Kid’s Club Churns Up Interest for California Retailer

When the children start having fun, everyone starts having fun. That’s what the team at Woodcrest Ace Hardware in Riverside, California, discovered when they started their Kid’s Club event as a way of getting local children, and their parents, into the store.

Kid’s Club happens on the last Saturday of every month at both Woodcrest Ace Hardware and its sister store under the same owner, Wildomar Ace Hardware, located in Wildomar, California. When it’s time for an event, staff set up a tent in the parking lot and guide participating children through an activity, which usually involves taking a project found in the store to create something fun they can take home.

This past summer, for example, children made marshmallow shooters out of PVC pipe and there was a special appearance by Buzz Lightyear, from the popular Toy Story movie. In November, children got to churn their own butter using canning jars from the store’s housewares department.

“I found the butter idea on Pinterest,” says Kassandra Wachtel, marketing manager for the stores. “The project was simple. We combined heavy cream and salt in a jar, along with some marbles to help do the mixing. The kids had to shake for five minutes, and then they had butter to take home for Thanksgiving.”

For the Halloween party, children made slime using laundry detergent from the store’s housewares department. At Christmas, children had breakfast with Santa and made Christmas tree ornaments out of paint brushes. At another event, Kid’s Club attendees made wind chimes using various hardware items throughout the store.

Sometimes, Watchtel will combine the Kid’s Club with activities for the adults. For example, the Fall Festival event combines a classic car show in the fall with trick-or-treating for children. She does most of the advertising for store events through e-mail, Facebook and community bulletin boards.

Besides giving children an opportunity to have fun and getting parents into the store, the Kid’s Club events create a connection to the community, an important part of the culture at the company.

They also partnered with local organizations such as the FFA and Boy Scouts to help with some of the events. At one of the events, the members of the FFA brought in live animals for a petting zoo for the Kid’s Club.

After starting at the Woodcrest Ace location eight years ago, Watchtel now holds the Club at both locations, and attendance continues to grow.

“We started with just a few kids the first few years, but now we average about 25 every month,” she says. “At our recent fall festival, we had 60 kids show up.”