So here is the annual dilemma, take all the children to the sales, let them experience learning how to behave and spend their own money wisely or stay at home, shop online and keep them out of sight.
A hard call, especially today on the back of zero sleep, curtsey of teething twins.
But, as always, I decided to take most of them (eldest do not live at home, third revising, or so she said. Maybe a cunning plan to just escape).
We took seven of the kids in the end including the twins, who generally are not lovers of retail therapy one bit.
There is a hard and fast rule with all our shopping trips, someone always manages to get lost and someone always ends up in a bad mood (given we have 4 teenagers and one pre teen this isn't too unusual).
The last shopping trip to Primark, my 17 year old posted on her facebook, and her friends thought it "legendary' and all want to be part of our family, for all the wrong reasons. It involved a very bored Mair (5) slinging coat hangers over the banister onto unsuspecting shoppers travelling on the lifts. She was meant to be looked after by her 15 year old brother whilst mum scurried around finding clothes for the rest! He obviously so nothing wrong with this unorthodox pastime until the security guard caught them both. Round one to the security guard. We then found the only vacant seat to pile up all the clothes for 9 children on (The had all grown inches this year). When we got back with another pile the 15 year old (yep him again) had got bored and wandered off and the security guard was phoning for someone to sort out the mess. Round two the security guard. We achieved the prize of the longest Primark bill (which we embarrassingly keep winning) and left the store with a sigh of relief. As we were outside packing the buggy and dividing the bags, the security guard appears with a very perplexed Mair in tow. "I was playing hide and seek and no body found me!'...perhaps Mair it would have been good to let us know you had gone to hide? Round three the security guard.
I was really hoping for a less eventful trip this time. Given the huge crowds in Chester today this was looking unlikely, especially as the only family member with a mobile phone was Dad, so he could ring no one!
Yes we lost someone.....my 15 year old son, who wandered off to Burton never to be seen again. Gradually as all the children reappeared from looking at their respective shops he did not. Time wore on and all the kids were getting restless and hungry. Both Dad and I searched to no avail, so I found a security guard and he announced over the tannoy "Can Luke Beavan please meet his mother outside Ann Summers'. Oh God! I hadn't for one minute realised the shop we were standing outside until then! Anyway at least he appeared within seconds! (he had been in the changing rooms)
And for the moods..... they inevitably happened too. The thing I hate about the sales is the impulse buying. When we go shopping it is because the children need clothes and shoes and I have a long list for each child. The sales mean randomness and buying items we do not need, and will regret later. So much of today was spent sounding worryingly like my mother 'are you sure you need that?", 'but you already have x number of those'. Those comments lead to moods....... thankfully pretty short lived.
The lady in Zara got pretty fed up with us as all her sales items were wrongly marked in our favour so she had to keep cancelling the bill and starting again , as I reminded her of another wrongly priced piece of clothing I received the 'evil eye'. The children are trained in the saying ' don't ask for it unless it has a 50% label on, so Jack Wills and All Saints were defiantly to be avoided!
We did achieve all that we set out for and a little more. I do enjoy watching the children sift for bargains and realise how much the things they wanted are reduced and how much they have saved, as these are valuable lessons they will need when they leave home in the sadly not so distant future. I did not enjoy towards the end the melt down of the younger ones resulting in two of them hammering each other with reduced wrapping paper rolls in Paperchase. This is when we look like the stereotypical 'larger family' and people give you those 'your children are out of control looks'. Generally they did well, were polite to the people who stopped to ask about the twins and how many other children we had and I am sure, when the sales appear again, we will once again brave the crowds.
A hard call, especially today on the back of zero sleep, curtsey of teething twins.
But, as always, I decided to take most of them (eldest do not live at home, third revising, or so she said. Maybe a cunning plan to just escape).
We took seven of the kids in the end including the twins, who generally are not lovers of retail therapy one bit.
There is a hard and fast rule with all our shopping trips, someone always manages to get lost and someone always ends up in a bad mood (given we have 4 teenagers and one pre teen this isn't too unusual).
The last shopping trip to Primark, my 17 year old posted on her facebook, and her friends thought it "legendary' and all want to be part of our family, for all the wrong reasons. It involved a very bored Mair (5) slinging coat hangers over the banister onto unsuspecting shoppers travelling on the lifts. She was meant to be looked after by her 15 year old brother whilst mum scurried around finding clothes for the rest! He obviously so nothing wrong with this unorthodox pastime until the security guard caught them both. Round one to the security guard. We then found the only vacant seat to pile up all the clothes for 9 children on (The had all grown inches this year). When we got back with another pile the 15 year old (yep him again) had got bored and wandered off and the security guard was phoning for someone to sort out the mess. Round two the security guard. We achieved the prize of the longest Primark bill (which we embarrassingly keep winning) and left the store with a sigh of relief. As we were outside packing the buggy and dividing the bags, the security guard appears with a very perplexed Mair in tow. "I was playing hide and seek and no body found me!'...perhaps Mair it would have been good to let us know you had gone to hide? Round three the security guard.
I was really hoping for a less eventful trip this time. Given the huge crowds in Chester today this was looking unlikely, especially as the only family member with a mobile phone was Dad, so he could ring no one!
Yes we lost someone.....my 15 year old son, who wandered off to Burton never to be seen again. Gradually as all the children reappeared from looking at their respective shops he did not. Time wore on and all the kids were getting restless and hungry. Both Dad and I searched to no avail, so I found a security guard and he announced over the tannoy "Can Luke Beavan please meet his mother outside Ann Summers'. Oh God! I hadn't for one minute realised the shop we were standing outside until then! Anyway at least he appeared within seconds! (he had been in the changing rooms)
And for the moods..... they inevitably happened too. The thing I hate about the sales is the impulse buying. When we go shopping it is because the children need clothes and shoes and I have a long list for each child. The sales mean randomness and buying items we do not need, and will regret later. So much of today was spent sounding worryingly like my mother 'are you sure you need that?", 'but you already have x number of those'. Those comments lead to moods....... thankfully pretty short lived.
The lady in Zara got pretty fed up with us as all her sales items were wrongly marked in our favour so she had to keep cancelling the bill and starting again , as I reminded her of another wrongly priced piece of clothing I received the 'evil eye'. The children are trained in the saying ' don't ask for it unless it has a 50% label on, so Jack Wills and All Saints were defiantly to be avoided!
We did achieve all that we set out for and a little more. I do enjoy watching the children sift for bargains and realise how much the things they wanted are reduced and how much they have saved, as these are valuable lessons they will need when they leave home in the sadly not so distant future. I did not enjoy towards the end the melt down of the younger ones resulting in two of them hammering each other with reduced wrapping paper rolls in Paperchase. This is when we look like the stereotypical 'larger family' and people give you those 'your children are out of control looks'. Generally they did well, were polite to the people who stopped to ask about the twins and how many other children we had and I am sure, when the sales appear again, we will once again brave the crowds.
I love this story it makes me lol ;)
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