Christmas Is In The Air At Royal Randwick Shopping Centre!

By: Natalie Stanley, ellaslist

There’s no doubt about it, Randwick is on THE UP! Royal Randwick Shopping Centre is no exception having seen a dramatic make-over during the last 12 months!

The opportunity to review all things shiny and new at our local shops came at the perfect time, as Mr 4 has been craving Mummy time since the arrival of his baby brother a few months back.

Cafe With A Play Area

Our date started with breakfast at The Shed. The warm and friendly staff greeted us on arrival, seating us in a prime spot, next to the play area. We were told we could have whatever we wanted, which Mr 4 took quite literally and ordered the chocolate slice along with a Green & Lean Green smoothie (ordered by Mum) to counter balance a chocolate breakfast!

There’s loads of yummy, healthy choices and I opted for the ‘Gluten Green’, consisting of poached eggs, avocado, brocollini and Green Hummus – delicious, filling and guilt-free!

Oh the Coffee…

The Shed prides itself on giving you ‘the highest grade coffee’ and from a seriously fussy coffee drinker they are not wrong. I was impressed.

Mr 4 loved this special one-on-one mummy time, which has been a bit of a rarity since the arrival of his baby brother 11 months ago. We enjoyed a quick play in the kids area of the café which was dramatically interrupted as Santa did the rounds of the café handing out presents to delighted boys and girls!!

FREE Drop-in Christmas Craft

Next up on the agenda, was a super cute FREE Reindeer hand-print ornaments activity, set up on the first floor of the shopping centre just outside AMART sports shop. Mr 4 was delighted to find the pop-up craft studio run by two of Santa’s elves who had set up an area with mini tables and chairs, and lots of colourful stuff to decorate the reindeer with. The friendly elves offered just the right amount of guidance to help my son make the perfect reindeer hand print tree decoration.

Easy Breezy Christmas Shopping!

Right next door to the FREE craft activity (and not originally part of the morning’s plan!), we decided to pop into AMART Sports shop who had 30% of kids bikes. Mr 4 found his perfect bike and before I knew it, his main Christmas present, a big boys bike with stabilisers had been secretly purchased while he cycled gleefully around the store dinging the bell. Scored an absolute bargain, not to mention avoiding a whole world of toy shopping pain.

The shopping experience was strangely cruisey so embracing the vibe, we continued onto Cotton On, again on sale, and purchased more Christmas presents, much needed super hero t-shirts and PJs for both the boys!

Naturally, there was no escaping the obligatory dragging of mum into Kidstuff which for once didn’t end in tears with the threat of Santa so close!!

Get A Photo With Santa

As Grandma arrived with Mr 4’s baby brother, it was finally time for the grand event we’d all been waiting for, photos with Santa! No queues, just a 5 minute wait, and the boys were on Santa’s knee giggling and posing for photos. If you’re anything like me, the mere thought of dragging the kids to a big shopping centre for photos brings on heart palpitations. With package prices start from as little as $35, it’s a no brainer.

Finally! Shopping Time For Mum

After an activity filled morning with Mr 4, and with Grandma now on hand to babysit, I was finally able to sneak off for a quick dose of retail therapy. I nipped into the new Seed Heritage and bought myself a new hat and sunnies with 30% off, all in all a very successful morning!

Our Verdict: It’s Kid-Friendly

There’s always something on, every weekend and during school holidays with great FREE themed activities. Click here for the full program of Christmas activities throughout December, including bead ornament making, gingerbread decorating, a Santa breakfast, and a chance to meet the Christmas Fairy!
Santa will be a permanent resident at the Centre for photos right through the run up to Christmas. Monday-Friday; 10am-2pm & Saturday-Sunday; 10am-4pm
PLUS: heaps more fun events planned throughout the month of January!

Mr 4’s Verdict

Mr4 loved the slower pace of our usually frantic shopping experience, enabling him to marvel at the various things to see and do. He loved our breakfast date, meeting Santa and breaking up the shopping with a craft activity.

Our Top Tip

The chocolate slice from The Shed, (unbeknown to either of us at the time) was Paleo so great treat bribe without the after effects of a sugar rush!

In A Nutshell

If you like me, you have an aversion to big shopping centres, this is the perfect alternative to get most things you need in a much more relaxed setting for you and the kids.