It’s starting to feel like Christmas (finally)!!!!
This post is sponsored by Westfield Malls; all opinions are my own and may not reflect those of Westfield Mall.
It always take me awhile to get in the holiday spirit; mostly because I’m in the retail world and Black Friday drains all of the life out of me. To be completely honest….it turns me into a bit of a grinch! I spend several weeks getting ready for the Black Friday weekend planning cool promotions and sales for work. It’s exhausting and there are several days with scattered sleep which just makes me a big lump of grump! It usually takes me a good 1-2 weeks to get out of my grinchy mood and back into the spirit of Christmas.
Usually about a week after Black Friday I start finding my way online window shopping and planning out a few gift ideas for the kids. As easy as online shopping has become, I still enjoy a good trip to the mall and stores to do my Christmas shopping. There’s just something about it that puts me in that holiday spirit.
10 Reasons to Shop at Westfield Mall’s this Holiday
- Ice Skating at Countryside Mall – There’s always someone on the ice rink and if you’re lucky you’ll catch some performers. When we went to the mall this year there were a group of performers warming up for a show. We missed the show but it was still fun to watch them twirling around on the ice.
- Aunt Annies Pretzels – Admit it, you can’t walk passed there without grabbing a pretzel or pretzel bites!! My daughter even made us promise we’d bring some home for her after our shopping trip.
- Brookstone – Even if you have no intentions of buying anything at Brookstone it’s just too much fun to miss out on all the cool inventions and techie type gifts. If you have someone who has everything; I bet you can find them something unique at Brookstone. We picked up a set of drones for our son (and my husband) to play with this winter. Let’s just hope they don’t lose them (in the wind) like last time!
- Fun holiday kiosks – Whether you are looking for a new calendar, a personalized Christmas gift, a funky t-shirt, or something for a sports fan, you can always find something you need at the mall kiosks. Many of these are pop up kiosks that will only be around for a few more weeks.
- Fun New Shops – We aren’t mall rats and don’t visit the mall often during the year to see what fun new stores may have popped up. We found the most darling little bath and body shop called Fizz. They specialize in bath bombs and bath salts that they make there in the store. They even do fun parties for girls and adults! We may have gotten a few bath bombs for my daughter’s stocking (and booked her birthday party).
- Gifts You Never Knew You Needed – We had some ideas on what we wanted to get our kids but we weren’t 100% sure until we started shopping. We found a few fun things we didn’t even knew about in our children’s favorite stores. Sometimes it’s easier to shop when you can look at all of the options instead of what their websites want you to see.
- Gift Wrapping – Friday & Saturday nights between now and Dec 24th you can have all your gifts wrapped for you!! The Tarpon Springs Band Boosters are wrapping presents in the Holiday Lounge on the lower level between Sears and Restaurant Row.
- Dinner & a Movie – My husband and I enjoy Christmas shopping together; it also prevents us overshopping and ending up with too much stuff. While you’re shopping don’t forget to grab dinner….and a movie if you have time! Make it a date night!!
- Holiday Spirit – I know it’s silly but seeing all the shops decorated for Christmas, seeing Santa, and the ice rink just help get me in the holiday spirit. There’s just something about being at the mall that brings it out in me. Amazon just can’t do that.
- Support the Local Economy – While we’re talking about Amazon, let’s get real for a minute….malls, small shops, and local businesses are hurting because of Amazon. It’s so easy to open your phone and place an order….I get it! I have had 4 boxes delivered this week with books and other harder to find gift ideas, but we need to remember to support our local economies or these places will go out of business. We really don’t want to buy everything online do we? I know I’m old….but I can never buy all my clothes online! I have to try them on before I buy them (with the exception of prAna that just fits sooooo well without even trying them on). It’s something that most of us take for granted, we just expect these stores to stay open even when we don’t shop them. We have to shop them or they will close!! Go the mall, buy something, support these businesses and feel good that you did!
I spent the afternoon wrapping up some of the family gifts and our tree looks like Christmas is coming soon! I only have a few more gifts to get and then we’re officially ready for Christmas….and I still have 2 weeks!!! Now, I should really get some gifts packed and shipped so they’ll make it to family before Dec 25th!
What do you love most about the mall? Do you do your shopping online or in the stores?
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