Build-A-Bear

I took my niece, Amanda, and nephew, Joey, to Build-A-Bear to celebrate their birthdays (8 and 6) this week. I've always wanted to visit the store and see the whole process of putting the stuffed animals together. The employees do a great job of making the kids feel special as they participate. I thought choosing the animal would be the most difficult part, but it turns out choosing the clothes and accessories takes the longest time. The kids had fun and I loved spending the day with them.

After choosing your animal, you bring it to the stuffing machine. Amanda chose a bunny and Joey picked out a bear.



The animal is attached to the machine and the child steps on the pedal to put the stuffing in. You need to hug your animal to see if there's enough stuffing - it has to feel just right. Then you take a red heart that says "I love you," hold it tight to warm it up, give it a kiss for love and kindness, jump up and twirl around to give it energy, and stick it in the bear before the final seam is stitched.



Once your furry friend is stuffed, you get to give it an air bath and brush its fur.




Then comes the most difficult part. They each had a set amount they could spend on clothes or accessories. Joey decided fairly quickly, but it's always harder for girls to choose just the right outfit.



The final step is to print out a birth certificate for your stuffed animal. It was a little difficult for Aunt Melanie to help both kids at the same time, but we got it done. The new animals were named, the certificates were printed out, the purchases were paid for, and both kids had a new birthday present.





We had to dress the animals right away after we left the store.




Then we enjoyed a pizza lunch at Sbarro.



Aren't they cute?