We were invited along to meet Santa at the grotto in the St Enoch Centre, and asked to take part in a blogger challenge to find Christmas outfits for the kids from the shops there too. And well, who doesn’t like shopping?!? Especially for cute kids clothes. So I couldn’t resist.

The Grotto

I’d never been to a shopping mall grotto before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was a super simple affair: we arrived and the elves (who were really friendly) had a chat with the kids asking questions and setting the scene, and then they took us into see Santa.

The little lady and the elf

Both of the kids were pretty shy with the man in red, but he was very friendly and each of the kids got a gift; baby boy got a book (Hattie Peck – it’s a really nice book) and the little lady got a princess sticker book. We also got a wee keepsake family photo while we were in there.

The grotto is surrounded by dancing/waving teddy bears and lots of lights and sparkly things. Baby boy really liked the dancing teddy bears.

Watching the dancing bears

The grotto is situated just outside the entrance to Debenhams within the St Enoch Centre. It’s not elaborate at all, but the little lady was beside herself when we got back out. I think she bounced the entire way home.

The Christmas Outfits

The little lady is obsessed with dresses. Specifically dresses that go out when you twirl. She isn’t a big fan of any form of sleeve, but since it’s winter that’s something we’re working on… She likes rainbows and unicorns and sparkles and a lot of pinkness. That’s what much of her wardrobe comprises. And she likes to be comfy. (Who could blame her?) So for her, I wanted to find a dress. Something a little bit different from usual. But one that’s comfy and that I won’t have to fight with her to wear.

St Enoch centre reindeer

I bought this little vest jumper for baby boy in the post-Christmas sales last year. I think that was the first time I’ve ever bought anything a year in advance for the kids, but I couldn’t resist the sheer cuteness of that wee vest! So for baby boy’s outfit I knew exactly what I wanted; a little shirt and trousers. Nothing too formal or restrictive as I don’t want him being uncomfy all day long, but something a good bit smarter than his everyday vest and joggers combo.

The Shopping Trip

My usual haunts in town for everyday clothes for both the kids are places like M&S and Debenhams. I always manage to find what I’m looking for without having to traipse around too many shops. Since I was shopping in the St Enoch Centre I made Debenhams my first port of call.

I ended up buying this later anyway…

There are so many cute baby clothes in the Debenhams Bluezoo range, but my favourite brand in Debenhams for kids is the Mantaray range. The dresses and outfits they have are just lovely, and they are always comfortable and not restrictive at all. (I actually like a lot of the Mantaray stuff in the men’s and women’s departments too!) The dress above was one of my favourites that I spotted in Debenhams.

The Little Lady’s Outfit

I ended up finding something for the little lady in Mothercare, somewhere I haven’t shopped for quite a while. (Actually I was in a bit of a huff with them after they wouldn’t change a size for me when baby boy was born and I had to contact their head office.)

Little birds red dress

But I went in for a look and came across the Little Birds by Jools range. Oh. My. Word. It was like all of my rainbow colour dreams came true. I’d have bought half the stuff there if I could’ve, for both my kids! One of my favourite things were these leggings.

Little Birds leggings

The 70’s and hippy vibe in the Jools range was just totally my jam, and I found the perfect dress for the little lady in there. It’s super girly and simple with a lovely wee bit of colour thrown in. And it’s not too grown up (the whole range is like that) which I really loved about it.

The dress – in detail!

All I needed for her was some tights. I found myself in H&M next, and came across these sparkly red tights. They brought a bit of sparkle to the outfit, and the red is nice and Christmassy too. Perfect.

The sparkle

Baby Boy’s Outfit

But while I was in H&M finding tights, I had a look at the baby section. They had quite a few shirts that would have worked for baby boy’s outfit. I had about 4 of them in my hand at one point and then I found this one with the removable bowtie. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Shirt & bowtie from H&M

Smart but casual (and importantly something he could wear again without it having to be too fancy).

I did see quite a few really cute outfits for baby boy. I loved these little trousers with braces from Mothercare, but I was looking for something a bit more colourful.

These Mothercare trousers with braces were super cute

But, baby boy’s outfit ended up being much quicker to find than hers, because just next to the little shirt I found a super cute little pair of green trousers. They look like jeans, but they are nice and soft. I like my boy to have a bit of colour in his outfits – boy’s clothes can be pretty dull – so the colour of these was perfect.

Little green trousers

For both outfits, the lot came to £43. I had £50 on my St Enoch Centre gift card, so I also bought him a cute vest out of Mothercare. Because he’s my little superman.

The Snacks

It was just baby boy and me for the shopping trip, so we went up to the cafe on the 5th floor of Debenhams. It really is a great place to eat lunch with kids. They have a microwave for heating up baby food, bottle warmers, lots of high chairs and little pots with a bib and spoon in them for making feeding time that little bit easier/cleaner.

The staff are incredibly helpful in the cafe. I always end up in here if I’m shopping in town, and every time they help me get to a table with a tray. They are so friendly with the kids too. The cakes are also pretty good. 🙂