Latest Family Posts

Kit your children out with the latest looks this season with a little help from Gap, H&M and Next...

Gap have just launched their Daisy collection for girls and a range of bright gingham shirts for boys.  We sent Jemma down to take a closer look.

Down at H&M there is a real focus on trousers this season that even the girliest of girls will fall in love with.  Plus, a rainbow of chinos for boys to choose from.

Bring out their inner rock star at Next with cool music inspired tees for boys while pretty florals and animal prints are popular for girls. 

EPIC is a 3D CG action-adventure comedy that reveals a hidden world unlike any other. From the creators of ICE AGE and RIO, EPIC tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good who keep the natural world alive and the forces of evil who wish to destroy it. When a teen age girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters in order to save their world…and ours.

View the trailer here...

The Trafford Centre Dome turned 'Yoda' Green for the first time in its history. It was to celebrate the launch of LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland here at LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre. And who better than our giant LEGO Yoda to be present at this exciting moment. At 7ft tall and made up of over 20,000 LEGO Bricks it was an epic moment!  Watch the behind the scenes video here.

Keep your kids occupied this Christmas with a range of toys and gadgets for all ages. 

For children up to 3 years old head to Mamas & Papas for a range of toys that encourage sensory development.

Be savvy this Christmas at Boots with all gifts on 3 for 2.

John Lewis has Christmas covered across all departments with a dedicated section just for children.

With the new term approaching, we have been on the hunt for the best gadgets to ensure your lttle ones are fully equipped for heading back to school.

First stop is Selfridges for stationary and school bags.

At Curry's PC World we take a look at the latest technology to help them get top marks in all of their homework.

Finally, at HMV these headphones will be perfect for the walk to school.

We have all the sports equipment you'll need to keep your little ones entertained this summer.

Head down to JD Sports for their range of bags, footballs and basketball equipment.

John Lewis has swimming, tennis and stylish sportswear covered.

With Father’s day looming we bring you the ultimate guide full of gorgeous gifts and gadgets. Whether your dad is a traditionalist or likes all things kitch, we have something just right to put a big smile on your dads face.

Or how about giving the gift of choice? The Trafford Centre gift card is valid in over 200 shops and restaurants; available online and from the customer service desk now.

Molton Brown shaving brush and stand, £95

Paul Smith at Selfridges mini on location washbag, £100

The Perfume Shop, Hugo Boss Orange Man aftershave

John Lewis super daddy mug, £10

M&S cufflinks, £19.50

Selfridges Malbec wine, £12.99

Next Dad's manly mints, £3

DeLonghi at John Lewis coffee machine

John Rocha at Debenhams hold all, £135

Ralp Lauren leather belt at Selfridges, £45

We were there when the first children tried out the new LEGO City: Forest Pursuit driving adventure. Watch the video to hear what they thought.

Doing battle at Laser Quest

Hayley Edginton says...

Other than taking my son to birthday parties, we have never been to Laser Quest, but we will definitely be going back!

The staff were friendly and helpful, the place was clean and not overbooked.

I never thought of it as a family event but we had so much fun. It is however highly competitive so be warned!






Lucy Markillie says...

Laser Quest is a great attraction for the whole family, as it's suitable for all ages and is based around teamwork. The course is on two levels, so there's plenty of hiding places for you to sneak into! The staff were brilliant - they'll help you put on your laser vest and make sure it's all working before you can enter the arena. Don't worry if you've never been before as full instructions are given, along with a safety demonstration before the game can commence. The staff are also on hand in the arena should any problems occur during your game. After the game, you receive a certificate as a souvenir and there's also a moving climbing wall named The Rock outside the entrance for you to try your hand at.

Pirates - now showing at ODEON Cinema at The Trafford Centre

Lucy Markillie says...

The auditorium itself was clean, comfortable and offered plenty of legroom. The sound and picture quality were also great. I chose to watch 21 Jump Street (rated 15), which is about a pair of coppers who get sent back to high school to try and break down a drug dealing ring – I’d recommend this film, it was much funnier than I was expecting. My only criticism would be that the drinks and snacks are quite pricey so make sure you take a bit of extra cash with you – a bottle of water will set you back £2.60. If you’re willing to pay for them, there are a good choice of snacks on offer from popcorn, sweet and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

Tina Bailey says...

This is a once a week film showing aimed at those with babies. The idea is that you can go to see the latest film releases, without worrying about your baby crying or making noise, as everybody there is in the same position. The volume isn’t quite as loud as usual, and the lights are left slightly up, so you can feed and soothe your baby without missing the film. You pay for adult tickets and babies gets free entry.

When you arrive at the cinema, your pushchair is taken from you and stored in a secure area. You are given a raffle ticket to claim it back at the end. If your baby is in a car seat, you can take that into the cinema with you.

When the film started, my son (who is 9 months old and loves tv) became instantly transfixed on the screen. He happily watched for a good 70ish minutes before he got a bit restless – at which point I gave him a drink and he settled down again. I would definitely use this service again, and recommend it to everyone.

Tina Bailey is The Mother Geek, a mum-of-one blogger from Manchester. You can read the full versions of her Trafford Centre reviews over on her brilliant blog – click here to pay her a visit!

Hayley Edginton says...

We visited the cinema on a warm Thursday evening in March. The cinema was extremely quiet, which may have been due to the uncharacteristic weather outside or just due to it being a school night.

For us, this meant uninterrupted bliss for two hours! No rustling crisp packets or shadows creeping across the screen 10 minutes into the film! The seats were lovely and comfy, 'We Bought a Zoo' was a great family film. Overall, we had a very enjoyable evening.

Gemma Valentine says...

When we got to the ODEON we were quite shocked at what was available to do on this level of The Trafford Centre, if only the kids were a little bit bigger or we had gone on our own. There was a rock climbing experience, Laserquest and Paradise Island Adventure Golf (I think we should have done the adventure golf, as my little girl would have loved it too). We will be paying another visit soon to try this out, as it looked great and the setting was brilliant. We went to the cinema and even got the option to choose premier seats or standard, we choose the premier ones which were bigger and right in the middle of the cinema with the best view - yet another great experience.