

 

YES! hahaha the first time I went to smear vaseline on our kid's faces my husband asked if I could just use coconut oil and I guffawed him out of the room. He was seeing my point when the wind started blowing.

[laundrycrisis]

Bread bags, Vaseline on extremeties and Scotch Guard treated jeans.

[Julie Smith]

Ski googles, for just general outdoor play. Kept your face warmer.

 

[SKL]

Me!  And my boots were boys' multi-hand-me-downs.

 

I remember changing in the boot room at school.  And my shoe would always come off with the boot, after which I would lose my balance and step in the snow-melt water and spend the rest of the day with soggysock.  :/

[nevergiveup]

Bread bags--yep.

We even wore (gasp) snow pants to school and we played outside at recess.

I do believe I even had a muff.

[lynn]

I don't think we did that but I remember kids struggling with those bulky snow suits.

[MercyA]

We even wore (gasp) snow pants to school and we played outside at recess.

 

Do they not still do this?  How sad!

 

Yep, another bread bag and moon boot wearer here.  Good times.   :)

[jenn-]

I spent the majority of my elementary school years living near Fairbanks, Alaska. Not only did we use bread bags (left in the boot when we switched to shoes), I wore a full snowsuit, walked the mile+ to school in temps down to -40 and snow thigh high (we were kids and didn't want to take the long way on the cleared roads), but I also had a flashlight because we went to school in the dark and came home in the dark. We played outside at recess because that was when the sun was up.

[prairiewindmomma]

I did!

[kewb]

I don't recall ever wearing bread bags on my feet but I do remember my parents telling stories of doing it. My dh will still wear plastic bags on his feet if it is snowy and he is going out in his sneakers. The man refuses to buy a pair of snow boots.

[Nan in Mass]

I did. And do. My children did. And do. I gave up on snowboots for them because the liners took days to dry, even suspended over a heat source. I bought cheap rubber boots and several pairs of ragwool socks for over ther regular socks. It wasn,t exactly cheap, in the end, but it was cheaper than children,s sorels and they could come in and out all day and have dry feet. The rubber boots cracked at the heel fairly quickly, hence the breadbags. Handme downs were always cracked. Bags worked for extra warmth, too. If it was especially cold out. It is a wet solution, much better for moving feet than still ones. I remember it being hard to keep the other kids from stepping on them and putting holes in them in the scramble to get ready for recess. I envied the kids with the pretty wonderbread bags. We were petrified of the snowplows, walking to school. We listened carefully and scrambled up the banks and into the loose snow on th far sides when we heard them, and the snow would get all down our sleeves and up our snowpants and in our boots. I always thought the bags were to keep your socks dry when the snow went down the top of tour boots. My boots were never that tall. Snowpants are still required here for recess in elementary school, when the snow is deep.

 

Did you have strings on your mittens?

Nan

[Artichoke]

I grew up in the South and had forgotten about bread bags. We wore the bread bags over our sneakers to play out in the snow. I can also remember some kids wearing socks on their hands when it got really cold.

[AHASRADA]

Definitely had strings on my mittens, looped through my coat sleeves so I wouldn't lose them.

 

Never saw, heard of or used bread bags. I had snow boots, and never thought about it, but they must have been good ones. I walked to school, but not that far and always through plowed areas. I wasn't one who enjoyed playing outside, I don't recall recess in the winter, but I'm probably just blocking out the memories :)

 

I honestly never thought about the importance of quality snow boots until I had kids. My dad would see them barefoot in the house and ask for socks or slippers for them. Every fall, he and my mom would buy expensive winter boots for my kids as birthday presents. I always thought they were being silly, indulgent grandparents to buy them the "best" boots.

 

My mom later told me that my dad's parents could never afford good boots, maybe not even any boots at all, and he always froze in the winter. He was determined his kid and grandkids would be warm. Since I always had quality winter wear, I never realized how important it was. Experience definitely shapes one's perspective.

 

ETA: As an adult, I haven't owned snow boots in at least 20 years. I have 7 year old Merrell's moc shoes (ankle height). Sometimes I don't bother with socks. They're usually fine. Of course I don't play in the snow and mostly walk where it's plowed, but I have shoveled in them. I just don't find snow boots necessary for myself. Sorry, Dad.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I just had this conversation with my Mom, because youngest put bags over her socks and under her sneakers when it was pouring the other day for work.

[unsinkable]

I did!! Was just telling my kids about this last winter. We lived Buffalo and I remember the hallways lined with boots and bags and winter coats, etc. And we would bundle up to walk home and back at lunch time!!

 

We live in the south now and just don't go out if boots would be needed. I was thinking about it last winter and my siblings and I, as well as our peers, all had the cheapest boots you could buy at Hills or Ames or KMart. If we moved to a cold climate now I am sure I would prioritize buying high quality winter gear but that just wasn't even on the radar for my family or our neighborhood.

Not Twin Fair or Two Guys?

 

:lol:

[J-rap]

Ha, I grew up in California so didn't need to do this.  But, we learned pretty quickly that this trick worked well when my kids were young and playing in the snow.  :)

 

 

[bettyandbob]

I didn't do this for snow. My boots leaked when it rained. I remember being proud I came up with this solution on my own. My mother would have been appalled, but wouldn't have gotten around to getting new boots--so what was the point of telling her.

[Mom2Blaze]

^{We used bread bags or even walmart type bags in our shoes, over our socks for snow and if we had tons of rain we would put the bags over our shoes to get to the car for church, school, etc.  My parents had 5 of us girls and couldn't afford rain boots, snow boots, stc.  So we made do. We didn't get a lot of snow so we also did the socks as gloves.  Layering a few pairs.  Made it hard to use your fingers but worked great for making snowballs. :)  I have used these same techniques for my son.  Whatever works right??}

[alisoncooks]

We still do!  Who can afford to buy snow boots for the few days we get snow here in NC? :p 

My kids get old-fashioned layers:  sock, plastic bag, 2nd sock, shoes.  Done!

 

(We do have rubber rain boots, but they're awkward for full-out snow play.)