My sister loved going to the Dandenong Market on the school holidays because there was so many great things to look at, and a majority of the stuff there was reasonably priced.
I gave my sister $20 for the day to spend, this teaches her to use her money wisely, and only buy something if she thinks she really needs it/wants it. I also informed her that at markets, some stalls sell the exact same thing but sometimes one stall might be cheaper, so she had to look out for that.
The first stall that grabbed her attention was a jewellery one. She picked up a pair of Hello Kitty earrings that were only $2 and said to me that she
had to have them! I told her to inspect them closely and make sure they weren't damaged. She had a look at the back and they looked a bit bent, so she put them down. She was a bit upset but I told her you have to be prepared for that when shopping at a market.
The atmosphere of the market was lovely, it wasn't too loud, and there was a bit of music playing. The only problem with the market is that it was a bit hard to walk through some aisles as a few people would just stand there and block the aisle and not even move. We managed to get through though, by being polite, and if we wanted to look at a stall, we tried not to block anyone's way.
My sister ended up purchasing an Angry Bird hat, it was only $7 and she had always wanted one. My sister said that the market was great because they sold stuff that you couldn't find at the shops, it was very unique and some things were quite cheap.
We didn't spend long at the market because its not quite as big as Caribbean Gardens, but we did end up eating some lunch in the food area just outside the market.
The market is a great place to take children and especially a great place to teach them to not always buy the first thing that they see. She ended up having a bit of left over money, but I told her to put it into her piggy bank.
Comment from the sister: "The market is now my new favourite place to go shopping. I saw so many cool toys there that I have never seen in K-mart or Target before. I want to go back and next time bring my own money".
Its a great day out, and it gives the children an excuse to buy more toys!
