At the beginning of a new school year, at least for the last couple of years (my girls are only three and five years old, of course), I’ve had two rituals to help comfort my kids as they go through a re-separation. One is to buy a new, handmade doll, and the other is to put something in their backpack that they can look at or hold when they need some reassurance. Tonight, my younger daughter was very upset when she realized her big sister is off to a big kindergarten classroom without her. So this year, I thought I’d have sister dolls made for my girls, who will be in separate schools for the first time.

Etsy has been THE go-to place for me to buy beautiful, fun handcrafted dolls. This back-to-school, I found these adorable dolls from Two Stars. Hand sewn and embroidered by Wendy KayP, and made with linen and cotton, these smiley dolls remind me so much of little girls! And as Wendy explains, the dolls have been tested by her two stars, her twin daughters, to withstand all the tea parties, danceathons, stroller races, and in my case, backpack adventures, they can handle.

Do you have back-to-school rituals for your kids? I’d love to hear how you incorporate comfort into your kid’s newest school endeavours!