Today I had probably one of the most rewarding experiences ever since I started doing volunteer work with my cosplays.
A couple weeks back I learned that my local Barnes & Noble was having a Grinchmas storytelling event, and having just completed my own Grinch costume I decided to stop by and offer my services, assuming they haven’t already found a Grinch for their event. Turns out they didn’t, and after seeing my costume they immediately brought me on board!
As the days passed B&N let me know that they were anticipating a huge turnout, with over 100 people on Facebook confirmed to attend, and over 1000 people interested in attending! Knowing that I needed to make a good impression, I gathered some props to pull out during the story, including a Max plush, a tiny Christmas tree, and an inflatable turkey to act as the “roast beast”
The big day comes around and I’m all decked out in my costume heading to the main floor, and the room is FILLED with these tiny children and their parents all sitting on the floor. Once the kids see me they go absolutely ballistic. The employees manage to calm them down enough for me to make it to the chair they had set up for me. For the first half of the story the kids stay pretty well behaved, but then we get to the part where the Grinch reaches the first house and starts stealing their toys. At this point I start sneaking around the reading area stuffing the toys from the shelves into a santa sack, the only problem was the kids wanted to be a bit more interactive, and start offering me toys to put in the sack. Before long I was literally being swarmed by these kids until I finally made it back to the front. The B&N employee had some trouble keeping the remainder of the story going as kids were now walking up to me freely, trying to hand me toys, and even a couple rummaging though the prop box I had beside me. It was very chaotic but we ultimately pulled through to the end with no harm. After the storytelling portion of the event they managed to gather the children into a line for photo ops. By this point the kids have calmed down enough aside for maybe a couple strays, but everything goes well from this point forward.
After about 100+ photos and a couple smaller activities, the event starts coming to a close, but before I make my exit the B&N employees offer me a surprise:
Turns out that while I was taking photos, the employees were handing around a copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas to be signed by all the kids attending that day to be given to me!
My heart might as well have grown three sizes in that moment 💚
I never anticipated putting on a performance for such a big crowd (especially one made up of dozens of overzealous children), but overall it was an absolute blast! And it’s just so heart-warming to me that they would arrange such a kind gesture for me when I was more or less “stealing” their show.
Not only that, but they want me back next year too, in addition to keeping in touch for any other events I might be able to help out with! (Here’s hoping the kids lay off the caffeine next time :P)
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