There are many reasons why I love living in New York City, but going to all of the fun and random pop-ups makes the top of the list. Chick-fil-A has a great pop-up going on right now that I’d highly recommend checking out during the holidays, with kids or not. It’s called, The Time Shop.

The Time Shop reminds you about the importance of spending time with your loved ones during the holiday season and always. It talks about how the best thing you can give to your loved ones this holiday season is the gift of time – spending quality time with them and making memories together.

Here is all the information you need to know about Chick-fil-A’s pop-up, The Time Shop, in Soho.

The Time Shop Basic Information

What?

A fun and interactive holiday pop-up experience for people of all ages put on by Chick-fil-A.

Where?

Soho! 105 Wooster St., New York, NY, 10012 (Right next to the Canada Goose store)

When?

December 4th - December 17th, 2019, Closed Sundays

Price?

Free! But make sure to visit their website to get a reservation before you go.

The Cuckoo Clocks

These cuckoo clocks remind me of my Grandma and Grandpa’s house. My Grandma had one on her wall, and it would make noises and play music every hour on the hour. I remember as a child a little bird popping out from the top and watching it carefully in amazement. The Time Shop starts off with a display of many different types of clocks and this wall of cuckoo clocks. There is a button on the wall that says, “Press Here For Fun.” When Jimmy pressed it, the clocks started playing music together with surprise pop-outs from birds and even a black and white Chick-fil-A cow at the end.

Dessert Samples

The samples were my favorite part of the whole day. What can I say? I love dessert, especially FREE dessert. I love peppermint everything during the holidays. At The Time Shop, they gave out samples of their seasonal peppermint chocolate chip milkshake. It even came with a fun candy cane straw. They also gave out their chocolate chunk cookie. Both were delicious and quite a fun surprise. The best part was how the cookies came. The employees pressed a button on the wall to announce that there were new customers waiting for treats. A toy train came around the corner with cookies lined up in the train cars, the exact amount of cookies that were needed for our group. And, the cookies were warm! It was a magical moment and tasty too. And all of the employees had the iconic Chick-fil-A friendliness that I’ve grown to appreciate and love over the years, saying, “My Pleasure!,” to me as I took my free milkshake and cookie. Love the unwavering friendliness.

The Time Shop Movie

There is a section of The Time Shop that is all decorated to look like the inside of a living room. There is cozy furniture, house warming Christmas decor, and a beautifully decorated tree. They have a TV up on the wall that shows a 5-minute movie about the theme of the the pop-up – making time for loved ones. It was a touching little film that made my eyes water, just slightly.

Story Time

Being a teacher, I appreciate a good children’s book. One of my favorite things to do with Jimmy is to cuddle up on the couch and read books with him. In The Time Shop, there is a library nook and a hired man reading stories to the children in a cozy holiday setting. He read, “Little Red Gliding Hood” to us by the fire as we sat and listened.

Build Your Own Snowman

This part of the pop-up was adorable. Jimmy is always begging me to go out and build a snowman with him, but when it snows the snow always melts right away, leaving no time for outdoor snow play. The Time Shop has an area where you can build your own snowman. They have different sized snowballs made out of fabric and stuffing that the children can stack on top of each other. They have a bin of all the different iconic snowman accessories, all magnetic, making it easy for even a three-year-old to assemble.

The Snow Globe

Throughout the pop-up there are opportunities for the guests to take their picture or make a GIF. They scan your wristband before each picture station so all of your photos are connected to your account. All of your pictures are sent to your email as soon as you leave. My favorite picture opportunity was inside of this fun little snow globe. The theme was, “A Moment in Time.”

Connect Four Game

“Make Time to Connect,” such a sweet saying above the Connect Four game boards. They made life-size game boards for people to play with when they visit. Such a nice touch, and the perfect way to entertain their visitors of all ages.

The Gift of Time

This was one of my favorite parts of the whole pop-up. There was a long table filled with notecards and pens. You’re given the opportunity to write the name of a loved one and what you would want to do with them for quality time as well as how many hours you are going to dedicate towards the activity. Some examples were, “4 hours to teach you how to ride a bike, 3 hours to play your favorite board games, 2 hours to snuggle and watch a movie, 1 hour to catch up over coffee.” Anything that you could think of to gift to another person, it was yours to write on the paper. Then you give your finished notecard to one of the ladies working at the tables wearing red. They rewrite what you wrote on the notecard in beautiful calligraphy on thick shiny white paper, and finish it off by placing it in a red envelope sealed with a gold sticker. This allows you to gift it to your loved one for the holidays if you desire.

Thank you Chick-fil-A for creating a beautiful and memorable pop-up in the city. It was so well done and really touched me during this busy time of year. Go check out this pop-up before it ends for good on the 17th of this month. If you go, let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you.