| . |
p14
 |
Left to right: Rebecca, Molly and Amy investigate
Woolies |
Stoke Newington has the highest kids to household ratio in London
and Chrimbo is when the 'I want' station goes on top volume. N16 asked three junior
consumer correspondents to trawl Stokey's shops and give their verdict on the goodies on
offer.
Route 73 Kids
This is the shop every Stokey kid heads for and the one your Mum offers as a bribe. They
know exactly what's cool. We all crave Lilly Dolls priced around £20 and Route 73 has a
great selection of these soft, leggy, corkscrew-curled dolls. They've got a wicked doll's
house as well with every bit of furniture you'd want, a real dream. Becca thought it was a
bit steep at £145, but hey, every bit of Peace And Quiet has its price. One for those
doting, we think.
There's pretty unusual stuff as well which could cut some tread in the playground, like
Crystal Clear at £9. It's a pack with some bare trees and gloop which makes crystals grow
on them. And a Mexican style Pinara (those swinging things you bash) filled with treats at
£15 which we all wanted. Puhleeeeze. There's loads of great cheapo stocking fillers
for around 99p like Fortune Fish and Yuk boys Yuk things like paper gliders. Route 73
isn't the cheapest shop on the block but the staff are always helpful and informative. And
hell, ain't we worth it folks!
Route 73
This is where we come to buy Mum's birthday pressy and 'I'm sorry I've driven you to the
edge of a nervous breakdown' gifts but there are things we'd like as well. Smelly Bath
Bombs are great but we forgot to write down the price. There's a lovely small wooden
jewellery box with a heart for £10 and Groovy Girl key rings for £5. Anything Groovy
Girl is OK by us but watch out, we can be fickle little so and so's. Check right up to the
last minute cos you don't want to spend a fortune on our latest fad and have us roundly
ignore it, do you? The vibe does move on.
Woolies
Love that Pic N' Mix but we shot straight past and sussed out Barbie. She's a little infra
dig for us now (we're 9) but if you're around 5 then Woolies has a wide selection ranging
from £3.99 for your bog standard bargain doll to a Full Monty princess, carriage and
horse for around £25. My Snack Bar looked intriguing (make your own plastic sarnies etc)
and it's good value at under £15 but after a quick pow pow we thought it had limited play
value. Amy loved the Gloss Girl Feather boa at £5.99 and Molly had a penchant for The
Candy Floss Maker at £40 but Becca said she had a friend with one and it didn't work.
Woolies has lots of things but overall we thought the staff didn't have much idea of how
the individual toys worked. If you know precisely what you want then the shop is good
value but it's not a browser's paradise.
Stoke Newington Bookshop
We're all keen on reading go on, test us on Harry Potter then and Becca's a big fan of
good old Mrs Blyton. There's loads of great books here with La Rowling in big supply.
Younger kids will love Rosie Raccoon books at a bargain £2.99, Angelina's Baby Sister at
£4.99 and Amy thought Tony Ross's latest I Don't Want to Go To Hospital would be very
soothing if you were like sort of going to go to hospital. Storm Breaker by Anthony
Horowitz is a truly great book at £4.99 but beware Total S Club by Jo Green. We're moths
to a flame where S Club are concerned but Molly thought this was just a re-hash of
everything she's read before. Our Main Woman, of course, is Jacqueline Wilson, the
greatest writing draw for our age group and she's got a new book out for Christmas, Girls
In Tears £8.99.
Parker's Pets.
We love it in here because we've got cats, well that's Amy and Becca.
Molly is presently driving her Mum up the wall because she wants a pet. Kids love buying
their pets presents and this shop has some great little gifts like small catnip mice,
bells and even dog lollipops all for 99p.The best idea is cat and dog Christmas stockings
full of treats for £3.99. We all thought those were wicked. But if you're looking to give
something live for Christmas, which we don't recommend by the way, Parker's only sell
fish.
We've had a seriously good time shopping for N16. And remember, dust off those purses and
wallets, order those new cheque books ahead of time and pawn that family heirloom. Because
it's Christmas, we're your kids and if you don't, we know just how to press that old
button labelled Guilt. It's the price you pay for procreation. Have a Cool Yule, People. |
. |
