A boy and his boots...not easily parted

I bought a pair of snow boots for N that I thought he would wear about 3 times this winter, for a total of 30 minutes. After the first snow, he fell in love with the boots and now wears them constantly. They are the first thing he puts on when he wakes up in the morning (sometimes over his footy pajamas) and the last thing he takes off at bedtime. I actually have to struggle to put on any other kind of shoe because he insists on wearing his "boop"s. If I try to take them off, he cries and tugs at them, saying, "Mine! Mine!". Also, he can put them on himself, so if we refuse, he just puts them on the floor and holds onto something else so that he can slide his feet in. I tried hiding them in the closet, but he found them, and now knows where to look for them. I hope he finds a new obsession when summertime comes!!