Great Falls, Mont. five-year-old's birthday on Target with store theme

A fire station? Sure. A park? You bet. But ... Target?

Nearly a year ahead of his fifth birthday, Jackson Duff declared he wanted to celebrate the occasion at the local Target store.

His mom, Kristie Sotelo-Duff, checked back at least monthly to see if he had changed his mind (and to prod him in another direction) but there was no budging the Great Falls boy.

Jackson's Target party on Sunday was, even Kristie admitted, "epic."

Target staff made the day special for Jackson, with a Target lunchbox, Target water bottle, Bullseye toy dog, a Target T-shirt and his own employee nametag.

Since the Great Falls Target has a Starbucks in the store instead of a Target Cafe, Kristie went to the Helena store thinking they still had a cafe where she could stock up on party supplies. A remodel saw the removal of the cafe, but the Helena manager called Boise and they shipped Kristie a box of popcorn bags, kids cups and pretzel bags with the Target logo.

Kristie served red punch, water bottles and wine with Target logo wrappers on them and pretzels. Cakes By Carr made red fondant targets for his chocolate cake and almond cupcakes.

Kristie was setting up the party when Jackson and his dad, Craig, arrived. The new five-year-old walked in with a glowing smile, threw down his coat, pointed into the air and yelled, "Let's go buy my birthday present!"

He headed right for the toy section.

Jackson loves the "festive feel" of Target, and goes every Sunday on Craig's grocery shopping trips. And the in-store Starbucks "has the best chocolate milk on the whole planet," he said.

The birthday party of about 30 people filled up the cafe, but the store wasn't very busy on that Sunday evening so there was a chance for a photo shoot.

Store managers and staff seemed excited to host the party, Kristie said.

"Employees kept stopping into the party to say 'Happy Birthday' to Jackson, and he loved it," Kristie said.

Partygoers brought Jackson a stack of Target gift cards.

"The Target experience seems to be the same for kids and adults alike. It provides a striking visual presentation in all departments; from their housewares to their electronics to their toy department," Kristie said. "For better or worse, Target just gets it, and everyone seems to love spending time in that store. It evokes a happy, party-like experience."