Elburn woman opens Party Animals to entertain kids

Cindy Thul always has loved being around kids.

So it's only fitting that her new business is for children -- whether it's birthday parties, stuffed animals or candy.

"I thought it would be a fun business," she said of her Elburn shop, Party Animals. "Where else can you go to work everyday and put smiles on kids' faces?"

Thul, a poster "Kool-Aid mom," has always opened her doors to neighborhood children. When her own children were younger, Thul would take the kids and their friends apple picking and then bring them back to her house to make pies to take home. At Christmas, it wasn't unusual to have neighborhood kids over to make Christmas cookies or paint ceramic plates.

And though her three children are grown and have children of their own, Thul hasn't shut her door. She has pizza nights for her grandchildren at her Elburn home and at Halloween the Thuls decorate their house and invite other neighborhood kids in to take a look at their spooky creations, like monsters with olives for eyes.

"I love kids," said Thul, who has three children and six grandchildren. "I always have."

At her shop, 108 N. Main Street in Elburn, Thul says making her young customers happy is the most rewarding.

"It's a happy place to be," said Thul, who worked as an operations manager for Keebler. "You walk in here and you can just feel it's fun, it's happy and it's a very kid friendly place."

Thul's husband, Charlie, says his wife is at home in her shop.

"She was in the corporate world for a while and it just wasn't her," said Charlie, who often helps out. "Now she's happy as a clam. She loves kids and they always have a good time in the shop."

The shop sells everything from candy and Webkinz to wooden doll furniture and wooden rockers made by Thul's husband. Children can also stuff their own soft animals or take part in themed crafts of the week.

For birthdays, Thul puts on themed parties. Children can pick from a variety of themes including princess, superheroes, medieval or Hawaiian. The parties can include painting ceramics or stuffing animals. The birthday girl or boy gets to sit on a throne up on a stage to open gifts and play games where everyone gets a prize. Parents bring the cake but the shop supplies the plates, utensils, a 4-by-6-inch birthday photo and a gift list to use when writing thank you notes.

Since opening in December, Thul has hosted 28 birthday parties.

"Parents have told me it's just nice to have something different where the parents don't have to do anything," she said of the parties, which last about 1½ hours.

Thul said she will expand her hours in the fall and add other items, like more sweet treats and dog coats, which she also makes.

The shop can be reached at (630) 365-2898. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. After Sept. 11, store hours will change to include evening hours on Tuesday and hours on Sundays.

Children and their parents can participate in the drop-in craft times for $10 per child. Themed birthday parties start at $10 per child.