Going to Cabot Circus on the Friday before Christmas was certainly not my idea of fun. And I was not there for last-minute Christmas buying; instead, I had last-minute kids birthday presents to buy.

Parking at the Galleries at about 4pm, it was surprisingly easy to find a space. And, while the Galleries wasn’t too full either, by the time I got outside, Broadmead was packed with people.

Walking down towards Cabot Circus, the area with the Christmas market was full with people looking at the stalls or grabbing something to drink or eat. I tried to get through the crowd as quickly as I could, by this point dreading how busy my first stop might be: Lush.

While I had the usual lovely service from a staff member at Lush, I had my first long queue of the evening in the store. This was my first hint at this bit of shopping having to take longer than I expected.

My Lego store purchases for a two-year-old

I then popped into the Lego store – a first, what a great shop; can’t wait for my child to get older – and Foyles to grab a book. These two shops were also crowded, but thankfully not to the level of Lush.

Feeling a bit more confident after these last two stops, I then made the mistake of attempting Primark to grab some cheap black heels for New Year. As usual, Primark delivered and I was able to find a pair of heels for the bargain price of £7, as well as a small black bag for £4.

My cheap heels from Primark

Pleased with what I had found, I then headed towards the queue area when my heart sank. The queue on the middle floor was massive, and the one on ground floor was even longer.

Despite most of the tills being open, I ended up queueing for more than 20 minutes and I left Primark feeling ready to run from the city centre.

It was lovely to see the city centre so busy but I have to admit I was surprised by this. And, speaking to colleagues who went to Cribbs Causeway over the weekend, it seems the Mall was rammed (thankfully I didn’t have to go there).

In the age of online shopping, we are told everyone is getting their presents online. However, it seems that is not the case fully just yet – thankfully.