From tots’ parties to teens, this Yorkshire shopping centre is an unlikely yet ideal multipurpose venue for your next party.
Each corner of The Ridings Shopping Centre in Wakefield is unique from the rooftop allotments to the 80s style Zone breakout play area and the food court adjacent to Rainbow Playrooms as well as the tree bar, there’s nowhere quite as diverse as this shopping centre.
Before recently I hadn’t seen it that way as it’s always my go-to shopping and community centre as well as the location of our office.
But when we were stuck for venues to hold my daughter’s Stranger Things themed party, I remembered the delicious-looking waffles I’d seen being freshly made at Oishi inside The Ridings and reimagined the whole space.
Waffles of course play a big feature in the Netflix series. And I’d already devoured waffles previously at RubyLous but this would be my first time having bubble waffles.
My daughter’s party fell on the same day as the Vegan Fayre and Antiques and Collectibles fair so we decided to coincide the activities with this.
Everyone met at Oishi for instagrammable sodas and bubble waffles while they did a Stranger Things quiz.
Then everyone was put in pairs and given the challenge to spend £10 per team in a competition to who bought the best goods from the fairs.
We then all met in The Zone which is 80s style with seating, a swap shop and plenty of space for a party.
We decorated the space stranger things style, brought a speaker and had an epic time playing party games.
The best thing was that if we realised we’d forgotten something or ran out of anything one of the adults could just grab what we needed from a nearby shop.
If we’d had time we would have gone to The Reel Cinema to watch a film and enjoy Haribo pick and mix as well as a tango ice slush.
My daughter and her friends had the best time. And if your little ones are younger there is of course Rainbow Playrooms too.
Sophie Mei Lan
