You might wonder what a post about shopping with your teenager has to do with an interiors blog. Well, shopping, for children, usually starts with them having a sense of style. They find out whas clothes they love & accessories and then move onto interiors when they have their own space.

One of my daughters just turned 15 and wasn't sure what to get for her birthday. We decided on a shopping trip to London to visit some shops we don't have in York.

So we headed down to London for a day trip on Saturday armed with a budget that I revealed on the train. It was one of those perfect lovely days, a time to catch up, just be the two of us, and to have fun.

We headed off to Covent Garden and to one of her favourite stores Brandy Melville. I waited near the changing rooms where mums or siblings, and the occasional dad, were sitting to see the new outfits.

I love that my daughter has her own style (Very different to my own. She would be happy for this comment!) and I want to encourage that. On that trip, I realised I actually knew her more than I thought.

I also planned a little surprise. A few weeks before, she mentioned she wanted a giant doughnut birthday cake and in my search for one I found out that Doughnut Time on Shaftesbury Avenue was doing some courses. So after lunch and a bit of shopping, we went there and decorated eight doughnuts each. (That was a lot, there was a family who ended up with 32!). We had a huge choice of glazings, fillings and sweets and sprinkles to decorate them.

We then did a bit more shopping before going back home. My memories of this day are super special- it's a time where we were just the two of us and my attention. I was so proud to see that she had become a beautiful responsible girl with a sense of fun and discovery.

Here are my five tips to make the day super special.

1. Plan a little what are you going to do but also leave time for just walking around and discovering new things together.
2. Organise a little surprise or something slightly unexpected and start talking about it a little before to create excitement.
3. Note that this day is for your daughter, so be fully present when she’s trying clothes on when she’s talking to you and don’t take phone calls, just be there for her.
4. Remember to take a few pictures together because you can both cherish them later.
5. Give a budget and stick to it. This will actually teach them money management, how to buy and plan what they’re going to use and not use. It also teaches decision making.

Fun shops for teenage girls: Brandy Melville, Urban Outfitters, Pull & Bear, Hollister and Top Shop.

Fun food places : we had a pastrami sandwich and a potatoe and parma ham sandwich at Fabrique in Covent Garden, sweets from Hardys and Doughnuts at Doughnuts Time and a smoothie at the Mayfair Juicery.