To Snip-It or Not to Snip-It

Ok, before I tell you what this silly title is all about, I need to tell you about a bit of good news.

Shawna and I are so excited to report that our site hit 10,000 views today!

This is probably chump change for big bloggers, but to us it is a major milestone.  Our little blog idea is only 7 months old, but it has been viewed 10,000 times.  Wow.

Have I mentioned to you about the number of views yet?  Ok, one more time . . .

Anyways, we just wanted to send a quick shout out to all of our readers and thank you for helping us get to this number.

Thank you for reading our silly posts, giving us your feedback and comments, and telling your friends to read our silly posts.  THANK YOU.

We hope to be able to keep this thing going until we reach 10 million views and have documented every fun place to visit in our great state of Connecticut (of course then we will probably just have to start all over because everything will have changed, but you get my drift).

Ok, ok, enough with the ramblings.  We were just excited and wanted to share . . . now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

So, to snip-it or not to snip-it.

This was the question my husband and I were asking as we looked at our little boy’s growing head of hair.

I was envisioning that my sweet boy’s dirty blond locks were going to begin to turn into adorable curls just like his cousin.  Bruiser’s cousin was the ring bearer in our wedding and I loved his hair.  Take a look . . .

I just knew that Bruiser’s hair was going to grow in just as curly and cute as his cousin’s.  But, the reality was that Bruiser’s hair was starting to be a little more mullet-like than cute cousin hairstyle.

Ok, yes, I’m exaggerating a bit.  But it really was starting down the mullet path.  (Now that look would be completely acceptable in my home state of South Carolina, but I just don’t think it is going to fly up here in New England country.  I kid, I kid.)

So the decision was made that Bruiser needed a haircut.

We decided to try out Snip-Its in Canton, Connecticut.  Their tagline is “Kids haircuts, parties and other things to smile about.”  Sounded good to me.  But I think I forgot to mention the tagline to Bruiser so that he knew he was supposed to be smiling during this adventure.

I’ll give you a quick hint on how the trip went.

I just don’t think he was quite as excited about this milestone as I was.

Please note, his reaction was in no way a reflection on how he was treated at the salon (the lady cutting his hair was super sweet), I’m just hoping this was a normal reaction for a 13-month-old getting their locks clipped for the first time.

Snip-its is located in the Shoppes at Farmington Valley in Canton.

If you haven’t been before, this is a must-see shopping destination.  It is an open-air shopping center filled with goodies like Chipotle, JCrew, Sur La Table, The Children’s Place, and White House Black Market.

As you drive in the main entrance of the shopping center, Snip-Its will be located in the section to your left.  The easiest way to get there is to go all the way until the main entrance road dead ends, make a left, and then park near where you see the Bank of America ATM and the playground.

Head across the street towards the Green Tangerine and Snip-Its is in between the two sections of buildings on the left side.

Here it is . . .

You do not make an appointment for this salon, walk-ins only.  When we got there (around 3:00pm on a Thursday), there were two stylists working and one group waiting ahead of us.  I let my kids get out of their stroller and play with some of the toys in the waiting area while I checked in.

When you check in you basically just fill out some paper work with your basic information and your children’s names.  There is also a section that I missed at the bottom where you can put a referral.  I knew that there was a discount you and the referer could receive (more on that in the Momsense section), but when I told them after the haircut, it was too late to get it in the system.  Just a heads up.

Here is the pricing list:

Bruiser was going to be getting the regular haircut for $17.95.  As you can see there is also a pre-paid haircut listed for $14.95.  For this, you need to buy a package of 8 haircuts for $119.60.

I also asked if they do anything special for the first haircut.  The young woman working the front desk informed me that for another $5 they would give Bruiser a little certificate, some of his hair in a little bag, and then his picture in a frame.  We decided to try it out.

Here is a picture of the salon.  It is very colorful and cheery.

The stylist then called our name and all of us headed back for the big moment.  Bruiser was placed in the chair and strapped in.

He seemed to be doing ok.  She put on the smock (I wasn’t really sure what you call those things).

Still doing ok.  He certainly wasn’t smiling, just had a deer in the headlights look.  Maybe it was the pink chair that upset him, but as soon as the stylist got started.  Bruiser started this.

The crocodile tears started flowing and flowing.  I tried to reassure him that everything was ok and I informed him that this behaviour wasn’t really working with his “Bruiser” nickname,  but he continued to wail.

The stylist calmed him down briefly with her bubble display.

But as soon as she started back with the hair, he started back with the crying.  In the end, the trick I found was to put a little entertainment on the iphone for him.  He loves this little Fisher Price game and that seemed to make him happy while the stylist finished his hair (it also had an added bonus of keeping his head still while she worked).

But all in all, we made it through and I think the haircut turned out adorable.

Bruiser is munchin on the animal cracker he received for being a “good boy”.  The stylist tried to reassure me that his reaction was normal.  Personally I wasn’t too worried about it, but I am hoping we don’t have to put up with this scene every time he needs another trim!

Bruiser and Sparkles loaded up on their favorite treat, bananas, while I checked out.

For the older kids, they get to place a special card in this machine at check-out and receive a prize.

The stylist had already put together Bruiser’s little lock of hair and his first haircut certificate.  She had taken his picture and was printing it out for the frame.  Unfortunately, the printer was having some issues and it wasn’t working correctly.  It seemed to be out of ink and they didn’t have any refills on hand.  I was a bit disappointed, but they did end up just giving me the certificate and frame at no cost.  I’ll just add a little picture in later.

I ended up also using a $3 off coupon that they have on their website here.  Score!

After we were done, it was my turn for a little shopping.  Yay!  We also made a visit to the little playground in the shopping center.  It was a great toddler playground and the kids had fun burning off some energy there.  I will do a more detailed post on this playground sometime soon.  But in the meantime, here is a sneak peek.

So what do you think?  Did we make the right call with getting his hair trimmed or would you have waited to see if the curls started to form?  When did you start taking your kids for haircuts?

The Momsense

Snip-its

110 Albany Turnpike, Unit 719
Canton, Connecticut

Located in The Shoppes at Farmington Valley

(860) 693-1217

http://www.snipits.com/locations/canton-ct

Get directions here:

Enter your starting address:

Hours

Monday-Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 10am – 5pm

Current Price List please call them for the most up-to-date information)

Regular Kid’s Haircut:  $17.95

Pre-paid Haircut:  $14.95 (but you must buy a package of 8)

The Works (wash, cut and blow-dry):  $22.95

Bang Trim $8.95

Shampoo with cut $2.95

Blow-dry with cut $3.95

Party Style/Up-do from $16.95

Other spa and party services are available.

Tips/Things to Bring

• No appointments are available.  Walk-ins only.
• We went right before school gets let out.  I have heard that after school and the weekends can be a bit busier.
• In case your kid struggles with their first haircut like mine did, come prepared with snacks, their favorite toy or book and maybe an iphone game.
• If you are a new customer, there is a $3 off coupon available on their website here.
• There is a referral program available.  If you are referred to this location by a friend, mention their name at check-in.  They will receive up to $5 off their next visit and you will receive up to $5 off.  More information is available here.  The amount off varies by location.  My understanding for the Canton location was that they gave $5 off.
• There are lots of kid-friendly places to grab a quick bite within walking distance from the salon including Panera Bread and Chipotle.
• Looking for a great kid’s haircut east of the river?  Check out Scissor Kids in Glastonbury.