The seventh annual Holiday Gift Store for Kids and Photos with Santa event is coming up Saturday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Northwestern Student Center in Alva. Members of the NWOSU Art Society (NAS) sponsor this annual event.
Angelia Case, NAS sponsor, said that the Holiday Store provides children an inexpensive and fun way to shop for loved ones, friends, teachers and even pets.
Prices on a variety of merchandise usually range from 50 cents to less than $20.
“We love seeing the children come in to shop for their loved ones,” Case said.
“We hope that by providing this store the children get to experience the thrill of ‘secretly’ buying gifts, as well learning the practical lessons of budgeting, handling money and making decisions, but most of all, the pride and joy of gift-giving.
“We welcome parents and family members to accompany their children through the store if they so choose, but if your child wants to keep your present a surprise, we’ll have club members available to help them stay within their budget,” Case said.
“Our club members and volunteers also will help get the gift items bagged and ready for giving during the holidays.”
Case said that only a few children are allowed in the store at one time to make it a positive experience for everyone.
“If you’re waiting to come into the store, take advantage of a visit with Santa Claus, who will be right next door ready to visit and take photos with kids of all ages,” Case said.
Several photos will be taken during visits with Santa and then downloaded to a laptop computer for immediate viewing, Case said. Photos can be selected, and for a flat fee of $5 for each photo, the purchaser will receive the original digital negative file(s).
“We only have one photographer, but we are planning to have more than one Santa Photo viewing station to help speed up the photo-selection process,” Case said. “Since the event is a little later this year, we encourage everyone who can to bring a jump drive to the photo shoot to receive the images right away.
Those without a jump drive will have to wait for the files to be emailed to the address they provide, but we’ll get them sent as soon as possible.
“In the past, we’ve had a handful of emails either bounce back to us with no way for us to get ahold of anyone for an alternate email address, or the messages haven’t bounced back to us leading us to believe that all is well only to find out that some never received their photos,” Case said. “If you haven’t received your photos within a week, please let us know.”
For more information about the Holiday Store, Photos with Santa, NAS in general, or if other members of clubs would like to volunteer their time to help in the store or to do activities outside the store while children are waiting, please contact Case at (580) 327-8577 or arcase@nwosu.edu.