Santa, the Grinch, Elusive Elves and More: How Exchanges Worldwide Make the Holidays Fun
At the Kaiserlautern Military Community Exchange, Kaiser the Elf is a holiday star.
Every year, the KMCC Exchange team hides the stuffed elf in the mall, challenging shoppers to find him and post a selfie with him on the Ramstein/KMCC Exchange Facebook page. Finding him isn’t easy—this is the world’s largest Exchange. But some families make a day of the hunt, spending hours looking for the elf.
The first person to post a correct selfie—not everyone finds the right elf—wins a prize. Then Kaiser goes off to hide again, giving other shoppers a chance to win until he the contest ends on Dec. 23.
A poster for Kaiser the Elf at the KMCC Exchange. Some families make a day of searching for the well-hidden elf at the world’s largest Exchange.
“Kaiser is a tradition here now,” says Bill Williams, Ramstein/KMCC’s services business manager. “This goes back to 2018 with Lani Chandler, the services business manager before me, who is now the chief of Services at headquarters. Once we get the word out that we’re hiding Kaiser, this drives a lot of families and their kids to the Exchange, because they all want to find Kaiser for a chance to win a prize. The holidays can be very hectic, and Kaiser is one of the things that puts a smile on people’s faces.”
Kaiser is just one example how Exchanges worldwide make the often hectic and stressful holiday shopping experience more fun and engaging. The events have benefits beyond the holidays, creating goodwill for Exchanges and adding to their social-media followings.
“I’ve had mothers approach me and personally thank us for what we do to make things fun,” Williams said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make the shopping experience lighthearted.”
Store teams plan for the holidays, usually locking in their holiday schedule by early September.
“Their calendars, from November through December, are filled with family events designed to bring the holiday spirit to the greatest customers in the world and their families,” said Nicola Carter, Vice President of Store Operations. “Holidays at home with the family is often a luxury for our warfighters, so we make every effort to make each one special for them.”
Santa visits are the most popular, with the jolly old elf available for photo ops at Exchanges worldwide and often available for breakfast, lunch or brunch with shoppers. Rivaling Santa in popularity is the Grinch, who drops in to many stores. At the Kirtland Air Force Base Exchange, the Grinch went on a “shopping spree” with a MILITARY STAR® card to highlight the card’s benefits.
Military leaders participate at some events, such as at Altus Air Force Base, where Col. Blaine Baker, commander of the 9th Air Mobility Wing, read “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” to children during Altus’ second annual Kids Night at the Exchange.
Trainees pose with a couple of holiday celebrities during the BMT Extravaganza at the JBSA-Lackland Exchange. The BX holds an annual shopping day for Basic Military Trainees, who usually can’t leave their dorms.
Certain PXs and BXs host special shopping events for future service members, many of whom are spending their first holidays away from home. The Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base Exchange hosted its annual BMT Extravaganza, a shopping day for Basic Military Trainees, who usually can’t leave their dorms to do any holiday shopping. The West Point PX hosted Cadet Night, featuring door prizes, games, dancing, singing and more.
The West Point Exchange opened just for Cadets on Cadet Night, which featured games, singing and more, as well as providing Cadets a shopping night exclusively for them.
“We closed down our facility and specifically opened just for Cadets for their shopping needs,” said West Point Store Manager Ruth Freeman. “It’s important to have that relationship.” This was the second Cadet Night, Freeman added, and the West Point store is working to keep it an annual event.
West Point General Manager Julissa Pettway added that events like Cadet Night benefit the Exchange worldwide. “We’re their first introduction to relationships with the Exchange,” Pettway said. “When we build these events, it shows how we support the community. They see how impactful they are and how they build the community up.”
The West Point Exchange also stayed open late during the annual Christmas tree lighting, which took place outside the main Exchange. “We had over 150 people outside,” Pettway said. “We provided food trucks, hot chocolate and extended hours so everyone could come in and shop and gather around. Being that one of our core values is ‘family serving family,’ I think the lighting provided a great format for that.”
Here’s a sampling of other holiday happenings to engage customers:
- The Spangdahlem Exchange in Germany held a special crafts event, providing supplies for shoppers who wanted to make Christmas cards for single Airmen serving far away from home. The Exchange then passed the cards on to the Airmen during “Operation Christmas,” which also included store-bought cards.
- Gift-wrapping stations were set up at many Exchanges, often in partnership with groups such as the Air Force Sergeants Associate Chapter 1328 at Edwards Air Force Base. Stores also held door decorating and Christmas tree decorating contests, ugly sweater contests, pajama parties and more.
- Exchanges also brought in musical groups, such as the U.S. Air Force Heritage Band of America, which performed Dec. 14 for holiday caroling at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and the Flying High” Tinker Air Force Band, which performed Dec. 12 at the Tinker Exchange food court.
- Other entertainment included seven hours’ worth of classic Christmas movies at the Guam Exchange, where associates handed out snacks to viewers. The Guam Exchange is also providing Christmas and New Year’s backdrops for shoppers who want to take holiday selfies and send them to loved ones.
You can view more than 170 Exchange holiday photos in the 2022 Holidays at the Exchange album on Flickr. To add more, send photos to socialmedia@aafes.com and exchangepost@aafes.com. Also check out @exchangeassoc on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
