My poor deprived daughter....

[Colleen27]

I made the mistake of taking my daughter,9, to Fairlane mall for the first time in the spring. Now, she wants to go to the mall all the time.
She had been to Southland mall a few times since it is close to school.

Hi neighbor!!! My 6 year old calls Fairlane the "new" mall. Everytime we go to Southland she says, can't we go to the new mall?

My daughter is in love with Somerset. I think because they have Build A Bear.
One day we drove by Lakeside and I told her that I worked there in high school and college. She thought that was the greatest thing ever.

Somerset............ Great taste in malls. It's my DD favorite also but she is in her 30's Love the Somerset at Christmas....

Twelve Oaks shopper reporting in... I live closer to Westland, but that mall is a joke.

I actually HATE going to the mall. From the parking to the walking from one side to the other, and then remembering that I need to go back because I forgot something. I rarely go to the mall.

Wow, lots of locals here.

We're far east side so going to the mall usually means Lakeside, though checking out the new mall (Partridge Creek? or something like that) isn't entirely uninteresting simply because they've got an Apple store. Birchwood, up in Port Huron, is a little closer, but going to Lakeside at least gives me an excuse to hit the Disney store so it is worth the extra few minutes' drive.

I grew up riding my bike to Macomb Mall when I was bored, so maybe that's why malls hold no appeal for me. That place was kind of a dump even then, and I hear it is pretty empty now.

 

[Colleen27]

I wish mine was deprived. We have no choice to go to the mall in search of clothes for her, she wears a 0 and they are not easy to find. THe mall is over an hour away for us, and the only thing we have closer is walmart, its and hour to go to target, or walgreens, and I do not shop at walmart.

Mine is still in girls' 8s so shopping online for her is really easy. We have a freestanding Old Navy, Kohls, and Penneys, not exactly near us but about half as far as the closest mall, so it isn't like she's never been clothes/shoes shopping in brick-and-mortar shops. She's just enthralled with the idea of the mall for some reason.

 

[stsomewhere]

Hi neighbor!!! My 6 year old calls Fairlane the "new" mall. Everytime we go to Southland she says, can't we go to the new mall?

My daughter was so excited how big fairlane was. There are a lot more stores there.

She does like to go to Southland since it has 2 Claire stores.

 

[stsomewhere]

Wow, lots of locals here.

We're far east side so going to the mall usually means Lakeside, though checking out the new mall (Partridge Creek? or something like that) isn't entirely uninteresting simply because they've got an Apple store. Birchwood, up in Port Huron, is a little closer, but going to Lakeside at least gives me an excuse to hit the Disney store so it is worth the extra few minutes' drive.

I grew up riding my bike to Macomb Mall when I was bored, so maybe that's why malls hold no appeal for me. That place was kind of a dump even then, and I hear it is pretty empty now.

We have good friends who live in Lakeport.

 

[Phlip]

The mall gives me hives. The very thought of shopping makes me break out in a sweat. I think I would rather go to the dentist (sorry dentist) than take my kids to the mall. My poor deprived DD14 has to catch a ride with a friend for mall crawling. I grew up with 5 malls within 15 minutes...I used to be such a diva-when I first moved to the Northeast, we didn't have "good shopping" and I would drive (I still can't believe it) to malls in Westchester and NJ to shop. I lived for Nordstrom and Neimans...oh and I Magnin.....sigh.
I really don't know what happened to me....

 

[Tinkermommy]

OP, I am reporting you to children's social services. How dare you deprive her of a Mall Experience!

I am from Michigan as well. I lived in Westland and worked at the Hudson's there. That is where I met my DH.

Our first date was to Fairlane mall to see a movie. We shared a diet coke.

Thinking about it, a lot of significant events in my life happened at the mall!

It's a small, small world or is it a mall, mall world!

 

[Darsa]

Wow, weird. Just as I opened this thread I got a message from my daughter; "If we're not doing anything tomorrow, can we go to the mall, PLEEEEZE?!?!?"

We also live about an hour from any mall, so it's usually an all day thing. Unfortunately my husband's school loans are coming due, so there's not much we could do if we DID go to the mall...

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Wow, lots of locals here.

We're far east side so going to the mall usually means Lakeside, though checking out the new mall (Partridge Creek? or something like that) isn't entirely uninteresting simply because they've got an Apple store. Birchwood, up in Port Huron, is a little closer, but going to Lakeside at least gives me an excuse to hit the Disney store so it is worth the extra few minutes' drive.

I grew up riding my bike to Macomb Mall when I was bored, so maybe that's why malls hold no appeal for me. That place was kind of a dump even then, and I hear it is pretty empty now.

Do they still have the Disney store in Lakeside? The one near us closed this summer. I'll have to hit up Lakeside next time we visit the in-laws. My DH grew up in Sterling Heights. I remember the first time he took me to Lakeside. I was amazed at the size of it. Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo malls are much smaller. My SIL lives in Lake Orion, so when we visit her we must go to Great Lakes Crossings. I love that mall. The Rain Forrest Cafe always makes me feel like I'm at Disney!

 

[Beanstalker]

LOL I also detest the mall, I've got my 16 year old shopping in town or at the thrift stores. Hopefully the novelty will wear off, but you can really make her happy on her b'day with little effort.

 

[Robinrs]

I hate hate HATE malls and am glad my 17yo doesn't like them either. Every year my company used to give us a Simon Mall gift certificate and I would go to one store, cash it out and LEAVE. UGH!

 

[Disney Doll]

OP, I believe you have left me no choice but to call DCF.
NO child should be allowed to suffer what yours has!

 

[PatsGirl]

I detest shopping and would do everything online if DD didn't love to mall shop I got away with Lands End and LLBean until about 4th grade and then BOOM she discovered the mall scene.

She loves mall shopping so much that she begged me to take her to the Mall of America instead of WDW this year. WTH? We talked and talked about it and guess what...

August 31st for four nights and five days we are flying into Minneapolis/St.Paul for a shopping bonanza. She has saved almost $300 for this trip and is so excited. Mall of America, here we come

Spoiled a little ya think?

 

[golfgal]

Mine is still in girls' 8s so shopping online for her is really easy. We have a freestanding Old Navy, Kohls, and Penneys, not exactly near us but about half as far as the closest mall, so it isn't like she's never been clothes/shoes shopping in brick-and-mortar shops. She's just enthralled with the idea of the mall for some reason.

I detest shopping and would do everything online if DD didn't love to mall shop I got away with Lands End and LLBean until about 4th grade and then BOOM she discovered the mall scene.

She loves mall shopping so much that she begged me to take her to the Mall of America instead of WDW this year. WTH? We talked and talked about it and guess what...

August 31st for four nights and five days we are flying into Minneapolis/St.Paul for a shopping bonanza. She has saved almost $300 for this trip and is so excited. Mall of America, here we come

Spoiled a little ya think?

I was just going to suggest coming to MOA-but that could go either way-either scare her for life because of the size of the place or get her totally addicted to shopping

Where are you staying when you come?

 

[PatsGirl]

Golfgal, we are staying at LaQuinta Suites Bloomington West. We were originally booked for a two bedroom at the Staybridge Suites for $239/night but LaQuinta is $59/night AAA so I grabbed it. There are 7 of us going and after careful thought I decided separate rooms might be best, especially for myself who doesn't like to shop and will need space of my own after being at the mall for hours on end The hotel gets excellent reviews on tripadvisor.

We are going to break up the shopping days by going to the state fair one day. I am also looking at the zoo but haven't found what I'm really looking for ~ a beach!

Would love to hear any recommendations/ideas you might have. I have reserved a mini-van but think I am going to cancel it because there is comp transportation to/from the airport and mall and from some research I've done, it looks like we can take a bus RT $5pp from the mall to the state fair.

I still cannot believe I am giving up my annual WDW trip for this, she better love it! Goodness knows, its costing me just as much as it would to go to see Mickey

 

[disney-super-mom]

I have two boys (11 and 7) and I have never taken them shopping at the mall. Actually....and I feel kind of bad about this....but when I go back-to-school shopping for them, I just go alone and pick their new clothes out myself, often at JCPenney's. I've never had them come with me to pick out their own clothes or shoes. I think this may put me in the category of "bad mom".

So far my boys don't seem to mind though. At least they've never said anything about it yet. I'll just lay out all their new clothes on their beds for them to "Ooooh and ahhhhh" over, and they seem content with that.

My nieces on the other hand (16 and 12) LOVE LOVE LOVE to go shopping at the mall, BUT they would NEVER EVER shop at JCPenney's. Apparently that isn't a cool place to buy clothes, even though it's at the mall.

 

[golfgal]

Golfgal, we are staying at LaQuinta Suites Bloomington West. We were originally booked for a two bedroom at the Staybridge Suites for $239/night but LaQuinta is $59/night AAA so I grabbed it. There are 7 of us going and after careful thought I decided separate rooms might be best, especially for myself who doesn't like to shop and will need space of my own after being at the mall for hours on end The hotel gets excellent reviews on tripadvisor.

We are going to break up the shopping days by going to the state fair one day. I am also looking at the zoo but haven't found what I'm really looking for ~ a beach!

Would love to hear any recommendations/ideas you might have. I have reserved a mini-van but think I am going to cancel it because there is comp transportation to/from the airport and mall and from some research I've done, it looks like we can take a bus RT $5pp from the mall to the state fair.

I still cannot believe I am giving up my annual WDW trip for this, she better love it! Goodness knows, its costing me just as much as it would to go to see Mickey

Beach is easy-follow Cedar Ave (Hwy 77) north to Lake Nokomis. It will be on your right just a few blocks off the highway (the highway ends and the road turns into a residential street-can't miss it). It is a good sized beach with a lot of picnic areas and a nice walking/bike path around the lake. You can rent a car for a day to go to the zoo and the beach. The zoo is south on Cedar (77) and the beach is north on Cedar so you could do the zoo in the morning and spend the afternoon at the beach. There is a park and ride for the fair at the MOA so that is easy.

Map for the lake:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=lake nokomis&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS356US356&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

If you scroll down on the map you will see the MN Zoo and the MOA is on the other side of the airport so it is all easy to find.

 

[princesspiglet]

I love the mall and I absolutely adore shopping! I started taking DD7 to the mall when she was a baby and we usually go at least 1x a week now. She also loves to shop and could shop for hours on end. We just love looking at different things. Doesn't have to be clothes, it can be jewelry, furniture, books, toys, anything at all. We then love to stop at the food court and have lunch together and then continue our shopping spree.

I think I was born to be a professional shopper and DD definitly caught that bug from me. I love the mall party idea. Maybe we will have to do that when she gets a little older. We've already had the party at Build a Bear with lunch and dessert at Johnny Rockets. That was a huge success.

 

[mhsjax]

I love the mall and so does my daughter, in fact we are starting the same tradition that my mom and I had. Every Saturday we go to the mall and look sometimes we buy and eat lunch.

I don't know why there seems to be such a bad attitude towards malls, you can get almost and sometimes better deals than you can other places.

If you don't like malls fine, but there is nothing wrong with your daughter wanting to go to the mall.

 

[sunnyday123]

never been to the mall??? I didn't even know that was possible in America today!

I know! I can't help but think, "where do people live with no mall around??"

 

[mjkacmom]

I thought the same thing.. than again I love in New Jersey and have about 4 malls within an hour of me

Right? My closest mall is 12 minutes, the next 15 minutes, the next 17 minutes, and if I was a really upscale mall, I have to drive close to 25 minutes! Therefore, I rarely go to that one.

My girls all LOVE the mall.