Review: Build-A-Bear Workshop
We had the opportunity to review the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Covent Garden.
When I told little man about it, he was really excited and counting the hours to go to the shop to build his very first bear.
Once we arrived at the store, we were greeted by the friendly staff and introduced to Rutendo, our host for the evening. She made little man feel very comfortable throughout the whole process!
The first stop is at “Choose Me” area where you can pick your desired bear.
There is a large selection of bears with different shapes, sizes and colours. There is certainly one to suit each child’s dreams. Little man picked an army bear.
Once you have chosen your bear, you go to “Hear Me” area, where you choose which noise you would like your bear to make.
From the large selection of sounds, little man chose a giggling sound in one arm and a barking sound in another arm. Yes, I know that army bears don’t bark, but it was his choice!
The next area is “Stuff Me”, where your bear is going to be brought to life. Little man loved helping Rutendo to stuff his bear by stepping on the pedal that powers the fluff machine.
He had a lot of fun and felt really grown up. Rutendo was asking him questions directly throughout the process and checking how he would like his bear, cuddly or soft.
At the same area, you can also choose a fabric heart for your bear. Rutendo asked little man to give the heart a kiss and a few jumps to bring it to life. It was very entertaining, mummy and daddy also had to get involved.
The fabric heart was then placed inside the bear. Little man also picked a plastic heart that would beat inside the bear. Not only that, an ID tag was placed inside the bear, so it could be located in case it was lost – a lovely feature!
At the Stuff me area, you can also choose scents for your bear from a selection of different smells. Little man chose bubble gum! Once everything was inside the bear, it was sewn up.
The next area was “Fluff Me” where little man had to brush and groom his bear. I could see the big smile on his face while he was bringing his bear to life.
The next step was “Dress Me” where you choose an outfit for your bear. There are so many different outfits, shoes and accessories from super heroes to football kits and dresses.
Little man picked a spider outfit for his army bear. Rutendo and little man sat on the floor to dress his bear.
The following step was “Name Me” where little man had to pick a name for his bear and type the details on the computer to make the birth certificate. In case you are not sure which name to choose, there is a book with name suggestions.
I loved the fact that the keyboard had large letters, so little man could type by himself. He chose the name Bingo for his new bear. Bingo has even a birth certificate!
The final step was “Take me Home” where little man had his photo taken with Bingo, he was given a copy of the photo to mark his special experience at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. The whole shop stopped when little man had to repeat “The Bear Promise”. It goes like this:
“My Bear is special, I brought it to life. I chose it, I stuffed it and now I am taking it home. Best friends are forever so I promise right now to make my bear my number one pal.”
What a lovely promise! And I can tell you that little man is looking after Bingo very well. Bingo is little man’s first personalised bear: army bear with spider man outfit that giggles and barks.
At the end of the experience, little man gave Rutendo a big cuddle and thank her for all her help throughout the evening.
Overall, little man had an unforgettable experience at the Build-A-Bear Workshop and we are definitely returning soon. It is a great idea for Christmas present or birthday present. Hubby has already said that he is going back to the shop to buy an Arsenal outfit for Bingo.
A massive thank you to Rutendo for being such a wonderful host and to Leah for arranging our visit. We all had a great time! Thank you so much! 🙂
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