Each holiday season, the Crisis Nursery organizes a holiday children’s shop. The children’s shop gives kids the opportunity to shop for gifts for their parents without their parents knowing what it is they picked out and bought. I am going to run through the entire experience and what I thought about it.
The event takes place at the Orpheum Theater north of downtown Champaign.
First of all, my kids really enjoyed it. I took 3 kids there: my 16 year old son and my 8 year old boy and girl twins. The event is much more geared towards younger kids picking out gifts for their parents. My 16 year old wasn’t impressed by the selection and got ‘anxious’ when he didn’t see anything suited for his mom.
In that sense, 16 years old is old enough to get something on his own, anyways. So keep this event in mind for younger kids. Maybe below 10 or 12 or something.
That said, my 8 year olds really enjoyed it. You walk in and are immediately welcomed by volunteers at a desk. They explain the process and give you a short form to fill out on a small clip board. The kids get to fill out whom they are buying gifts for. You can use cash or card and set a spending budget.
Most gifts are priced between $5-$15. I set each of my kids’ budget at $20 for me and mom, and I gave them cash. They took the cash and clipped it to the clipboard.
There’s also Santa there, so you can get pictures with Santa, too!! Which is a huge plus, but there are other places to get pictures with Santa, including at the Mistletoe Market in Urbana.
We next went to a table where the kids got paired with ‘buddies’ that would help them shop. If you have multiple kids, I recommend getting different buddies for the kids. The way they separate the child from the parent is this: there are 2 sticks with different colors, designs, and numbers. The child takes one stick and the parent takes the other so they can be paired up when the kid is finished shopping. It’s a safe way to make sure the kids are going to the right adult.
From there, I went to the ‘parent’s lounge’, where I sat for about 10-15 minutes waiting for my kids and eating a snack they had complimentary. There were couches and tables.
My kids came in and they had a great time. The gifts are ‘wrapped’ in a plastic bag that looks like wrapping paper, but isn’t actually wrapping paper.
When we got home, my kids wanted me to open the gifts. So I got an ornament that said ‘Dad’ on it, and a sign that said ‘World’s Best Dad’.
So my conclusion is this: it’s not about the gifts. It’s about the experience of giving for your kids. If you are expecting amazing gifts from your kids, you’ll be disappointed. What’s really great about this is the experience of doing some gift planning, budgeting, and shopping independently.