What if everytime you went window shopping, someone came along right after you and bought
you everything you wanted. Sounds like a dream? We know. But dreeeeeeeeams come true on...

The unofficial

home page!

Last updated September 22, 2000

The Basics
The Host
Ron Pearson
Ron Pearson		 The Announcer
Burton Richardson
Burton Richardson

Assisting Ron Pearson...
Denise/Dennis DuJour
Broadcast time
3:30 PM Eastern on The Family Channel
Length of Shopping Spree's run
September 30, 1996 - August 14, 1998. There were 100 episodes in season 1 and 24 episodes in season 2.
The premise of the game
To figure out what a total stranger would want as gifts from 6 different shops.
The bonus round
The Birthday Party
Packager
Jay Wolpert Enterprises, in association with MTM

Now to get a little more in depth...

$hopping $pree, hosted by Ron Pearson, premiered on September 30, 1996 on The Family Channel (along with The New Shop 'Til You Drop, Small Talk, and Wait 'Til You Have Kids!). The announcer of $$ is Burton Richardson, who is most famous for announcing "The Arsenio Hall Show", "Rodeo Drive", and "The Price is Right" (syndicated version from 1994). The executive producer is Jay Wolpert (most popular for producing "Whew!", "Hit Man", and "Blackout").

    The rules of the first round
  1. The object of $$ is to guess what a total stranger would like from 6 different stores.
  2. The game is played with 2 teams of 2 players on each team, a "strangely dressed person" and his/her shopper.
  3. The "strangely dressed person" is wearing objects from around the house to describe what type of person he/she is. This is important because the he/she cannot tell his/her shopper ANYTHING about themselves once her partner is brought out.
  4. The "strangely dressed person" describes a couple of the items and tells the item's significance to him/her to the host and the audience.
  5. Denise/Dennis DuJour (a randomly selected member of the audience) will show the stores for the day while the host describes the prizes available in those stores.
  6. After the description, the shopper is brought out from seclusion to look over his/her partner and describe the clues that he/she is wearing. The partner has 20 seconds to describe as many items as possible.


    A shopper describing some clues

  7. The shopper meets his/her partner for the first time.
  8. Pearson asks to "light up the stores" (which is basically some spotlights focusing on the stores).
  9. The clock starts counting up from 0:00 when the hosts tells the shopper to "GO!"
  10. The shopper goes to the first store and picks the item his/her partner would want.
  11. If the shopper is correct, a bell rings and the shopper goes to the next store.
  12. If the shopper is incorrect, the host reads a clue describing what his/her partner wanted. If correct, the shopper moves on to the next item. If incorrect, the host repeats the clue.


    Correct! Drop it in the bag and go the next store!

  13. Steps 11-12 are repeated until the partner has gone through all 6 stores.
  14. At this time, the host stops the clock and announces the time to the team.
  15. The second team repeats steps 4-12, with 2 exceptions: Denise/Dennis DuJour does not show the stores and the clock is counting down from the time team 1 had, instead of starting at 0:00.

The team with the quickest time wins the game and goes on to "The Birthday Party". The shopper on the winning team wins a $500 shopping spree, while his/her partner wins all the items the shopper chose for him/her. Before "The Birthday Party", the winning team plays a game called Denise/Dennis DuJour's Double Up Derby.

The winning team hears a brief description of Denise/Dennis and must choose the prize Denise/Dennis selected from one of the stores played that day.

If correct
The amount of the shopping spree for winning "The Birthday Party" doubles (to $2000), and Denise/Dennis DuJour wins the prize that was selected.
If incorrect
The amount of the shopping spree stays at $1000, and Denise/Dennis DuJour wins nothing.

$1000

$2000

So you do more than window shopping,
here $1000 in cash for each of you!

If you win the Double-Up Derby,
the spree is worth $2000!

After Denise/Dennis DuJour's Double Up Derby, the victorious team goes to "The Birthday Party". The announcer describes the trip and how much their shopping spree will be.

After the description of the prize package, "The Birthday Party" begins with the set rotating 180 degrees to reveal, from left to right, a table where the celebrity guest will appear, a big birthday cake, and "The Birthday Board".


The metamorphosis from the town square to the Birthday Party.

    Rules to "The Birthday Party"
  1. The host then asks the contestants which one will buy the present and which one will wrap.
  2. The buyer goes with the host to "The Birthday Board" while the wrapper goes to the table, approximately 8-10 feet from the head of the table.
  3. The host will then describe each item (and occasionally use the items in funny skits). There are usually 12 or 14 items on "The Birthday Board".
  4. The object of "The Birthday Party" is to give 7 different celebrities a gift that is associated with them in 1:15 (75 seconds) or less.
  5. The host announces "Happy Birthday...(celebrity #1's name)!" and a caricature of the celebrity appears at the head of the table.

    Happy Birthday...
    Drew Carey!

    If the box leaves your hands
    before the buzzer, it counts!

  6. The buyer must throw a gift to the wrapper.
  7. The wrapper must then wrap the gift (which is placing it inside a gift box), slide the box down the table, and see if the gift is accepted.
  8. If the gift is accepted, a bell rings and the host describes the connection between the celebrity and the gift. While this occurs, another celebrity caricature appears at the head of the table. The host then announces "Happy Birthday...(celebrity #2's name)!"
  9. If the gift is not accepted, the box returns down the table to the wrapper, who must then throw the item to the buyer. The buyer then tosses another gift to the wrapper.
  10. Steps 6-9 are repeated until 7 celebrities get the correct gifts associated with them, or the 75 seconds runs out.
  11. At any time, a team may pass on a celebrity, but the celebrity may "haunt them" later.
  12. If all 7 celebrities get their appropriate gifts, each team member wins the trip and the appropriate shopping spree.
  13. If time runs out before all 7 gifts are given out, each team member splits $100 in cash and prizes for each match.


    An unwritten rule--Ron must juggle
    something during the credits!

To the season 2 changes page

Back to the Jay Wolpert Collection

Back to tv-gameshows.com


This page is optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
and a monitor resolution of 800x600.

Items from $hopping $pree are (c) 1996-1998 Jay Wolpert Enterprises.
No challenge to their ownership is implied.
Be nice and use the pictures and sounds for your own personal enjoyment.
Big thanks to the people at $hopping $pree for their assistance!
Without their help, this may not have been possible.
Also thanks to Ron for mentioning the page. You're the greatest, Ron!