FRANKLIN, Ind. — Abby Robertson is a Franklin mom who loves creating unique learning experiences for children.
Five years ago, she started making Christmas Eve activity boxes for her nieces and nephews.
Last year, she started selling her Kringle Krates online. And this year, her tiny side business which she runs out of her own kitchen, is taking off faster than Rudolph on Christmas Eve.
“Christmas Eve boxes aren't necessarily new,” Robertson said. “I'm definitely not the inventor of the Christmas Eve box. That's something that families have been doing for probably decades at this point. What I did is put my own spin on it and made it all activity-based. So that way, kids are doing activities, and they aren’t focusing so much on the materialism of the season.”
Not only do these Kringle Krates keep kids busy, the new scavenger hunt game actually teaches them to do chores!
“With the Christmas Eve scavenger hunt, as a mom, I intentionally put in there that the kids also have to clean their room, pick up their toys, take a bath, put on their Christmas pajamas and go to bed on time," Robertson said.
But there’s also fun (and sweets!) in these Christmas Eve boxes.
“Your children get to do all traditional fun activities that we know and love,” Robertson said. “Baking cookies for Santa and sprinkling reindeer food and putting out a Santa key if you don't have a chimney. It’s just great for kids because it adds so much magic back into the season. It's great for parents because the games add structure, and it's activity-based. It’s not just another present under the tree. There's actually activities to keep those young brains kind of working and working on those fine motor skills.”
Robertson said sales goals were modest last year. But this year, she’s got North Pole numbers in mind.
“This is not a get rich scheme, and this doesn't pay my mortgage,” Robertson said. “This is what my husband likes to lovingly call a ‘very expensive hobby!' Last year, we sold 75 boxes. This year, we're going try to sell 200 boxes.”
Each one of Robertson's Kringle Krates features six holiday-themed activities for your little one, along with a bunch of sweet goodies.
She even has Kringle Krates for your pets!
The boxes run $45 a piece, and if you want your Kringle Krate delivered by Christmas Eve, you need to order by Dec. 14.