A recent study showed that the emotions of "excitement" and "happiness" are pretty much one in the same in children. So how must we keep the little darlings happy?
Keep them excited.
... but that's no easy feat when you're doing the weekly grocery shop. So maybe intersperse your regular shopping route with one of these hotbeds of excitement for child-like minds. (They'll probably keep dads entertained too.)
Go on, give the kids a treat...
One of the world’s most famous, Hamleys is the king of London’s toyshops. Multiple floors of fun, toy testers and exotic, unheard of games make it a child’s paradise. Located on Regents Street, Hamleys is an experience; after all, it’s the world’s biggest toy store.
The Toybox is an independent shop in the East End’s Vitoria Park Village. Selling a mixture of contemporary and classic toys and games, the shop is a big hit with the local families. Providing an old fashioned service is part of the charm and the great selection of toys does the rest.
You are never too old to be into the likes of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Spiderman and other cult brands and Forbidden Planet is proof of that. However, just because adults love the collectibles on offer at the Shaftsbury Avenue shop that doesn’t mean to say that children don’t appreciate them just as much. Dinosaurs, spaceships, light sabers? How could they not?
Tired of Cluedo? Bored of Risk? Then get yourself down to Compendia in Greenwich Market. A traditional games shop selling board games, playing cards, dominoes and jigsaw puzzles, Compendia is a fascinating throwback. Pick up a new set of dominoes, a classic dice game or grab the latest board game out of Japan.
Man, woman or child; everybody loves a little Disney in their life. At London’s Disney flagship store on Oxford Street, customers are called ‘guests’, staff are ‘crew members’ and there is no shortage of fairy dust in the air. Find anything from princess costumes to board games – all Disney branded, of course.
The International Magic Shop is a family run business on Clerkenwell Road. The name says it all; it is a treasure trove of trickery and deception. Enter the small red door and the shop opens up. The likes of whoopee cushions and wigs line the shelves but there is much more going on behind the counter. Magic books, complicated tricks and instructional DVDs are on sale to those who take the game of magic seriously.