LF_121219

4 | December 12, 2019 | The lake forest leader NEWS
LakeForestLeaderDaily.com
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 3 days ago
Kids pick the gifts at annual holiday shop
Peter Kaspari, Editor
Andy Jackson, 7, reaches for some money to pay for a
gift he bought at the Kids Only Holiday Shop for a loved
one.
For any child, giving
them responsibility makes
them feel important.
And when you give
them the chance to choose
what gifts they want to buy
their families and friends
on their own, without any
adult influence, they will
likely take that responsibility
very seriously.
That’s what happened
at the Gorton Community
Center on Wednesday,
Dec. 4, as hundreds of
kids took part in the annual
Kids Only Holiday
Shop.
Ann Wildman, Gorton’s
director of events, said the
Kids Only Holiday Shop
has been a staple of Gorton
for about 30 years.
“It really is a chance
for the kids to surprise
their parents on Christmas
morning,” she said. “They
come knowing that it’s
really going to be a surprise
because Mom and
Dad aren’t shopping with
them.”
Accompanied by an
“elf” (actually a Gorton
staff member, volunteer or
local high school student)
the kids, shopping lists
in hand, go from table to
table to see what is being
offered and what their
family and friends would
like for the holiday.
Wildman said everything
offered at the holiday
shop is less than $10.
Vendors include local
businesses, private independent
business owners,
and other shops selling
a variety of items from
books to toys to custommade
ornaments to soaps.
One vendor even sold pet
products.
After their shopping excursion,
the kids go downstairs
where volunteers
wrap the packages for
them. Once that’s done,
they’re reunited with their
parents.
Gorton also offers an
hour set aside for children
with special needs to do
their shopping. It provides
a more quiet environment
before the shop is open to
all children.
Wildman said last year,
almost 500 kids between
the ages of 4-10 participated.
“It gives them a sense
of independence,” Wildman
said of the kids.
“They’re excited about it.
At this age, in order for
them to buy a gift, they
would have to be driven to
a store by their parent or
caretaker. This way, they
can go in safely on their
own and they can truly get
surprises for everyone.”
Throughout the day,
kids could be heard talking
about what they were
going to buy and who they
were going to buy them
for.
“Oh, I need something
for my grandpa!” one
little boy shouted as he
shopped.
“Mommy, I kind of
don’t know what to get for
everybody,” one little girl
told her mother before she
started shopping. “What
should I get for you?”
“What does Dad like
to do?” an elf chaperone
asked a girl she was shopping
with.
“Shave his beard!” the
girl replied, causing the
elf and a vendor to laugh.
Carrie Spezzano, a parent
from Lake Bluff, said
her daughter was excited
to go shopping.
“She said it made her
feel independent,” she
said. “And she said, ‘Now
I don’t have to get you
something from the dollar
section at Target and ask
you to stand over there
while I pay.’”
Cynthia McClamroch,
another parent from Lake
Bluff, said her kids look
forward to it all year.
“Just the fact they’re
on their own, able to decide
for themselves what
grandma and grandpa and
what their parents want,
what each other wants,”
she said. “It’s just so
Finn Eggers, 8 (left) listens as Kendall Davis, with Brooklyn Elves, makes suggestions
on what to buy for his family members during the Gorton Community Center’s
Kids Only Holiday Shop on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Photos by Peter Kaspari/22nd Century
Media
Peyton Thadani, 6, browses what’s available for sale at the Gorton Community Center’s
Kids Only Holiday Shop.
much fun.”
Chris Cooper, of Lake
Forest, said his kids prepare
beforehand.
“We make a list,” he
said. “They get presents
for five different people.
It makes them think about
what they like and what
they want to buy.”
Nine-year-old Dea
Yanev loved her shopping
experience and being independent.
It helps preserve the
surprise of what she’s
buying for her family.
“It’s really fun shopping
by ourselves because usually,
in stores, you have to
go with your parents,” she
said. “And then they find
out what you get them for
Christmas.”
And while she couldn’t
say in front of her mother
what she bought
her, Yanev did say she
thinks her mom will like
her gift.