Holiday Shoppe Offers Safe, Fun Way for D158 Kids to Buy Gifts

District 158 children will get the chance to do a little holiday shopping of their own this weekend. 

The Holiday Shoppe will open at Chesak 10910 Reed Road in Lake in the Hills, Friday night and Saturday morning. The shop not only provides a safe environment for kids to peruse gifts without mom and dad peaking in on their purchases but it also teaches them the importance of budgeting, according to a Holiday Shoppe flier. 

"This is the 2nd Annual Holiday Shoppe the Chesak/ Martin PTA is running," said Dana Wiley, family events coordinator for the Chesak/ Martin PTA, in an e-mail. "It was such a huge success last winter that we decided to bring it back this year for the children to enjoy." 

The Holiday Shoppe will be set up at Chesak Elementary School, room 411, and will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Over 100 different gifts — including coffee mugs, dog toys, pens, costume jewelery and more — will be available for kids to purchase. Prices range from 25 cents to $12. Sixty percent of the items in the store are $3 or less. 

"The items offered are hand-selected based on quality and functionality," according to the press release. "It is so much fun for the children to proudly shop on their own for their families at prices they can afford."

When children arrive at the Holiday Shoppe, they will be escorted around by their own "personal shopper" while mom and dad wait in the holiday waiting room set up for the event. Personal shoppers are Chesak/Martin PTA members who will volunteer their time to help out at the Holiday Shoppe. 

"The event is open to all students and children in D158. We have volunteers ready to help our youngest shoppers with selecting just the right gifts within the budget provided by the parent," Wiley said. 

Only cash is accepted at the Holiday Shoppe.

Before coming in, children are encouraged to fill out a Holiday Shoppe Gift List, which allows them to budget for how much they would like to spend for those they are shopping for. A spreadsheet of the budget can be found here.