My daughter recently got rewarded with a trip to Build-A-Bear. I had never taken her, and was excited to check it out myself. What is this phenomena of stuffing your own bear? Well, it is definitely a “thing.”
These stores are generally located in malls, as with most chains. Easton has a huge one and the other malls have smaller stores. We went on a Sunday afternoon and the store was packed. We were fine, though, because the customer service was quite good and they have lots to look at and choose from, which keeps the little kids busy while they wait. I saw kids ranging from ages 1 – 10 shopping in the store the day we went.
The set up was an assembly line. First, my girl picked the shell of what she wanted. She chose a
reindeer because she is obsessed with Rudolf right now. Then, she chose a recording of “Up On the House Top” put in. A child or parent can record their own voice or choose from a list of songs (“Let it Go” and the Frozen bears were VERY popular from what I observed). Next, we waited to get it stuffed. It was a really cute interactive procedure getting it stuffed, and the girls who talked my daughter through it were very sweet. This part included getting a scent put in and a heart, and you could add a recording of a heart beat to really bring the new animal to life. Super cute!
What is not so cute is the price tag. All the add-ins: sound, heart beat, scent, cost extra. We spent about $45 on our little guy. My suggestion if this seems steep to you, ask for a gift card as a present. Once it becomes a gift the price doesn’t matter as much, plus, you can always gift a little outfit for the thing another time. Build-A-Bear provides little wish lists complete with pictures, so a little girl or boy can start listing out exactly what they want to for their stuffed animal.
They also do reasonably price birthday parties, which I imagine would be pretty fun.
Build-A-Bear
Locations vary across the city
www.buildabear.com
