Snow boots
Posted by Negative_Corner6722@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 103 comments
Hello fellow Xers.
I was putting boots on to go push the snow off the sidewalk (passing flurry my ass, accuweather) and it hit me that I do something weird. My parents (boomers but not Boomers in that they weren’t and aren’t jackasses) always put my feet in plastic bags over my socks before putting boots on me when I was little. I swear it’s a little warmer, especially now that I’m at the ‘feet get cold, whole body gets cold and I’m DONE’ age.
Anyone else, or is this strictly an eastern PA/my family thing?
Beautiful_Dinner_675@reddit
Adding to the bread bag brigade here in Detroit.
No_Dependent_8346@reddit
Farm kid from the Wisconsin wilds here, mom used to save bread bags for a year to use over the winter inside our Pac boots between the felt liner and the boot to keep the felts dry.
SheriffBartholomew@reddit
Yes, we did this because we were too poor to afford proper winter boots. Now I wear Meindl Comfort Pro Hunter 400's and I promise you it's far better than plastic bags shoved into your shoes.
North_Artichoke_6721@reddit
We did this in Oklahoma too. Kept your socks dry.
NegScenePts@reddit
Skin that can't breathe is a bad thing.
vinegar@reddit
Also you wouldn’t lose your sock when you took your boot off
Bloody_Mabel@reddit
Michigander here: back in elementary school, everyone I knew used bread bags in their boots. I did it because it made it easier to get my boots on and off.
Queen-Marla@reddit
Same! “Save that Wonderbread bag! It’s getting cold out!”
Moonsmom181@reddit
We occasionally did that! Especially when we were out playing.
Malfunction1972@reddit
Ohio thing here, but yes they did, and they are most definitely warmer.
sickiesusan@reddit
North East England - my parents did it too! I thought it was only a poor people thing… My parents were born in the 1930’s.
Lanky-Owl6622@reddit
We do this in Kansas too
Xer-angst@reddit
I put socks on under my jelly shoes in the winter. Florida winters can get brutal!
AdhesiveSeaMonkey@reddit
My mom did that to me as a kid in Buffalo. It was her version of waterproofing.
Sandnor@reddit
Midwesterner here. We did it to keep our feet dry cu those boots leaked like no bodies business.
False_Local4593@reddit
Did it during the TX freeze in 2021. For myself and my kids.
TenuousOgre@reddit
Utah growing up can say we did this too. “Dry snow” my ass. Still melted and soaked your boots just fine. Thank you for true waterproof boots! By college, my second year, my new (and very sweet) wife saw how many days I was slogging through snow at 6:30am to class, and back again at night when the library closed. Plastic bag sticking out. She spent $70 for my first pair of work boots with gore Tex (poor college students so it was a Big gift at the time). Damn those boots were nice. Never wet. Comfortable. Had good traction. Used them for 26 years for snow, wet, dirt and concrete projects.
descendingagainredux@reddit
My mom did this, too. Apparently lots of people used bread bags but I remember sandwich bags which was probably possible when we were really little and had small feet.
cathy80s@reddit
Although I am well-acquainted with this practice thanks to social media, my mother did not do this. I grew up in Minnesota. When I was in elementary school in the 70s, we wore winter boots that fit over our school shoes, and that's how our feet stayed dry on the walk to school.
Latter-Village7196@reddit
Another Minnesotan here, I grew up on a farm about 3 hours west of the cities and we definitely had bread bag feet inside of our moonboots when we went out to play! Usually in snow drifts higher than the first story of the house. I still don't know how I survived MN winters, I'm the biggest wimp these days!
cathy80s@reddit
I hate snow... people always say, "But you live in Minnesota!" Yes, I do. And I still hate snow. 😄
Dangerous_Abalone528@reddit
My SIL grew up in snow country and is very very happy in San Antonio. She hates snow and cold.
3catlove@reddit
I live in Iowa and also hate snow. I feel you! I’d be happy to never see snow again. It’s such a pita.
Latter-Village7196@reddit
I haven't lived in MN in a while because I hate snow and cold even more! But I'll always be a Minnesotan.
mojdojo@reddit
Wisconsin here, we had and used both the galoshes that fit over your shoes for rain, mud, quick trip out to the barn. But for being out in the cold and snow it was bread bags over the socks in our winter boots.
wipekitty@reddit
That's great! I grew up in a lake effect area of the upper Midwest, and we always took our boots off at school and put on indoor shoes. Rich kids usually had some kind of moccasins they kept at school, poor kids had to bring the shoes with them.
But it was a whole thing, especially for younger kids with tie shoes or boots that couldn't tie them. Putting big boots over the school shoes would have been much smarter!
cathy80s@reddit
It's a little clunky for walking, but it worked.
Beautiful-Paper2029@reddit
Galoshes!!! The ugly rubber overshoe for your shoes!!!
cathy80s@reddit
I didn't wear galoshes, I had standard winter boots in a size larger than my shoes. My dad wore galoshes/overshoes, though! I remember him mostly wearing them on rainy days.
MonkeyWrenchAccident@reddit
Was common in Canada. This was mostly because boots back then were not 100% waterproof especially when the boots were a year or two old.
Now i buy nice boots, warm and waterproof.
Most boomers are not jackasses in my experience. The media makes them out to be eomething the vast majority are not, similarr to the other generations. The small percentage of jackasses in any generation are usually similar to each other hence the media generalization of each generation.
Emotional_Mess261@reddit
I still have my moon boots from high school because they’re the warmest boots I’ve ever had.
I used bread bags over my shoes to slide in/out of boots easily
MamaFitzy@reddit
Colorado native who wore bread bags inside my awesome moon boots during blizzards growing up. 😎❄️
Negative_Corner6722@reddit (OP)
Bread bags? I may have to save a couple and try that.
Lalamedic@reddit
Boots weren’t reliably waterproof when we were younger, but quite expensive compared to now (inflation accounted for). If your feet are dry, they will be warmer. So many kids outgrow their boots before the end of the season, or they wear out because the adorable ones were poorly made. The bags and buying a size up could extend the life of the boots.
Responsible-Bee1194@reddit
I can remember the bread bags. That was chicago
Aggressive_Farmer399@reddit
Bread bags in Western Wisconsin, too. Mainly because the boots we had back then we're rubber bottoms and vinyl tops with felt liners. The vinyl wasn't waterproof and the felt soaked up water like a sponge. Mom was just trying to keep our feet dry. 🙂
Last-Relationship166@reddit
I went to school with some folks who did that.
Negative_Corner6722@reddit (OP)
I remember those boots. The liners were warm until a clump of snow got in there. Instantly wet and cold.
Aggressive_Farmer399@reddit
Yep! Drawstring around the top of the vinyl and the felt liners had a zipper on the front. The zipper usually fell apart and the drawstring didn't keep the snow out. I remember having to stop playing at recess to dig out those darn little snowballs. And of course my socks would always slip down to the tips of my toes.
Negative_Corner6722@reddit (OP)
My feet just got cold reading that. 😂🥶
NeighborhoodNo4274@reddit
MA checking in: bread bags were definitely a part of our winter gear.
MaligatorMom2@reddit
Yep, we were definitely part of the bread bag brigade.
joemamah77@reddit
I loved my moon boots. They were black and I put duct tape on them so I could pretend I was Gene Simmons
nixtarx@reddit
Bread bags! Stroehmans!
djbuttonup@reddit
Mi and OH childhood and we always had bread bags in our boots. Those cheap ass “moon boots” were shit for waterproofing.
Silly_Teacher_4847@reddit
Rochester/Buffalo NY here - always bread bags inside the black boots with three flip latches on the front. Kept your feet dry and made the boots way easy to slip on
JETEXAS@reddit
Can confirm we did it in the Texas panhandle.
Feeling-Ad-2490@reddit
Northern Canada here. Bread bags to keep our cheap leaky boots from giving us 2 soakers eh!
Sushisushi70@reddit
Western PA here and my mom did this when I’d play out in the snow or go sledding to keep my feet dry. I totally forgot about this!
GogusWho@reddit
I had Moon Boots, and they were shit for keeping your feet dry. So my mom used the plastic bags to help out. W. St. Paul MN.
PahzTakesPhotos@reddit
I grew up in Alaska and we never did this. My parents were Boomers in the same way as OP's. We're in Wisconsin now and our kids are Millennials, we didn't do this with them either. Maybe it was because we were on Army bases/in the city and we didn't need them.
Displaced_in_Space@reddit
Born and raised until 12 in New Hampshire.
I can't count the thousands of Wonder Bread bags we went through with three kids.
KJA09@reddit
Bread bags in Michigan!
Cranberry1717@reddit
Yaaaayy! I'm a Michigan bread bag child too!
rhionaeschna@reddit
Bread bags were our snow socks growing up. I still feel uncomfortable when I remember the sensation of my socks balled up in the toes of my boots while my bare feet slipped around in leaky hand me down snow boots from K-Mart that didn't quite fit. Tobogganing was fun though.
Appropriate_Gap1987@reddit
I'm from sourhern Indiana, and we used bread bags to help keep our socks dry. I don't remember that it worked all that great.
Upset_Peace_6739@reddit
Canadian here and it was always bread bags that went over our feet.
Legitimate-Tune3077@reddit
Southern New England, bread bags as well.
Late-External3249@reddit
My dad had us put bread bags on with our rubber barn boots in the winter. It did seem warmer
Negative_Corner6722@reddit (OP)
And it’s only this one pair of boots I do it with. Rubber and unlined. But they have good traction and are higher than my regular boots. My wife and daughters looked at me like I had lost my mind the first time I did it in front of them. 😂
Square-Wing-6273@reddit
Wonder bread bags exclusively
claymoreed@reddit
I am Canadian, Mom saved the bread bags for the leaky boots.
Advanced_Struggle_23@reddit
Grew up in Pacific Northwest and my boomer parents taught us the same thing. I tell my kids now how we use to put plastic bags on our feet and they look at me like I’m crazy haha
Ok-Carob1715@reddit
Did it in Ohio.
feralGenx@reddit
Never understood why my mom started saving bread bags the beginning of every school year until I got older. When it got extremely cold she would throw a page from the newspaper in each bag.
AltruisticExit2366@reddit
Yup! Fellow 1966-er. My mom saved bread bags year round. We’d get the side eye if ever one was accidentally found in the kitchen trash. And our local paper made its way into our snowmobile boots on extra cold days especially if we were going out sledding.
feralGenx@reddit
Good times, good times.
fsantos0213@reddit
I grew up in Boston, and we would use Wonder bread bags. It was so common that the factory in Natick would sell 10 pack of bags for like $0.50, but I moved out of Massachusetts 30 years ago. And now it's a bygone thing
ryamanalinda@reddit
We couldn't afford wonder bread. We used aldi bread bags. I think they worked about the same?
AltruisticExit2366@reddit
Grew up in Wisconsin. Bread bags were required in snow boots, for wetness not insulation. Pretty sure modern boots don’t have the leaks the ones we used to wear had and heated socks are a thing! Or layers of socks, especially merino wool ones will help keep your feet toasty!
NeighborhoodNo4274@reddit
I took this knowledge from childhood—foot, sock, bread bag, boot—and applied it in my adult life. Nitrile gloves underneath my motorcycle gloves makes a world of difference on chilly rides.
Upper_Economist7611@reddit
Yesssss! Bread bags in the boots!
snark_maiden@reddit
Canadian (Ontario) here, we did this too
Tangboy50000@reddit
Growing up in the 80’s, and my mom always put our feet in plastic bags before we put our boots on. I swear it felt like it took an hour to get ready to go outside.
Negative_Corner6722@reddit (OP)
And then you’d be out there for ten minutes and have to use the bathroom. 😂
daisy0808@reddit
Nope, we did that when I was a kid in Nova Scotia:) Boots used to get leaky and the bags would keep the feet dry. It's a strong memory - I remember being in school with many of us putting bread bags over our feet :)
AymeeDe@reddit
Northern Ohio here. We did that too. To keep from getting our socks wet , kinda reverse galloshes. I guess our boots weren't too waterproof lol
Status_Silver_5114@reddit
New England - we did that too.
legitimate_dragon@reddit
Heck yes! Also with rain boots. And then happily kicked outside to go jump in puddles until lunch time
Whipstich-Pepperpot@reddit
NEPA/Poconos... my Silent Gen Grandmother did this.
FarkMonkey@reddit
Born and spent my first years in Cleveland, and my mother (and all of my friends mothers) did this. I think it was a combo of keeping feet dry, but also made it much easier to get our feet into the boots. After raising a couple kids (even in a warmer climate), trying to get any kind of boot on was a huge PITA.
squanchy_Toss@reddit
Aggravating-Shark-69@reddit
What are snow boots?
Negative_Corner6722@reddit (OP)
From a comment by u/Aggressive_Farmer399:
…the boots we had back then were rubber bottoms and vinyl tops with felt liners. The vinyl wasn’t waterproof and the felt soaked up water like a sponge…
FesterJA@reddit
No way bread bags are good for keepin feet dry and warm as well as sneakin popcorn into the movies my mom always said.
GeneralPainintheAss@reddit
100% true. Did the same in SE Idaho and NE Oregon growing up.
app_generated_name@reddit
LI NY here. Mom did this to us as well. Winter boots of our youth weren't great at staying dry.
No_Worse_For_Wear@reddit
Former LI here too, I think you nailed it. Old-school solution to cheaper, non-waterproof boots.
Seems very dated now with better boot materials and socks too. I never had “weather resistant” socks as a kid, just regular tube socks.
Haunt_Fox@reddit
Yeah, I remember having leaky boots, too.
Fresh-Preference-805@reddit
Plastic bags over sneakers if I didn’t have boots. I think when I had boots we didn’t use the plastic bags, but they were definitely a substitute for boots (from northeastern US too).
djunderh2o@reddit
We did it as kids, but weatherproof/waterproof snow boots weren’t really a thing back then. At least I didn’t have them as a kid. (Also I’m an eastern PA, northeast Philly kid)
Jazzlike_Detail5539@reddit
Nova Scotian here. You could always tell the rich kid in school by looking at the boot rack- they didn't have bread bags sticking out of their old, leaky boots.
anosmia1974@reddit
We did it at my house in south-central PA! I actually did it as an adult the last time I experienced a blizzard in 2016. Where I live in MD got almost three feet of snow and I used duct-taped grocery bags to provide an extra layer of waterproof protection when I dug out my car.
slade797@reddit
I did it as a kid because we never got winter footwear. I just jammed my feet in bread bags and shoved ‘em into whatever summer shoes I had. This experience has made me very particular about my footwear, and my foot care. Listen, if you don’t have a boot dryer, get a good one. You can get a Peet for about fifty bucks and it will change your life. I have two, and my boots are dry and warm when I put them on. I’m like you, I can’t stand to have my feet in cold shoes. A dryer also extends the useful life of your shoes. At present, I own shoes made by Thorogood, Bates, Nike, Reebok, and Rock Rooster. It’s an embarrassment of riches! But you know, we are worth it.
Peterepeatmicpete@reddit
Wonder bread it up!
LadyK0323@reddit
My mother did that to us.
Miserable_Jacket_129@reddit
Wyoming native, bread bags over my socks here too.
john-th3448@reddit
Same here in winter when we were children. I had almost forgotten about that!
hermitzen@reddit
We always put old bread bags on our feet, growing up in NH. Now I have Muck (brand) boots and don't need to do that.
Sherry0406@reddit
No, but it sounds like a great idea. I can remember my feet getting wet and cold in the snow. As a kid, I would double up my socks. If only I had known this secret. :)
GreatGreenGobbo@reddit
I think it was so your socks don't get wet from flapping around in those open boots.
Kids boots now are way better.
joemamah77@reddit
I had Wonder Bread feet too in ChesCo!
dangerous_skirt65@reddit
RI here. I remember my mom doing that when I would go outside to play in the snow, but I don't do it as an adult.