Christmas in Kildare
It was a buswoman’s holiday for me this Saturday (1st December), as I joined the Shopping Pilgrimage to Kildare Village!
I boarded the coach at Mallusk as it’s the first pick up point and I wanted to have the first pick of the seats on the coach. It was an early start at Mallusk at 8am in the pitch black, but we were excited about the day ahead! My daughters came along for the day out with one thing on their mind – Jack Wills!
Next stop was Glengall Street, where most people got onto the coach, and then Sprucefield where my Mum boarded. We find that lots of people who book the trip with us and have more than 2 in their party, tend to have people within their group at different stops, and that’s totally fine! As long as we know that there are multiple people from one group at different stops, we can ensure that if we have more than one coach going that you are all on the same coach.
We stopped at the AppleGreen at Lusk for a comfort break, which was handy for grabbing a Coffee to go. After 10 mins we were back on board and headed for Kildare. It’s a long journey, but as the group of savvy shoppers on our coach set eyes on Kildare Village at the side of the N7, we all broke into a round of applause!
When we arrived, the lovely concierge came onboard our coach and issued us all with VIP Cards, and advised that we could also have handsfree shopping! The discount cards gave us 10% off in all restaurants, and extra discount in most stores where the items weren’t already heavily discounted.
We went straight to lunch in Dunne & Crescenzi, L’Officina. It’s a lovely bright airy restaurant with what I would call Irish/Italian style food. We enjoyed a gourmet burger with rosemary potatoes, a ham and cheese panini with minestrone soup, and 2 portions of Penne Pasta with Prawns. We had 3 soft drinks and a large glass of wine and the bill was just over 60 euros. There is another restaurant on site, Le Pain Quotidien (I’ve eaten there on previous trips), and it is delicious, but Dunne & Crescenzi, L’Officina is a bit more suitable for the kids. Friends of mine who have been down before have also recommended going into Kildare Town Centre where there are a few small pubs which also offer lovely pub grub.
The shopping marathon then began, and Kildare Village did not disappoint!! Our favourites were Molton Brown, Le Creuset, Under Armour, Mint Velvet, Pandora, Cath Kidston, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Lily O’Briens, and of course, the much-anticipated Jack Wills!
The amount of discount on items varied, but we found them fantastic overall! Ralph Lauren Men’s polo’s that retail in department stores in Belfast from £79, were 49 euro, with a further 10% discount with our VIP card, so almost half price. Our bargains of the day were two ladies winter coats in Jack Wills which were 60 euros each. We can’t be sure, but they wouldn’t look out of place in a Jack Wills store for around £160!
The general feel of Kildare Village is beautiful. It is so clean, and beautifully laid out, and totally accessible for anyone with mobility issues as it’s all on one level. The Christmas decorations were stunning, but having been there multiple times, I love it all year round!
We’ve got one more Christmas Shopping trip this year on Saturday 8th December, and they restart on 30th March 2019. All dates throughout 2019 are now available to book via any of our “Book Now” buttons.
Caroline