We had such a fantastic time at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Nottingham Victoria Centre. We made a couple of bears over the Easter Holidays, the girls said I was the best Mummy ever! I’ll be honest and say, I loved it too. Miss N, has been to the Build-A-Bear workshop before, she actually made a bear for Miss A as a present when she was born. It was my three-year old Miss A’s first trip though, and she was beyond excited.
The Build-A-Bear Workshop is an experience, it’s not something I think to be rushed, and a fantastic making memories activity to do together as a family. We were greeted by a member of staff, who talked us through what the girls should expect. Throughout our time there, the ladies were always at hand to answer questions, and to talk to the girls too, which was lovely. They explained there is a unique bar code, which is placed inside your bear, so that if you are parted from it, it can be returned to the store, and reunited with you, very impressive!
First things first, you need to choose which of the large selection of unstuffed bears, you would like to build. These come in various styles and prices, there are even dogs and My Little Ponies to make. Miss A choose a pink bear from the Disney range, whereas Miss N (10) choose a Gwen Stefani Harajuku Panda, which she declared ‘was very cool’. You can just build the bears, but you also have the option to add extras, like sounds, and clothing.
We were then directed to an area where you could choose if you wanted your bear to make a sound, by a device placed in a paw that you squeeze. The girls giggled so much as they decided what they should go for. Eventually they choose pop songs from One Direction and Carly Rae Jepsen. I would definitely recommend doing this, even though it is optional, as it really makes the bear unique. You can even record your own personal message, which I think is a great touch.
Next up is stuffing, your child is allowed to use the pedal, which blasts the stuffing into the bear, both girls loved doing this. The staff even give the bear to your child to check its ‘huggability’ offering to add more stuffing if necessary.
Miss A and N were then asked to kiss one of the small hearts you can see above, and make a wish before it was placed inside the bear and sealed up. I think there was wishes of a long hot summer and lots of ice cream. They then took the bears over to the fluffing area, to give them a brush and fluff up. We spent quite some time in this area, as Miss A, likes her bear to be extra soft and fluffy! 😉
We then chose from the enormous array of outfits. The Harajuku panda has its own selection of specially designed outfits (though the others would fit too) Miss N loved these, even adding shoes and glasses to match her own. Miss A chose her absolute favourite Disney character Merida from Brave, it came complete with dress, wig, bow and arrow. Accessories and clothing start at around £2.99 upwards.
The final thing was to create a birth certificate for each of the bears and choose a name. The Bears are then carefully placed inside there cardboard homes for you to take home.
We had a fantastic morning at the Build-A-Bear workshop, so much fun, and the girls haven’t stopped talking about how good it was. Once home, and whilst I made lunch, the girls spent over an hour colouring in their cardboard bear houses, so I got to sit down and have a cuppa, just perfect for everyone!
More details of prices, and bears that are available please visit the Build-A-Bear website.
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Disclosure : This was a review, and so I was given the two bears for free.
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