It’s very festive at West Elm Chatswood Chase Sydney
Take a friend with staying power. Lightweights need not apply! You need someone who isn’t going to let you leave the shops until you’ve got everything you came for! In the right company, a Christmas shopping expedition can be loads of fun!
Make a list and go prepared. Make it specific with ideas and options for each person you’re buying for. Take a pen to cross things out so you know where you are. Check out gift guides for inspiration.
Wear sensible shoes. Yes, even I, the girl who wore heels throughout her entire (10 days overdue) pregnancy, accept that sensible, comfortable shoes are a must for the serious shopping trip.
Incentivise! My top tip for getting through a day-long shopping trip (and Christmas shopping can take a whole day) is to incentivise yourself with little treats like getting your nails done (try Blush Nail Spa on ground level), stopping for lunch (read my review of Mrs Mi) or having a glass of wine (try Burnt Orange on level 1). This is why taking the right partner in crime can make all the difference.
Burnt Orange serves a range of wines and Champagne
Get someone else to wrap it all. Wrapping always seems like a nice job you’ll enjoy while listening to Michael Bublé and sipping a glass of bubbles. You kid yourself you’ll commit to a trendy wrapping scheme this year but the reality is you’re rushed, you grab a value pack of paper at the supermarket, you can’t find the sticky tape and the kids are always around when you need a little privacy. At Chatswood Chase Sydney, there’s complimentary gift wrapping in the centre from today (11 December). Various stores, including Pottery Barn and Crabtree & Evelyn, also offer free gift wrapping in store.
Gift wrapping station at Pottery Barn Chatswood Chase
Get valet parking. We all now what it can be like finding a park in Christmas shopping season: nightmare! At Chatswood Chase Sydney, skip that stress with $12 valet parking. Located on carpark Level B1, take the Victoria Avenue entrance, stay in the right lane and follow the signs. Applicable carpark fees extra.
Leave the kids. Either at home, or perhaps at Chatswood Chase Sydney’s Stay, Play and Shop, where they can do fun activities with qualified carers. $10 per hour per child.
Sebastian’s cute but he bores easily on shopping trips
Buy yourself a present! Well, you know how it is, when you’re out buying for everyone else you always see loads of things you’d like too. After all those hours of effort, you deserve it, right? How about a handbag from Braun Buffel (on ground level)?
If you’re one of those people who has already started their Christmas shopping, well done to you! If you’re one of those people who finished it last month, I hate you! You make me feel bad! Seriously, every year I am so disorganised and I think it’s a reflection of our busy lives that everything becomes last minute and stressful. Remember when Christmas shopping was a fun, festive activity you looked forward to? It was an event! Although I’m the first person to praise the convenience of ecommerce, it’s time to bring back some of that enjoyable gift-buying experience. And Sydney’s Chatswood Chase Sydney is a great place to be inspired!
Sebastian and I ready to hit the shops!
Having always lived on the north side of the bridge, I’ve been shopping at the Chase for years. But in the last 12 months, as an interiors addict, it’s become even more inviting, with the addition of furniture and homewares brands like Kartell and Incy Interiors (as a mum, they and Pottery Barn Kids are my go-tos for Sebastian’s nursery) and Wheel and Barrow, not to mention the American mega brands west elm, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma (enough to get even me baking!). So level 2 has become a favourite place to spend time. What I love about Chatswood Chase is they have many stores which are unique to Sydney’s north side, making it a real destination for something a little different. Also worth mentioning, the homewares section in Country Road is huge!
Let’s face it though, these days we want more than just a great range of stores from our shopping centre experience. We want a nice lunch, easy parking, great baby change facilities and even somewhere to stop for a glass of wine, rest our weary feet and compare purchases with our girlfriends at the end.
Looking festive in store at west elm
On the subject of wine, I was delighted to find that Mosman favourite Burnt Orange has opened a second cafe restaurant on level 1 which is a really special place to eat or have a coffee. Away from the main food court and surrounded by fashion stores, it’s a peaceful spot and the cakes are amazing (we tested them for you). Did I mention they’re licensed and serve afternoon tea? All under a glass ceiling so it’s nice and sunny and brings the outside in (or you can choose a shaded area if you prefer).
Husbands can be bribed to come shopping with coffee and cake (at Burnt Orange)
If you’re after something more substantial, we have to recommend you head to Mrs Mi, the first one in Australia, from Taste of Shanghai Group. This is relaxed eating, in a restaurant off the lower ground food court, but the food is of a very high standard. Let’s face it, if you’re going to offer dumplings and noodles somewhere like Chatswood, you need to know what you’re doing as competition is stiff!
There’s a reason people were queuing out of the door when Damian and I arrived with Sebastian (prams can be left outside), and not just the fun robotic chef assisting with making the fresh noodles (they were so good!) in the window! Our lunch was delicious! I’m not one for fried chicken but theirs is something else, and my favourite had to be the pork wontons in red chilli oil. This is not your typical food court experience. Top tip: order the cherry tomatoes in plum juice (sounds wrong but it’s so right!) and have one in between each course to cleanse your palette!
Damian, Sebastian and I enjoyed lunch at Mrs Mi
During the Christmas period, there’s plenty happening at the shopping centre to enhance your experience and make it more leisurely and less stressful. Why not consider using the $12 valet parking, taking advantage of free gift wrapping or treating yourself to a well deserved facial or blow dry (for the office Christmas party) once you’ve ticked everyone off your gift list? There are plenty of options including Biiu Day Spa, and Luc Espace.
Now, we all know shopping with kids (and husbands sometimes…) in tow can be, well, challenging. Chatswood Chase can help in this respect. Not only did we discover a fantastic play area near Pottery Barn Kids where you can even draw on a giant interactive screen, there’s currently Stay Play Shop until Christmas Eve on level 2 where you can leave your little ones for up to two hours ($5 per half-hour, per child) to enjoy crafty activities with fully trained staff. The baby change facilities (on all 4 levels) are some of the best we’ve seen (and this has become very important to us recently!) with great changing and feeding areas. You can even watch your child in the play area within baby change on a TV screen while you’re in the parents’ toilet! These little things make a big difference!
Sebastian enjoys the play area with Daddy
There’s plenty more to get you in the festive spirit. Get your kids’ Santa photos on the lower ground floor, pick up your All I Want For Christmas Guide for gift-buying inspiration, get your gifts wrapped for you up until Christmas Eve, or buy a special edition gift card for the person who has everything, illustrated by Sally Spratt of The Lust List with a donation going to Make-A-Wish Australia for every one sold.
And before I sign off, my top four shops to buy tree decorations at the Chase, clockwise from top left are: Pottery Barn, west elm, Bed Bath N Table and Country Road.
