Holiday shopping made fun and cheap at Gem County Recovery Center’s Candy Cane Lane

EMMETT, IDAHO — On Saturday, the Gem County Recovery Center is inviting kids to spend $5 to shop for four friends or family members and learn how to wrap and shop for gifts on their own.

• The doors will open at 10 am and stay open until the presents are sold out.
• It is $5 per shopper.
• The event will be at the Gem County Community Senior Center.

(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

Shopping for the holidays can be stressful, not to mention a little pricey. That’s why the Emmett Recovery Center is hosting their Candy Cane Lane this Saturday. It’s a fun, price-friendly option for kids and adults to get their holiday shopping done, all of while supporting a good cause. I’m your Emmett neighborhood reporter, Alexander Huddleston, speaking with an organizer about this holiday-inspired event.

“Everyone is invited. Everyone is invited who wants to participate,” exclaimed Director Stacey Rosecrans. A few weeks after serving up free Thanksgiving meals to members of the community, the Gem County Recovery Center is once again getting into the holiday spirit.

Rosecrans pointed to the gift-laden room saying, “It’s got blow-ups and toys, and it just looks like the North Pole blew up in here.”

This time, Santa will stop by and the volunteers (or elves) will help kids and families complete their holiday shopping.

“Mom and Dad will give us the shopper’s name, and they can write down four people they are shopping for and their ages. We set up different shops and put gifts in them [for each of] the children’s ages. An elf takes the child into the little shops to shop, takes them to the wrapping table, [and] then they go back to their parents, have some hot chocolate and cookies.” explained Rosecrans.

Thanks to grant money and donations from local businesses, Rosecrans says they got good deals on the gifts, allowing shoppers to browse for just five dollars per person.

Rosecrans smiled saying, “They are doing at least 25 dollars of shopping.”

When the kids are shopping, Rosecrans explained that unless support is absolutely needed, it is important that the children go in alone.

“We want to build up their understanding and self-confidence that they can do this. They can come in here and make Christmas for their family. They can be a big part of everything that happens in their community. Those are things that make memories, and we want to make memories for those in our community, and we want to connect with them in any way we can,” finished Rosecrans.

Doors will open at 10 am and will stay open until they run out of presents!