I LOVE this place!
Written: Oct 30 '01
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Pros: Very fun, lots of variety to choose from, not just for children, friendly staff.
Cons: If you can't control yourself, it can be expensive.
The Bottom Line: Take the whole family...It's wonderful!
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| angelabest's Full Review: Build-A-Bear Stuffed Bear |
In several shopping centers across America there is a special little place that isn't just a stuffed toy store. It is a place where anyone, young and old, can build their very own teddy bear from the inside out, and The Build A Bear Stuffed Bear Workshop is the name of this delightful store.
The process of creating your bear is a terribly sweet, very fun thing to do. When you walk into the large, delightfully decorated store you see several large bins with the "skins" of the stuffed animals to choose from. You can from animals which range from small bears (10-15 dollars, depending on size) to larger stuffed toys that can be anything from a dalmatian to a monkey (15-25 dollars).
All of the animals are obviously very sturdy and high quality, so that shouldn't even be an issue with your choice. Just choose the one that fits your price range and your personal taste and go on to the next step.
Next, if you like, you can choose a sound to place into your stuffed animal. These sounds are in a small bin (with samples to play) and they are little mechanisms that play anything from "Happy Birthday To You" to "You Are My Sunshine" (and many others). If you want a sound just take it to the next step...The step where your animal starts to come to life.
Stuffing the bear is a very neat step indeed. Members of the shop's friendly staff are sitting by large machines that swoosh big fluffy white stuffing around, and all the staff member does is take your animal and put the opening in the back to a large tube. You then get to work the pedal that stuffs your animal, and it becomes as soft and fluffy or as big and firm as you wish.
When it's stuffed to your liking, the staff member stitches it up for you and you take it to the next step.
There are tables and large air blowers where you can take your animal, brush its fur, work out messy clumps, and do whatever else you need to do in order to make it look absolutely perfect. Of course, if you're with a bunch of kids, there are plenty of staff members around to help if you need it...and they're always just as friendly and helpful as can be.
When your bear looks just dandy, you move on to the step that could get a tad expensive if you don't watch yourself (or if you're with a pack of kids who can't take no for an answer). You get to buy clothes and accessories to truly make your animals yours...
Most of the clothes and things are very reasonably priced. They are very high quality, and things like t-shirts will run you three to five dollars, pants and skirts could be four or five dollars, and some cute sandals or glasses will be two or three dollars.
You don't HAVE to spend a lot of money here. I recently made a bear at the location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and mine is a thirteen dollar bear that wears an adorable white t-shirt, khaki shorts, Birkenstock sandals, glasses, and a denim backpack...And my bear was only about twenty five dollars...A high quality stuffed toy like this one would probably be about that much or more in any toy store, and hey, those toys aren't nearly as fun as this.
But if you want to go all out, you can buy some very fancy outfits. There are ballet costumes, cowboy outfits, doctor uniforms, fireman uniforms, and just about every other job uniforms or cute little outfits that you can imagine for sale...and they can run you anywhere from ten to twenty dollars apiece. And being that this price is often just for the clothing part of the costume, you may have to pay more for some little shoes or glasses or accessories to complete your creation.
As I said, though, you can make a GREAT bear for next to nothing.
Overall, The Build A Bear Workshop is a wonderful place. You can make a terribly fun event out of toy shopping, the stores are always adorable, the staff is friendly, and (while you certainly can) you don't HAVE to spend a lot of money.
And lastly, creating your own stuffed animal doesn't have to be just for children. Every time I am there, I see young children, teenagers, parents, grandparents, and everyone else in there just having a ball...Not only is it a way to make and create your own stuffed animal, it can be a way to become a kid again for a little while.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25.00
Type of Toy: Stuffed Toy
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Epinions.com ID:
angelabest
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Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
The artist formerly known as "angflowr"...
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