With less than 24 hours to go, Santa's little helpers will be rushing around making last-minute purchases to be left under the tree

Bluewater has been buzzing for weeks with plenty of shoppers picking up something for that special someone.

For some, the eleventh-hour trip to the shopping centre in Greenhithe has become as much of a tradition as leaving carrots out for the reindeer.

But the choice of shops has changed drastically.

Of the 263 shops and restaurants that opened in 2000 just over a quarter of the originals are still there today but many have gone to retail heaven.

Many new shops have appeared and disappeared in the past 23 years.

One of them is Mothercare. It was a one-stop shop for expectant mothers to stock up on everything they needed for their new arrival. It was also the ideal place to grab a gift for parents before the American idea of baby showers was even a thing in the UK.

But this disappeared from Bluewater, and all high streets, in November 2019 after the mega chain announced all its stores were to be closed as the firm slumped into administration.

Swanscombe Councillor Emma Ben Moussa used to love it there.

“I used to go to Mothercare quite often as it was better to test prams rather than buying online.

“It felt better to be able to see how it fit together rather than panic when the baby came along. It was also a great place to buy presents for new mums and babies as we trusted the brand.”

Greenhithe resident Clare Flynn agreed: “Mothercare had the little bird range which I loved dressing my babies in. It was also where I got our first pram and our kids’ hands cast.

“It was such a shame that went.”

It was a sad day for youngsters when The Disney Store closed for the final time in September 2021.

Leanne Freeman worked there for 10 years and was on shift when the shutters went down for the last time.

“They were the best 10 years of my life working in Disney,” she said. “ My most sentimental memory must be closing day with the special video and the crowd applauding as the shutters went down for the final time in front of many of the original ‘cast members’.

“Another good one was the launch of Frozen. I’ve never seen so many people and daughters and sons in the shop at one time.

“The queue was over an hour but people were just singing ‘Let it go’.”

Shopper Clare Flynn used to love visiting the store as a child and then again with her own daughter.

“The Disney shop was where I went when I was a child and I got a new Disney dress every Christmas,” she remembered. “

“I did the same with my little girl. Every visit to Bluewater had to involve Disney.”

While dad Lee Cooper remembered taking his daughter to the store every Christmas for a decade-long tradition.

“There was no better Christmas joy than seeing my youngest daughter select a teddy from the giant teddy mountain,” he said.

“This was a yearly treat for nearly 10 years.”

The closure was part of a wider decision to shut every store except the company’s flagship Oxford Street unit in London and led to the launch of a national petition by Disney fan Sam Cummins to keep the stores open, which was signed by more than 17,000 people.

The petition stated: "These stores are our gateway to the magical world of Disney. It allows the people of the UK to experience the Disney magic first hand."

The store wasn’t the only place film lovers flocked too. The Warner Bros Studio Store had everything a Harry Potter fan could ever wish for, from board games to pens.

Greenhithe resident Joanne Grace was a regular visitor. She said: “I loved getting Harry Potter bits from Warner Brothers rather than having to order stuff online.”

Currys PC World was a popular electrical store and the go-to place if you needed to purchase phones, TVs or computers.

The store shut its doors in January 2019 when the company's lease ended and all employees were offered redeployment locally, with the closest store being Crayford.

Greenhithe Councillor Cally Gale misses the ease of popping to the electrical store down the road.

She said: “It’s such a pain having to drive to Aylesford where they have a big store or over the river incurring the Dart Charge and the obligatory traffic jam.

“If you're going to spend a lot of money on white goods then it’s always best you see a selection first before making your mind up and that was the perfect place to go.”

As a young girl Bluewater was the perfect place to shop ‘til you dropped in the hunt for a going-out outfit, as the centre played host to a plethora of clothes stores for any budget.

But over the years the likes of Morgan, Wallis, Warehouse, Tammy, Jane Norman, and Karen Millen have quietly disappeared from the various sides of the retail triangle. Even the legendary Topshop has said goodbye.

The closure of Topshop and Miss Selfridge came at the beginning of 2021 when online retailer Asos completed a £265 million deal to buy some of the nation's best known fashion outlets – all of which were previously part of Sir Philip Green's once all-mighty Arcadia Group.

Swanscombe resident Mina Teninch remembered regular trips to Warehouse and Oasis.

“I shopped at both since they first opened on high streets in the UK,” she said. “I loved them. They were my go-to places for clothes, especially for going out outfits.”

While Jess Rayfield loved children’s clothing retailer Adams, with its memorable hissing snake protruding from the storefront.

“I always remember shopping in there as a kid,” she said.

Other Arcadia Group stores which were also lost from the centre when the company entered administration at the end of 2020 were Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis.

In 2018 Berketex Bride ceased trading after 50 years of business leaving blushing brides-to-be forced to find alternative places to find that dream dress.

Lynda Ferrari remembers her son working at Free Spirit, a shop that sold skiing and skateboarding clothing when the mall first opened.

“It had a waterfall in the shop and a wall with all the skateboards on display,” she said. “He loved it.”

Designer-filled store Choice was in place long before branded clothing company SuperDry came along to replace it.

‘People were just singing ‘Let it go’’

Shopper Emma Price remembered.

“I had all the designer labels. I loved their sales after Xmas. I got myself a small DKNY bag and an ink and paint jacket with the rhinestone Mickey Mouse on for under £50. That must have been nearly 20 years ago.”

Homeware store The Pier was a firm favourite for residents to furnish their homes, stocking everything from kitchenware and candles to textiles and furniture.

While Adam Freed remembers regular visits to scale modeling shop Modelzone when he was little.

“I used to get all my model cars from there as a child,” he said.

Administrators announced that the company would cease independent trading in September 2013 and all 18 shops would be closing.

Swanscombe resident Wendy Chucki has fond memories of spending quality time with her daughter Emily browsing the aisles in Crafty Arts.

“It was a lovely little craft shop,” she recalled.

“You could get bargains and spend hours just looking through everything.

“My daughter used to pick out gel pens in there when they first came about, especially the scented ones.

“It was a mum-daughter treat day to have a look in there then Virgin for DVDs and into the food hall for lunch.”

Fellow mum Nic Robinson, from Cobham Terrace, Greenhithe remembered regular trips to luxury tea and coffee shop Whittards.

“I used to like buying tablewear from Whittards,” she said. “I used the hand painted plates and bowls for my kids birthday parties for a lot of years.”

Serendipity, which sold a range of crystals, jewellery, dreamcatchers, windchimes and all sorts of other gifts has also left the centre.

The Gadget Shop was the ideal place to grab a present for that hard-to-buy for relative or stock up on stocking fillers with its variety of novelty gadgets. But the chain went into administration in 2005, and subsequently closed all its stores.

American diner Ed’s Easy Diner, which had been at Bluewater since the centre first opened, underwent a reinvention in January 2020 and relaunched as Slim Chickens the following month.

Other restaurants to fall by the wayside over the years include French eatery Mise En Place, Ponti’s, an English restaurant which looked out over the food court, Cafe Giardino, Bradwells, Planet, Italian restaurant Villa Pizza and potato specialists Spud U Like.

Greenhithe residents Faye Gonella remembers working her first job at Bitz and Pizza.

“It was great,” she said. “You’d get to take a free pizza home at the end of every shift.”

James Waugh, Centre Director at Bluewater, said: “We’re proud to say that over a quarter of stores that were at Bluewater on its first day in 1999, are still trading on-site today, showing that both brands and customers still value the in-person shopping experience. Whilst shopping habits have definitely evolved since the nineties, our stores here at Bluewater remain front and centre for product guidance and expertise, customer services and brand awareness.

“The British retail landscape has changed dramatically since 1999, but Bluewater has managed to stay responsive to trends and emerging brands, with the Sidemen clothing store being a prime example of this new approach to retail.

“Brands are responding to evolving shopping habits by focusing on high performing spaces in flagship, catchment-dominant destinations; spaces like Bluewater that meet shoppers where they are and guarantee a combination of footfall and brand awareness that delivers sales both on and off-line.

“People are also choosing the very best locations to spend their time and money, prioritising locations which offer them a range of experiences – from great restaurants to unique leisure concepts, such as Hangloose at Bluewater.”

Other stores that have quietly moved out of the shopping haven include high-end ladies' fashion store Jaeger, sports giant Reebok, Calvin Klein Jeans, boys fashion shops Boys Base, men’s clothing store Blue Inc and Austin Reed as well as some of the more niche outlets that started at the centre including Air Born Kites, Air Land and Sea, Club Golf, surfboard and skateboard specialists Blue Tomato, skincare specialists Crabtree & Evelyn and household furnishings giant Habitat and The Pier.