Holiday House experience debuts at Wilkinson Elementary this week

SARASOTA — A beloved holiday tradition for students at Southside Elementary School, the Holiday House, returns this week with an expansion to a local Title 1 school in the Sarasota County School District during the season of giving.

Holiday House is an interactive holiday experience that provides “shopping” opportunities for students. After transforming a portion of the school into a Christmas village, students are allowed to select up to five gifts for themselves and their family members.

Students also enjoy holiday crafts, games, themed snacks, and backpack giveaways filled with nutritious meals. The experience was created by members of the Southside Elementary PTO over a decade ago and expanded to Emma E. Booker Elementary in 2021, organizer Sepi Ackerman said. This year, a third Holiday House will debut at Wilkinson Elementary, one of 16 Title I schools in the district. Title 1 schools are federally funded schools and programs and are identified as having a high percentage of low-income families or free and reduced students.

From Dec. 7 -9, volunteers at Booker, Southside, and, now Wilkinson will transform the schools into a memorable holiday experience for students. Holiday House co-chairs Ackerman and Jenny Infanti are excited about the expansion of the project and for the students and families it benefits.

“For me, it's been really beautiful to see that it's spreading through the community, and we were able to inspire that movement for the holidays,” Ackerman said.

The collaboration between interfaith mothers during the holiday season demonstrates the organization's commitment to educational justice and equity in the community, Temple Emanu-El's Rabbi Elaine Glickman said.

Holiday House, which is mostly funded by donors from Temple Emanu-El, Southside’s PTO, and community members, is no small feat though, organizers said.

“It takes a lot of work, giving each student five gifts for them and their family; we’re shopping for over 2,500 items,” Ackerman said. “We shop for pets, grandparents, siblings, mom, and dad, so we really have to be organized in order to pick the right gifts for the whole family.”

Preparation for Holiday House is also a heavy lift.

The multi-space experience is set up simultaneously at each school. Approximately 500 kids at each school attend Holiday House over a three-day period and elementary school students require patience and activities.

“It is an experience, and we don’t want everyone to feel rushed so even as they are waiting for their turns to enter into the shopping space, we have activities that keep the wait magical, too,” Ackerman said.

Students can participate in holiday crafts, Christmas cookie decorating, a holiday read-aloud, or eat holiday-themed treats until it is their turn to shop.

Another 3,000 arts and crafts and holiday items are available for the students in addition to their take-home gifts. Volunteers help students wrap or decorate presents for their families and All Faiths Food Bank provides students identified through the school district's free and reduced meal plan at the schools with additional food for the holidays.

Infanti, who co-chaired Southside with Ackerman in 2021, will lead 12 volunteers each day of the experience at the Booker Holiday House this year.

“We wanted to do it at another school that didn’t have a PTO. We are really excited more kids will have access to it and show them the season is about giving as well as receiving,”  she said.

Members of Temple Emanu-El have supported the launch of Wilkinson's Holiday House. Donations of up to $2,500 have been collected to help furnish gifts and needs for Wilkinson students this week.

“We have incredibly generous donors who have given money and gifts for students, but we also provide staff at these schools with lunch during the experience as well. They don’t always get that kind of support at schools like Booker and Wilkinson,” Infanti said.

She said the donors and volunteers also benefit. "You get the chance to really see the smiles on these kids' faces, and their family's faces,” Infanti said. "It’s a wonderful tradition and we are excited that it is growing.”

Holiday House locations at Booker and Wilkinson are accepting volunteers to help children shop, participate in crafts, and read aloud during the event. To register, visit the Sign-up genius registration online and select a time slot to volunteer at one of this year's Holiday Houses.

Samantha Gholar covers social justice news for the Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at sgholar@gannett.com or on Twitter: @samanthagholar

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Gifts, crafts, and more await Wilkinson students at Holiday House