Braving the January sales with toddler in tow – Westfield Stratford toddlercar

I have to confess to not really being a very patient shopper. I generally don’t like trawling around the shops even when I have money to spend and am an ‘in, choose and out’ kinda girl. I know what I like and what suits me so shopping is usually a quick trip unless I am with my husband. He is the opposite extreme – he browses, tries on, contemplates, leaves the shop, browses some more, tries on more, contemplates more – you get the picture! 

So when he said ‘shall we go to the new Westfield in Stratford between Christmas and New Year -  and my 21 year old daughter (who usually babysits my toddler when i have to shop with hubby) said she can come too – my heart really sunk! Not only was I going with an indecisive hubby, shopaholic daughter but had to take our 2 year old too on one of the busiest shopping days of the year!

I really shouldn’t have worried, the whole experience was much better than expected. We arrived early to beat the crowds at 9.30 and, thanks to the fantastic cars to hire for toddlers, were able to shop for 3 hours (with a coffee break in between). This has never been heard of before in our household and we didn’t even have to use the soft play area to placate Freddie. We all came back with some bargain sale items and Freddie got an Olympics double decker red bus for being an absolute star!!

Kiddy Cars are available on the lower ground floor and cost £5 to hire, well worth every penny in my book!  Children must be over 12 months and no taller than 104cm. The flags also help if you split up for a while as they stick out in the crowds. You do need to arrive early to secure one as they seem to be quite popular as when we returned ours at 1.30 they were all out...

Westfield Stratford has lots of services for families with babies, toddlers and children under 5 including:

Parent rooms throughout the complex offering changing facilties, play areas, child size toilets and sinks, private areas for feeding and microwave. There are also tv’s for older children. Playworld – areas for play, wristbands for children with child safety hotline and kids club – visit their website for more details

http://uk.westfield.com/stratfordcity/kids/kids-services