Build-a-Bear Workshop Review

Disclaimer: I received a free product for my review! These views are my own and were not 
at all influenced by the party who gave me this opportunity..

Build-a-Bear Workshop is fun for all ages! While we were on vacation, we stopped in for a tour where my son was able to get himself a stuffed animal as well as for his baby brother! I took my little sisters along too for an extra fun experience. Of course the bears aren’t the only fun thing about this store. The process of making your very own, personal bear is an experience your child will remember!

We started at the front of the store where my son was able to pick out any animal he wanted. Animals for stuffing start at $10. There were so many choices and they weren’t all just bears! My son Ethan ended up picking out a German Shepherd and baby blue bear. (Click here to view their website.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Build-a-Bear Workshop has some neat options for stuffing inside your animal. You can include sound recordings, pre-recorded or build-your-own, and they now offer SCENTiments scent packs that come in cupcake, strawberry, cotton candy, bubblegum and mint chocolate chip. We included the build-your-own recordings which we had my husband leave special messages on before he deployed so while he is away our little ones can hear Daddy’s voice. My son loves pressing the button to hear Daddy and snuggling and will often strike up a conversation with his Build-a-Bear after hearing it. Melts my heart.

Once any sounds and scents are in place, you start the stuffing process. The worker sticks the animal on a machine that shoots out stuffing and they even let my son and sisters help push the pedal to make the stuffing flow! Once the bear is full of fluff, you get to pick out a little heart to stick inside. The worker at the location we visited made it lots of fun by having us rub the heart on our heads so our bear would be smart, on our cheeks so it would be happy, rub it on our ears so we can always have a friend to listen to our secrets…my son even added some like rubbing it on his elbow so it will be funny.

Scrub-a-dub-dub, four bears in a tub! Now it is time to give your bear a bath. In the back of the store they have a tub with brushes and faucets that blow out air. Ethan and his aunties had a blast making sure their Build-a-Bear animals were cleaned and groomed.

Your newly cleaned bear is just about ready! You can choose to keep it as just a bear or dress it up! We dressed ours up. We got a camo uniform and helmet and boot accessories like Daddy! My son also loved the superhero outfits (of course, in our family, our favorite superhero outfits are the military uniforms.) He first picked out Spiderman, but he did not like it on his bear so he switched to Superman. They have EVERYTHING you could think of for your animal (even underwear) and the outfits fit almost every animal. The Hello Kitty bear is the only one that does not fit everything perfectly as the hats do not stay on the head too well. The only clothing I wish they had was the Air Force ABU material outfits or multicam. They do have the Air Force blues, but since Daddy is deployed we wanted to have clothing that would match that. Then we take them to the “dressing room” to put on their outfits. Besides outfits, you can purchase other accessories such as cars, tents, and much more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations! Your Build-a-Bear is made, but you’re not finished yet! It is time to go to the computers and register your bear and create your animal’s very own birth certificate. My sister was having a hard time coming up with a name. Build-a-Bear provides a book with name suggestions, so my sister used that and came up with a name she loved right away. My son named the dog “Afghanistan” (I was listing names and he liked that one to remind him of where Daddy was when he got it) and “Blue Superman.” Creating a birth certificate and registering your bear will not only open up options for special discounts (register for the Stuff Fur Stuff Club and get freebies and coupons for your birthday!) but you will also be able to go in for “check ups” to have the stuffing fixed or add a sound inside and if you lose your bear somewhere, anyone can drop it off at their local Build-a-Bear and the store will be able to get the bear back to you!

When you check out, you can add bows for free (like a bow tie, headband, bows on the ears…you choose) and you get a fun cardboard box “house” for your Build-a-Bear. They leave the pictures uncolored so you can make the box personal. My son had fun coloring the puppy on the box yellow.

You can order your bears on the Build-a-Bear Workshop website as well (get 3% cash back online through Ebates HERE,) but for my son, creating his furry friend in-store was a magical experience. Want to share this experience with others? Have a Build-a-Party for a special someone’s birthday! Don’t forget to check them out on Facebook too!

Thank you Build-a-Bear for not only making my son’s birthday fun, but for helping him to create a lasting memory of that day and a snuggly buddy to help him get through the many months while Daddy is away and a special gift to give to his baby brother when he is born! They will both cherish hearing their dad’s voice and being able to feel like they are giving him a hug. I just love how my son’s new puppy makes his eyes light up.

-Do you or your child own a Build-a-Bear? Share a photo on my Facebook wall and tell me how your experience was!