Mom Builds Daughter a Magical Playroom That Looks Just Like Target

Play kitchens, grocery stores, and restaurants are all staples of playrooms across the country. I remember cooking fake pies in fake ovens and serving them by slicing away the velcro pieces. It was fun! But I thought I was over the toys I played with as a kid. I didn't think that I, a 30-year-old woman, had the capacity to be jealous of a small child's playroom. But here we are. 

Ariah's parents knew how much she loved Target, so for Christmas, they spent hours and hours making her a custom playroom resembling the superstore, complete with a Starbucks counter. It's incredible. 

Ariah's mom, Renée, posted the pictures to Facebook, where they went completely viral. She explains that she wanted to do "something different" for Christmas, so she enlisted the help of her graphic designer sister and friend to help transform a generic kids' shopping center and cube storage unit into a perfect replica of Ariah's favorite place. 

Her friend, Robert Mueller, added wood flooring boards to the storage unit to make a perfect Starbucks counter, and sister Brigitte designed the menu, logos, price tags, and signage that hangs on the walls. It looks so legit! I wish I could play in it. 

Is it just me or do those Starbucks treats look totally tempting? She's got the display cabinet, the cake pops, and even a bunch of Frappuccinos. This is Starbucks, no question.

As a child, it was my dream to be a cashier. I thought pressing buttons on a cash register was the coolest thing you could do. And now, Ariah can pretend to be a Target cashier. Her play space even has a credit card machine. 

Like I said, I didn't think I could be jealous of a little kid, but sometimes, I am surprised by the direction life takes us. I am an adult. I can get in my car and drive to real Target anytime I want to. And yet, there's something so tempting about a fake, mini version of it where it's all pretend. 

Seriously, I hope Renée's sister, Brigitte, gets graphic design jobs out of this because she did impeccable work. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she must have stolen these price tags and sale signs from a real Target. Not to mention, those faux Target gift cards hanging in the aisle. They're scarily accurate. 

The devil's in the details, and they got all of them right, like the Starbucks menu, the impulse-buy items at checkout, the tiny, adorable Target shopping cart, and even Ariah's employee name tag. This setup is perfect because, sometimes, she can pretend to work at Target, but other times, she can pretend to shop. The world is her oyster!

Renée told Good Morning America she had been going through a divorce, a tough time in her life, so she decided to channel her energy into doing something amazing for Ariah. And her daughter loves her new playroom. According to Renée, she tells her friends, "Come see my playroom. I have Target in my playroom!" And she's not wrong. She totally does.