Make back-to-school shopping a game

Back-to-school shopping is less of a chore if you make a game out of it.

This year, Cherry Hill, Echelon and Moorestown Malls are injecting fun and frivolity into the annual ritual with an online contest for kids and parents, the PREIT Malls' Back-to-School Combination Game.

Sponsored by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (the malls' mommy company), Pepsi and American Express, the game runs through Sept. 9. Local shoppers have the chance to win more than $13,000 in prizes, as well as PREIT mall gift cards.

Here's how to play. Shoppers redeem mall store receipts at Cherry Hill and Echelon Malls' Customer Service Centers and Moorestown Mall's Management Office and receive a scratch card for each $25 they spend. At home, go to http://backtoschool.preit.com and click on to the interactive locker combination game.

Each game card comes with a unique locker combination code. To play, scratch the card to reveal the numbers, then enter the code on line. Winning codes will open the locker where a prize is waiting with redemption instructions. Winners can then shout "Yippee!" and do a little dance. Prizes can be picked up at Cherry Hill, Echelon or Moorestown malls.