Trying to find personalized backpacks for my daughter was impossible.
When I decided to take the uber popular girl’s name Ava, add a Y to it for flavor, and call my child “Ayva”, I sealed her fate for the rest of her life.
I knew it was going to be when I I knew exactly what I was getting into when I did it.
It was a conscious decision, and one that I made all on my own.
She’ll never be able to walk into a gift shop at an amusement park and purchase a ready made personalized item.
Oh, and a personalized backpack? Out of the question.
Since I don’t believe my child should have to pay for my choice, I’ve been committed since her birth to buying her any adorable thing that I can get her name on.
Is it safe to personalize your child’s backpack?
Before I get into the backpacks, I would be remiss if I didn’t answer the question lots of parents are asking: Is it safe to personalize my kid’s backpack?
Full disclosure, I work in trust and safety online, and my background is in digital child safety.
I say all that to say, I care a lot about keeping kids safe.
Personalized backpacks are fine.
Just like with being online, it’s our job as parents to teach our kids about stranger danger.
Remind your child that just because someone knows their name, it doesn’t mean that they know who they are.
Your family should talk regularly about who are safe people, and how to discern someone who is a friend and who is a stranger.
Where to get personalized backpacks
Now that you’ve decided to get a personalized backpack, where do you even get them from?
The first time I set out to find one for my daughter, I lucked out when I stumbled on Personal Creations.
Personal Creations makes personalized gifts for any occasion that you can think of. I bought my daughter a backpacks with her name embroidered on it to celebrate her moving up in her preschool class.
The Ragdoll backpack I got her isn’t made anymore, but they still have a variety of adorable options to choose from.
Some of the other places to get personalized backpacks that are functional and well-made are:
- Lands End
- Amazon
- L.L. Bean
- Etsy
Best personalized backpacks for kids
Here are a few of my favorite specific options for customized kid backpacks.
The Just For Me backpack collection from Personal Creations is perfect for preschoolers. After your little one graduates into grade school, this backpack can be used to carry materials for extracurriculars.
Get this backpack for your construction (or yellow) loving kiddo! This backpack has great reviews! It's a little smaller than a regular-sized folder, but bigger than a normal toddler-sized backpack. Use this backpack for preschool or sleepovers.
This backpack is big enough to hold your big kid's computer when they get into grade school. Lands' End backpacks are famous, not just for their personalization options, but because they're quite durable.
If your kiddo needs a roomier backpack option, this extra large backpack from Lands' End will do. It comes in great patterns, and you even get to choose what kind of font you want for your personalization!
This canvas backpack was made for your fashion-forward tween or teen. Heck, even Mom can rock this one! The patch on the side gets personalized to make the backpack extra special.
Look out for this one thing when you buy a personalized backpack
When you decide which backpack to purchase, make sure you read the reviews.
There are folks out there who know that there are folks like us who love to buy personalized things.
They will slap an iron-on name on the back of a bookbag, and pull on our heartstrings for us to buy it.
“Look,” they say to us, “it has YOUR kid’s name on it!”
Don’t waste your money.
When you’re reading reviews, make sure you check out what other buyers are saying about how durable the backpack is, and double check the measurements.