As long as I'm evangelizing, let's talk about flea markets. They are big here in Finland. About two weeks after we moved here, there was a city-wide outdoor flea market called Siivouspäivä - clearing out day. Kupittaa Park near our house was filled with people selling their old things. It was amazing and we stocked up on all kinds of gently used winter gear for the kids. A midseason or snowsuit costs at least 70 Euros new; at Siivouspäivä, they were 5-8 Euros. We got Miriam a pair of adorable boots for 1 Euro and Magda a pair for 2 Euros.
For all the things we didn't yet know we needed back in August, we go to a children's flea market on the other side of town. We got Miriam this beautiful winter coat for 10 Euros. We also picked up extra midseason and snowsuits and boots for Sterling because standard practice here is to leave one set of everything at päiväkoti. And rather than being annoyed at having to shell out an additional 70 Euros+, you just go to the flea market and take your pick of 5 Euro boots and 8 Euro snowsuits.
In the UAE (and in the US, to some extent), the mentality for clothing and gear like this is very much "expensive and good quality," or worse (and far more common, it seems), "expensive and poor quality," and finally "cheap and poor quality." Here, almost all the clothing and gear are Finnish-made, and therefore "expensive and good quality." This makes flea markets a joy rather than a pain - everything is still in excellent condition, even as the discounts from the original price are steep.
So I'm a flea market convert!
