Build-A-Bear Workshop

So you go in and are instantly greeting by some of the happiest people you have ever met. I mean seriously. It’s amazing. This place, while intended for children, somehow manages to wake up the child in everyone. The animals are really great quality and most of them are too stinking cute. The range of outfits and accessories is mind blowing and not even half of what’s online. You can chose how stuffed you make your animal and give it a birth certificate, which is far more fun than it sounds, I promise. With a pretty steady flow of new animals, including characters, the selection always changes. And if you’re worried about price, the bears start at $ 10 so you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy this experience.

Here is the math: 1 child that doesn’t know the value of money, 1 parent and 1 boyfriend with disposable income, 1 place with what could become a very expensive toy = 1 possibly dangerous situation.
My first thought about Build a Bear was: what’s the big deal. It’s a Teddy Bear. After walking into the store and seeing an I-​Carly Bear I felt that we were going to get taken for the ride of a lifetime. After having the staff member sit down with the girlfriends kid and coach her on kissing the icon that gets placed in the bear that will «bring it to life» I was really glad that I wasn’t the one making the bear.
To make a long story short, I was dragging myself out of there after seeing the Star Wars outfits that you could buy for the bear.
The entire time at the store seems to be really great for kids and adults. The staff is very friendly and I wasn’t dragged into participating in any of the «mushier» stuff that the kids seem to get wrapped up in.
The amount you spend there can be very reasonable or wallet breaking. You simply have to be aware of what your outfitting your bear with.
Would I do it again? Sure. Will I go back to make my own Stormtrooper Bear? Maybe, I’ll just need to set some ground rules with the staff first, because I’m not kissing the heart icon thing, at least not in public…