A dad built his daughter mini versions of Target and Starbucks so they could still go to their favorite places while stuck at home

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Erin McDowellApr 28, 2020, 02:44 IST
A dad built his daughter mini versions of Target and Starbucks so they could still go to their favorite places while stuck at home

Mila playing in the finished Target playset.Diego Gonzalez

  • Diego Gonzalez decided to build Target and Starbucks playsets for his daughter Mila's playroom after the coronavirus prevented him and his fiancée from taking her into the stores.
  • On his days off from his job as a police officer, Gonzalez built a Target cash register and a Starbucks stand complete with real groceries, adorable accessories, and an "employee of the month" plaque.
  • His local Target and Starbucks even donated items so he could make the final playsets as realistic as possible.
  • "Especially now, when you can't go out to get distracted and everyone has to be indoors, making that easier on my daughter was worth it," Gonzalez told Insider.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

When the coronavirus outbreak prevented a California family from visiting Target and Starbucks together, Diego Gonzalez decided to bring his daughter's favorite stores to her instead.

On his days off from his job as a Kern County police officer, Diego Gonzalez built a Target cash register and a Starbucks stand for his daughter, Mila, who loves going into both stores.

"The end result really made us proud of what we did and seeing how happy she was playing with it made it all worth it," Gonzalez told Insider. "Especially now, when you can't go out to get distracted and everyone has to be indoors, making that easier on my daughter was worth it."

Gonzalez was also committed to making sure the details were perfect, from Mila's Target name tag and "employee of the month" plaque to a miniature coffee maker toy, fake mini cake pops, and real Starbucks aprons.

Read the original article on Insider
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"We are a really close family, and this project did unite us even more," he said.

"We are a really close family, and this project did unite us even more," he said.
Mila and Diego Gonzalez' fiancee, Cindy Iribe, playing in the Starbucks stand. Diego Gonzalez

"Problem-solving, being creative, just using your mind, and all having input on it really does make that bond even stronger, because you're doing it together as a family," Gonzalez said.

The final product was everything Mila and her dad could have hoped for.

The final product was everything Mila and her dad could have hoped for.
Mila playing in the Starbucks stand. Diego Gonzalez

"It was so cute to see her recognize it. I bought her little fake cake pops, and she was so excited. She was really surprised, which made it all that much better," Gonzalez said.

"Seeing other people's reactions saying, 'That's pretty cool, I want to do that for my kid,' has been amazing.'"

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Mila's Starbucks and Target playroom even has its own seating area.

Mila's Starbucks and Target playroom even has its own seating area.
The Starbucks seating area. Diego Gonzalez

"Mila went from seeing the progress of it to really being hands-on and playing," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the family made their own Starbucks labels to attach to the playset and accessories.

Gonzalez said the family made their own Starbucks labels to attach to the playset and accessories.
Gonzalez said the family made their own Starbucks labels to attach to the playset. Diego Gonzalez

"We just printed out our own Starbucks logos and stuck them onto the toys to make them look like Starbucks devices," Gonzalez said.

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Gonzalez completed the stand with some adorable toys he bought online and aprons from an actual Starbucks.

Gonzalez completed the stand with some adorable toys he bought online and aprons from an actual Starbucks.
Accessories for the Starbucks stand. Diego Gonzalez

In addition to some coffee-themed toys he found on Amazon, Gonzalez also went into a local Starbucks store and asked for some kid-sized cups. While they didn't have any kid-sized coffee cups, they did have smaller cups they used as measuring cups for drinks.

Gonzalez was also able to score two Starbucks aprons.

"I went back and showed them the Target register and the progress I had made on the Starbucks stand. They were so generous and said they could give me two aprons that are actually from Starbucks," he said.

Mila helped out a little with the building, Gonzalez said.

Mila helped out a little with the building, Gonzalez said.
Diego Gonzalez and Mila building the Starbucks stand together. Diego Gonzalez

Gonzalez said that Mila "helped him" build both playsets, and the quality time they spent together doing this project was priceless.

For the Starbucks stand, Mila helped hand him small pieces of wood as he was building. However, towards the end of the project, he wanted the final product to be a surprise.

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Both playsets only took two weeks to put together. Gonzalez worked on them on his days off.

Both playsets only took two weeks to put together. Gonzalez worked on them on his days off.
The frame for the Starbucks stand. Diego Gonzalez

"While we were building, Mila was already wanting to play with both of the sets. I thought that I needed to rush and finish it so that when I went back to work, she would have the ability to fully play with it," Gonzalez told Insider.

Gonzalez says he built the Starbucks stand with leftover wood from another home renovation.

Gonzalez says he built the Starbucks stand with leftover wood from another home renovation.
Planks of wood used in the Starbucks stand. Diego Gonzalez

Gonzalez explained that while both playsets may look complicated, he had practically no building or construction experience prior to starting the project.

"I only used basic house tools you would have if you needed to quickly fix something, but I don't have any actual building experience," Gonzalez said. "The plank wood that I used for the Starbucks stand was left over from adding wood to some other areas of the house. Using a little patience and thinking things through really helped it come together."

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Gonzalez said that Mila immediately recognized the Target store, and she started playing right away.

Gonzalez said that Mila immediately recognized the Target store, and she started playing right away.
Mila playing in the finished Target playset. Diego Gonzalez

Gonzalez also included gift cards he bought from Target, real food, a miniature red shopping cart, and a wet floor sign to make the Target playset seem even more lifelike.

"We looked up price tags online and printed them out, along with the Target logos, to make sure the details were really spot-on," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also made Mila an "employee of the month" sign — but decided to show the "real Mila" in the photo.

Gonzalez also made Mila an "employee of the month" sign — but decided to show the "real Mila" in the photo.
Mila's "employee of the month" poster. Diego Gonzalez

"For the 'employee of the month' sign, we took a variety of photos and she started crying towards the end because she wasn't wanting to be so photogenic," Gonzalez joked. "Towards the end, we had a ton of photos and just a few of her crying. We decided to use one of those to show the real Mila on the employee of the month sign."

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Gonzalez asked his local Target if they could donate a name tag to his project.

Gonzalez asked his local Target if they could donate a name tag to his project.
Mila's name tag. Diego Gonzalez

"We went to Target on one of our runs and I spoke to the manager," Gonzalez said. "I said, 'I know this may sound odd, but we're doing a little project and was wondering if I could get a name tag by any chance?' I showed her some photos of the progress we had made on the register and she said it was pretty cool, so she let us have one of the real Target name tags. We then customized it with Mila's name."

Since they could no longer take Mila to the stores, Gonzalez decided to recreate Mila's favorite places in her playroom.

Since they could no longer take Mila to the stores, Gonzalez decided to recreate Mila's favorite places in her playroom.
The finished Target playset. Diego Gonzalez

"With the lockdown going on, we don't take her to the stores anymore. We thought, 'I bet Mila misses going to Starbucks to get her cake pop.' So, we started thinking about building her a Target register and a Starbucks stand in her playroom," Gonzalez said.

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Diego Gonzalez said that before the coronavirus, his family would go to Target and Starbucks regularly.

Diego Gonzalez said that before the coronavirus, his family would go to Target and Starbucks regularly.
Diego Gonzalez and Mila putting together the Target-inspired playset. Diego Gonzalez

"As we were getting into this lockdown, I noticed that my fiancée was constantly going to Target," Gonzalez told Insider. "My daughter, who's about to turn 2 years old, is practically addicted to the cake pops from the Starbucks inside our local Target. Every trip we take to Target, she's pointing to the Starbucks saying, 'Cake pops! Cake pops!'"

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