The room designated as the Parent Center at White County Central High School had a very specific purpose this past week. For five days, students from the district’s elementary school had a chance to shop for friends and family at the annual Christmas shop hosted by the PTO.
As third-graders perused the items spread across several tables Wednesday afternoon, one girl leaned forward to pose a question to her friend, who was already looking at gifts on the next table. In an effort to sound nonchalant, she asked what her friend’s birth month is. It was not hard to guess that she was planning to purchase a birthstone ring for that friend — especially considering that she was standing in front of the foam display containing 12 rows of gemstone jewelry.
Across the room, two boys were looking at gifts for their parents. One rushed back and forth from table to table, changing out items as he calculated how much he was spending. His friend did not pick much out, and the other boy soon noticed his friend’s hesitation. He walked over and quietly whispered, “If you want to get that for your mom, I can give you some more,” as he discreetly held out a few bills.
After 30 minutes of shopping, the children were ready to go back to class. They chattered about what they had purchased and seemed excited to hand out their gifts, even though Christmas was still more than two weeks away. One girl held out one of the popular birthstone rings in triumph, rapidly talking about how her mother was going to love it. When asked what month her mother was born in, she took out an envelope that had held her money, where she referenced a graph she had made prior to her shopping excursion.
“Um, I don’t know what month, but it is pink,” she said, pointing to the word “Pink” under the column for “Mom.”
“She said these were really expensive, but they really weren’t!” the girl said.
Sara Moffett, who started the Christmas shop in the White County Central School District five years ago, said most of the gifts purchased at the shop will not remain secrets until Christmas Day.
“A couple moms I saw had posted pictures on Facebook of little coffee mugs this week already that their kids brought home,” she said. “One said she thought it was sweet that they thought of her when they were shopping. I’ve only heard good things.”
Moffett was looking for a way to get involved when her daughter started kindergarten five years ago. White County Central Schools did not have a PTO at the time, so she took action and started the organization herself. In that same year, she and other PTO volunteers decided to start the Christmas shop for the elementary-school students.
“We send notes and budget envelopes a couple weeks in advance,” she said. “The notes explain to parents that we have gifts for family members, friends, dogs — whomever they want to shop for. It gives parents a chance to talk about how much the kids should spend on people — $2 for brother — and stuff like that.”
In the classrooms, some teachers take an opportunity to talk about money, math and budgets before their students head to the shop. Moffett said this can be a great learning tool, and she and the other volunteers help the younger students who might be confused or overwhelmed while shopping.
“It’s a good time to talk about how much you have if you have two nickels, and that sort of thing,” she said. “Most of the littler ones come in with, for example, $10 and have no clue what they can get. The teachers try to talk to them before, and we do, too, when we’re working with them.”
The items come from a company called Jenny’s Penguin Patch Kids’ Holiday Shop, which is owned and operated by a former PTO president. The company sends inventory for the shop based on the individual school’s preferences. After the school’s shop closes, the school volunteers will package up any remaining merchandise and report how much money was collected from the shop. The school’s PTO then keeps 20 percent of the earnings and returns the leftover items with the other 80 percent as payment.
“They’re really good about working with us if an item is broken or something,” Moffett said. “It’s pretty easy.”
Moffett said it has been great to see how excited students get every year when it is time for the Christmas shop. They come in with their lists and have fun looking for gifts for their friends and families. She said parents have told her their children do extra chores to earn money for the shop, and it is not unusual to see students helping each other in choosing — or even paying for — gifts.
“It teaches them to share and care,” she said. “It’s so sweet to see those things happen.”
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.