The average child will grow 2 1/2 inches per year from age 2 through adolescence. Each child’s growth depends on several factors, such as genetics, illness and diet, but the fact remains that growing kids can leave drawers and closets feeling like a constant rotation through sizes.

That’s before shoes, accessories and personalities get added to the mix. Sometimes big box or dollar stores aren’t enough to showcase your child’s unique style, and department stores or designer shops can be out of a parent’s budget.

Thankfully, Athens and Limestone County have plenty of spots to check out when shopping for your little one’s wardrobe.

Creekside Kids Consignment

“Kids get a lot of their confidence from clothes,” Leigh Banks, owner, said. “Not a lot of kids can afford to go to Justice and buy the store out, so this is a way for them to get that confidence.”

Creekside Kids, at the corner of East Limestone and Nick Davis roads, offers a variety of secondhand clothes for children from birth until teen. Until last August, it was known as Kountry Kids.

“If they can wear it before the age of 13, we have it,” Banks said.

As a consignment shop, the items they sell are often brought in by other parents. Banks sets the price, and once the item sells, the former owner gets paid. She said clothes are often priced at about half of what they would be cost new.

Creekside Kids also sells toys, books, bedding and baby items. The store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Belles and Beaus

Just off the Square in Athens sits Belles and Beaus, a shop that owner Jenny Sims describes as “90 percent upscale consignment.”

“We are higher end with affordable prices,” Sims said.

Their Facebook page features several photos of the items in the store. In addition to clothes, Belles and Beaus sells baby gifts and new shoes.

The store has been a part of Athens for almost a decade now, serving children from infant through about age 8. They’re open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at 210 S. Jefferson St.

Belles and Beaus can also be found on Instagram at @bellesandbeausboutique.

Little Lambs

Consignment Sale

Available only twice a year, sales coordinator Jessalee Langford describes this weekend sale as “a very intense 20 hours.”

The Little Lambs Consignment Sale is held in the Family Life Center at Lindsay Lane Baptist Church. Members of the church’s motherhood support ministry, Moms of Many Strengths, volunteer to run the sale.

“We have it packed,” Langford said. “We have 150 consigners to contribute, and we have everything from baby until teen. We never know what we’re going to get until people start setting up and dropping off.”

The next sale runs March 1-3. Consigners and their friends will get first dibs at the preview sales on March 1, but the public is invited to check out the sales 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Langford said there will be a good mix of spring and summer items at the sale and advised parents to show up early for the best chance at name brands. However, parents who wait until Saturday get extra savings, as all black and blue tags will be half-price.

Once the shopping is over, Langford invites any moms who are interested to check out their organization, which gives moms a time to “meet uninterrupted” twice a month between September and April. They don’t have to be a member at Lindsay Lane to join.

“I think that makes us a little unique,” Langford said of their 50-member group, “because we are open to the community, and I think a majority of our mom members are not members of our church.”