Kristen Taekman's Back-to-School Must Haves: It's All About the Backpack

Kristen Taekman knows exactly what she's buying for the upcoming school year. But if you're feeling a bit bewildered about what you should be stocking up on for your kids, take notes from the Real Housewives of New York mom. First of all, it's all about hitting up the mall to buy new shoes, and, yes, backpacks. "Even though they don't even need them, I feel like, we always end up splurging and getting a new backpack. The character will always change, although my daughter will 100 percent still get a Frozen one," she told The Daily Dish exclusively, of what she's eying for her children, Cassius and Kingsley. "It's funny with my son 'cause it's really cute to see how he evolves in a year. So last year it was Pokemon and this year it'll like totally be some sort of sports figure. You line up their backpacks throughout the years [and] it's so cute to see what they were into at the time."

So what goes inside? Well, she's all about the Thermos brand water canteens. "They have they characters on them, but you know my son graduated from the Batman one to just a solid blue one," she said. "But they hold ice and ice water forever, which is awesome. After a full day sometimes the water is still cold, which is nice. So each kid has one of those in their backpack."

Next up, it's all about what the kids are eating and wearing. "My son gets school lunch now, so he just has his folder — the school provides his folder, which is great. And I always put a change of clothes 'cause you just never know, and that goes in a Ziploc for both kids," she shared. "And then my daughter gets her lunch, so she has her Frozen little zipper lunch bag and she usually has pasta and some other snacks."

Now that you've got all the details, take a tour of Kristen's home.

Kristen’s TriBeCa Crib

And take a stroll down memory lane with these vintage Kristen snaps.