For the third year in a row, the Killam Twice Nice store has hosted a shopping night for children so that they have an opportunity they might not otherwise have to purchase a gift for their family members.
On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 10, over 50 children took the opportunity to shop for gifts for Mom (or Dad, or grandparents….)
Twice Nice volunteer Jacquie Bonnett says, “The first year we had it just as a trial and it wasn’t as successful that year, but we tweaked some things and tried it again for a second year, and last year it was a very good success, with around 30 children.”
Heading into the 2024 event, Twice Nice Volunteers start putting donated items away early in the year.
“Occasionally we get brand new items still in their original boxes, and we set those aside for this night.” She says Christmas decor is also popular with the pint-sized shoppers, as well as books.
Bonnett says each child that comes into the store during the event receives $5 in Twice Nice money (Monopoly money) to spend. They are free to spend more, if they want, but that’s enough to purchase nearly anything in the store.
Parents can come in to accompany the children but are not allowed to shop that night.
Volunteer ‘personal shoppers’ are on hand to help the children make their selections, too. Bonnett says it’s a very popular event with the volunteers, who go away feeling as happy as the kids.
There’s a lot of prep work that goes into a night like this, with volunteers showing up as soon as the store closed on Tuesday, and working to transform the stock with all the items they’ve been saving.
Bonnett says the event is offered as a service to the community, adding, “And we mean the entire Flagstaff Community.”
She says probably a majority of the children were from Killam but that a few were from other communities, too.
Once each shopper found the perfect gift, they also received free gift-wrapping with a Christmas bag or box.
Bonnett says most everything used came from donated gift-bags or wrap.
“And we have such wonderful volunteers,” Bonnett says. “They put in a lot of hours, including a lot of after-hours time getting the store ready.
“We’re so blessed with good people working and donating their gently used items.”
She says one day while the store was open the outdoor bins were emptied 10 times as donations kept rolling in.
After such a big success this year, she says the shopping night will definitely be back next Christmas.
“We’ve already received some really great feedback from this week’s shopping event.”
Twice Nice also donates free swims at the Killam Pool at various times during the year.
The organizations also supports a family sports fund through Flagstaff Family and Community Services to help kids cover the costs of dues and equipment necessary to play sports in the region.
Leslie Cholowsky
Editor