A couple of weeks ago we were invited to a special bloggers day at Brent Cross. This is one of our nearest shopping centres and we do visit quite often, but if you haven’t been in a while then I’m sharing some of the fun things happening at Brent Cross over the summer. With the beach, and character visits, a trip to Brent Cross can make a fun day out within London.
Kids Characters at Brent Cross
During our trip to Brent Cross we had a meet and greet with Peppa Pig who had been performing a show that day in the shopping centre. There will be more kids favourite characters turning up at Brent Cross over the summer including Postman Pat, and Angelina Ballerina.
Find out more about events at Brent Cross here
Eating
We ate in The Place to Eat, John Lewis which is pretty spacious and a handy place to grab lunch while shopping. It is on the upper level of the shopping centre, directly off the main John Lewis store. You can get a good variety of lunch choices, I went for a pasta salad with pine nuts while the kids got lunch boxes with sandwiches and a selection of snacks, and their dad got a toasted sandwich.
With the kids lunch boxes you get some crayons and activities to keep the kids busy, but if you want even more to keep them occupied you can also get a really good range of activity and puzzle books in the kids section of John Lewis. We were given a brilliant section for each of the kids, which kept them busy during lunch time and has been keeping them entertained at home during the summer holidays too.
Shopping
As I just mentioned, the John Lewis children’s department has a great selection of toys and fun things for the kids. While visiting a shopping centre with three young boys, I don’t really find it easy to concentrate on shopping for myself (although there is a decent range of shops in Brent Cross for those occasions when I could leave the kids with their Dad and go shopping with a friend), so we decided to let the boys explore the toy section instead. They each chose a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy for themselves and have been having a lot of fun with these toys throughout the holidays.
The Beach at Brent Cross
Another huge feature at Brent Cross this summer is the artificial beach. The day we visited, we got really unlucky with the weather but this is definitely on our to do list to check out another day before the end of summer.
The Brent Cross beach has a selection of fair ground rides, sand, and a beach atmosphere to enjoy with your family without having to drive for two hours out of London – what a great idea!
Find out more about the Beach at Brent Cross here
We were invited to an event to enable us to write this post
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.