If you're like us, at least a few presents came in the form of gift cards. We were talking about going to bargain shop when we decided to take a family trip to Woodfield Mall before our girls head back to school.
I have to admit that Woodfield Mall wouldn't have been on my list a few months ago. Last summer I was invited to visit the new Jockey Bra store in Woodfield with the promise of a new way to buy a bra. If you talk to any women, she'll tell you that buying a bathing suit, jeans and bras as just torture. The sizing is different from brand to brand and when you find a brand you like they discontinue the style you want. The lure of a better shopping experience was enough to get me to the mall. While I was touring the Jockey Bra store my husband and our girls wandered the rest of Woodfield Mall.
When we met a couple of hours later, the girls were bubbling about how much fun they had going through the mall. I had forgotten how big the mall was and how much there is do to that doesn't involve shopping. We visited the Pix 5D movie theater. This was the first time we experienced the 5D short films. It was so much fun to use all our senses at the theater. Another family in the theater had small children. Those kids just laughed and laughed and laughed. It was an entertaining way to spend 1/2 hour.
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We grabbed an A&W root beer before wandering through the different mall levels. After dinner at Rain Forest Café, we found a few back to school bargains at the largest Forever 21 store I've ever seen.
I usually don't think of a mall as family destination, but Woodfield Mall is definitely a place we'll go back to. Since the weather is going to be quite cold early next week, and our girls will still be off school, there's a pretty good chance we'll drive up there for an afternoon. If you're looking for something to do with your kids, join us. There's plenty of room for everyone and something to keep kids of all ages busy.
