We’ve all been there. Once upon a time it was the definition of relaxing. Now, retail-therapy is everything, but without the therapy-factor.
Unfortunately, as much joy as they bring to our lives, shopping and kids don’t often go hand-in-hand. Of course, it was the same for us back when we were little, but when you are desperate to find that elusive garment required for your wardrobe that fact tends to get forgotten about!
As such, today is all about finding ways to conquer the family shopping trip. Hopefully, by the end of the article, you’ll be armed with sufficient methods to overcome the perils of the trip and for everyone to enjoy themselves.
Pick your area
First and foremost, there has never been a better case of location, location, location. If we turn to London, somewhere like Covent Garden is a perfect choice and can immediately give you an advantage in keeping the entire clan happy.
In short, you need an area which isn’t just shop after shop, but throws a few other things in there. It might be restaurants, or ice cream stalls in the case of the kids, or even a nearby park or playground just to provide something of an incentive (more on this shortly).
The elusive reward-factor
As we’ve just mentioned, there needs to be things for the kids thrown into your shopping trip. This might be ice creams, or even a coin-operated ride-on rides depending on where you are heading. If you are hitting the stores at Christmas, you’ll be blessed even more with activities with the likes of fairy lights and of course Santa’s grottos donning the streets and making life a lot more interesting, and rewarding, for little ones.
Give your children some money
We’re not suggesting this is a regular occurrence, this will depend on your views on pocket money. However, if your kids can at least feel as though they have some choice when it comes to the shops, life is also made more interesting for them. Sure, they probably aren’t going to be picking out the latest fashion trends (unless they have been brought up that way, of course!), but most shops have at least some smaller accessories that will whet their appetite and keep their interest.
Make the whole outing a big game
Finally, you have to inject the fun-factor in other regards as well. This can be by making the whole outing into a big game; such as asking your children to try and find certain items along the trip (a bit like bingo, but perhaps with your clothing garments of choice). You can really go as far as you want with these ideas as well; some parents might print out a bingo game card so that everyone really can get into the spirit of proceedings. You may also incorporate the likes of I Spy into the day, or other smaller games just to keep them involved in things.
