Build A Bear Workshop

Build a Bear is a great place to take and spend time with small kids. The get to choose their bear and its clothes as well as add sound or tons of other options. It is expensive at first, but once you have the bear you can add new clothes and other accessories for very little. This is a great place to take kids for the afternoon. more

Yes, BAB seems expensive at first, but once you have your stuffed animal, it's not bad at all. We love going in to BAB and getting a shirt or some shoes, etc. for Froggy. Their clothes are priced inexpensively, and are a good treat for kids. I enjoy knowing that I can tell my son, "You can have a treat at the mall...Froggy can get a new shirt". I think the staff at BAB is excellent. They are very friendly and so helpful. Very customer service oriented. I suggest just buying ONE animal, if you want to keep your kid interested in it. Buy one animal and then just keep going back for more pieces for their wardrobe. My son continues to change Froggy's clothing daily. I find that his friends with mulitple animals tend to lose interest. It's also helpful to set a limit before going in the store, so your child doesn't beg for everything. I say "we can get a shirt today" or "Froggy can get some new shorts". It really helps keep the begging and costs down. more

The first time we took our little one to Build-a-bear Workshop she graduated from pre-school so we wanted to do something special. You choose an furry animal skin (it's flat with no stuffing), you can add sound or a tape recorded chip and a red fabric heart. You take it to the stuffing machine and a staff member helps you stuff to the right softness just for you. You kiss the heart and it goes in with the stuffing. This is such a cute idea! They have tons of different outfits you can buy extra (from $5 - $18), you choose a name and then you get a birth certificate that you print out. Bows are free and you carry your special friend home in a handled box with breathing holes in it. We've taken her about every 6 months since then and the enjoyment never ends! more