Instead of Shoppertainment

Ever heard of “Shoppertainment”? No? Well it’s when people are bored and choose shopping as their entertainment. Up until recently I believed this term to be mainly an American trend; however I’m beginning to think we are exactly the same. Being that I visit a large shopping mall about once every five years I am able to notice the difference in the amount of people shopping from one time to the next. The last time I went to a Westfield I was shocked given that Australians are forever being told that our retail sector is struggling, the place was absolutely packed!

The question I ask myself every time I go to a large shopping mall is “Why are all these people (and their families) here?”. They are there for shoppertainment. I’d rather eat fried toad than go to a large shopping mall every weekend. But apart from eating fried toad here are some other things we prefer doing over hangin' out at the mall.

Walk the dog

Go on a picnic with family or friends

Go for a hike

Go fishing

Batch cook dinner – for the nights where there is little time

Batch bake – for when unexpected guests pop over

Read a book

Gardening

Go for a run

Work on my blog

Build lego with the kids

Take the kids to the playground or bike park

Finish that job you never have time to finish

Have people over for a potluck dinner or just nibbles and a nice chat

Meditate

Play board games

Visit the museum or art gallery

Visit the library – free books people!

Visit a friend or elderly relative

Create a vegetable garden

Make terrariums or another crafty project

Help out a friend or family member in need

Yoga

Declutter

Clean the house

And there are thousands of other things we can all be doing rather than just being another mindless consumer and teaching our children to also be mindless consumers.

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