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Early Learning Centre

3.5 (2 reviews)

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17 years ago

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17 years ago

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Build A Bear

Build A Bear

(8 reviews)

££

What a great idea - pick and customise your stuffed animal - and turn the experience into a trip to…read morea store where up - selling is an intrinsic gentle part of a process. Combine this with doting parents and adults who won't say no to the wide eyed cherubs in front of them, bamboozled by myriad choices amid a world of colour, flashing lights and loud background noise (designed to make you spend without thinking or discussion) with giant fluff stuffing contraptions gently silently paddling the fluff stuff clockwise. This idyll includes an invite to please pick your heart (inserted in the rear end) and then would you like your new 'baby' to have a voice box (starting at £4) do you want a box to take your 'baby' home (extra charge) or an over the shoulder back-pack to carry your 'baby' instead (an even greater extra charge). Then there's all the extras like clothing, birthday cakes, footwear - I mean the range of stuff is huge and undoubtedly growing - bit like our still expanding universe of trillions of galaxies. We are but a speck in the great milieu. I loved it. They even provide computer generated birth certificates with sales and year on year later will despatch an email announcing baby's birthday. We got two of these stuffed toys and we could even choose how much stuffing went in from a floppy to a stiff rigid production. The toy stuffer easily threaded each toy closed once the chosen filling was inserted y deftly twisting the already hanging threads. We got an Olaf from Frozen (I was impressed with the Harry Potter selection) and a bear. So when our cherub was confronted with a voice box choice and as he had picked a bear he innocently asked the server for a bear voice box. This made complete sense to us alleged adults but guess what BAB don't make bear sounding voice boxes. I could feel a monty python sketch coming on so I was in full alert for the Spanish Inquisition but we were safe. Meanwhile in the real world junior was beguiled into settling for a monkey voice by an embarrassed bear stuffer. Imagine BAB don't do bear sounds. Imagine burger-king without the burger! Then we got to the end and paid, and guess what as our spend was in the three figures there was a 'great' discount if we wanted to spend still more hard earned. Grandma couldn't resist. So off she went again little darlings in tow in search of still more made in China stuff...... Imagine getting to the till in a restaurant to pay to find here's a coupon for discount if you go back and eat some more. Yeesh. I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you and I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Until recently I didn't see the fascination with Teddy Bears, I used to call them "dust traps"…read more Even as a little girl I didn't have a favourite; dolls had personalities, bears had fur. I used to walk past Build A Bear and think what a nightmare! Cheesy staff dressed in the ugliest uniforms I have ever seen ( pale blue baggy shirts TUCKED INTO tight beige chinos, and they all had ample arses) periodically burst into song as though they had involuntary singing tourettes. Wild- eyed children ran around, seemingly without any form of supervision and I walked on by, shuddering. The thing is unfortunately, my teddy disdain is not hereditary. Mini-me adores them, covers the bed with them, just cannot get enough of her furry friends, and when it came to party time, where did she want to host her celebration? Yeah, you got it! Build A Bear Workshop. Dedicated Mum that I am, I steeled myself and crossed the shop's threshold expecting to be violently allergic to the mass of synthetic fibres. I was totally shocked- it was amazing. Children ( or adults) choose which Teddy fur they want and the staff let them put in the stuffing from a rotating, popcorn like machine. Here comes the sweet part, the children choose a little material heart to put inside their bears because everything has a heart ( tell that to the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz). Then they "wash" the bears, recite the store's mantra ( sort of like taking an oath to look after the bears) and make a Birth Certificate for them. The staff are great with children, very patient and full of enthusiasm; I guess you have to be a little cheesy when dealing with hoardes of excited rugrats. Okay I know what you are all thinking- this is all very good in a childlike way but are you perplexed why I love this place so much? Well it has something to do with the clothes. Yes it is official, I love teddy clothes. Build A Bear sells skinny teddy jeans, sparkly teddy crop tops and hello Kitty slippers. They have little teddy biker jackets, teddy stilettos,teddy shirt and ties and teddy ball gowns. The accessories are amazing too, this is like retail therapy but miniaturised. Whatever you buy for yourself, you can buy for your teddy bear. I love it! Prices vary and this can be an expensive do but its up to you how little or how much you want the experience to cost you. The cheapest bear is £9 and the price increase to £18 for a character bear. This is an interactive teddy world where children are educated on the toy making process, and because they are allowed to personalise their creations this inspires them to love and respect what they produce. These bears will not be casually thrown on the floor or forgotten.

Debenhams

Debenhams

(15 reviews)

££

Debenhams are quite a large chain of department stores in the UK, on the more affordable range…read morecompared to the likes of Harvey Nichols, and Selfridges who are more high-end, and the latter actually have one of the anchor stores in the Traffor Centre it is located in, which as I recall are three department stores being John Lewis, Selfridges and Debenhams. As mentioned, being an anchor store for the intu Trafford Centre, this branch of Debenhams is quite large, with a fragrance hall as well as a selection of both male and female clothing over the two floors. I'd also like to comment, as this is such a large store in such a busy location, I'm surprised it has only received 15 reviews, most of which being in 2009 and the most recent being in 2011, I'm not going to say all the things that have happened since then, including Gary Lineker being forced to present Match Of The Day in his underpants, following Leicester City's Premier League win, previously dubbed impossible. Moving on to my original review, this is quite a nice store, it is quite large and does look quite modern, but as you go into it, it sadly feels less modern, albeit it does have quite a nice, cool staircase towards the end of the store. Sadly, most of the clothes here just seemed poor quality, and honestly look dreadful, which proves it isn't the most fashionable place to buy clothes, unless you like to buy things which look like curtains and towels. The staff here didn't seem too friendly, they just seemed average. Overall, this store is okay, it is nothing more than that but I sadly feel it hasn't done enough to earn three stars, with one of the only positives being the size and location of the store.

I don't mind Debenhams to be honest. It's a good department store. Whenever I come here it's always…read morethe men's wear department that I visit. You'll be heading down some escalators when you come in to find it. There's loads of famous fashion names on offer, like Levi, Rip Curl and many others. It's always worth a visit as well as you sometimes find things cheaper here than in the labels' own shops. One thing I would say is that it's really difficult to find the escalator to get back up out of the basement floor! I ended up wondering around for five minutes trying to find the bloody thing!

WH Smith

WH Smith

(6 reviews)

££

An improved rating for this branch of WH Smith, it has been refurbished since my last review and…read morethe store does look a lot better on the interior, while it is still let down by high pricing and slow service including staff failing to understand how a coupon works to the point I was so close to walking away empty-handed on a recent visit, it has improved overall as a store. The overall selection is pretty good, especially considering a lack of a rival within the intu Trafford Centre for the stationary part of the business with no Ryman, Paperchase or The Works branches nearby. 3*

The thing you need to remember about WH Smith's is it's great for absolutely everything except…read morebooks. Which is ironic, considering it's partly a bookstore. Okay, I'm not being fair - that depends entirely on the kind of books you like. If it's bestsellers; chick-lit, celebrity autobiographies, those 'painful memories' stories about child abuse, some frothy comedy or a bodice-ripper, you'll be fine for books here. However if you want stationery, greeting cards, DVDs, art supplies, even toys or a vast array of niche magazines, then you'll be spoilt for choice. This Trafford Centre branch is perfect for a mid-afternoon stop-off as it has a Superdrug nearby for cheap soft drinks, and a fountain just outside to sit on the edge of to read your new magazine. And believe me, in the hectic crowded atmosphere of the Trafford Centre, it's more than necessary.

Early Learning Centre - toys - Updated May 2026

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