Post by Chrisnstar on Feb 20, 2005 19:28:09 GMT -5
Have you ever been there? My son Abe gave John a gift certificate to Build A Bear for Christmas. We finally cashed it in today.
It was a wonderful day. Abe (my up and coming corporate ladder climber in the fitness world)... took us to lunch with his lovely girlfriend. We ate at the Mongolilan Barbecue.. What an interesting place that is.
You go through a line and pick out raw meats, fish, veggies, sauces, spieces, etc., and then it is cooked for you on a big grill. At your table are rice and tortillas to go with the grilled food. Abe had a tex-mex flavor, I went for shitake mushroom and teriyake, john went for bbq, can't remember what Dorkus had...
Anyway, after stuffing ourselves there, we went across the road to the mall to Build A Bear...
Merciful heavens, what a racket! I don't know who thought up that concept, but he or she must be filthy rich now!
If you havent' been there, the child picks out a bear or other type of animal and gets just the outside part. Then you go through a line and pick out clothes, shoes and accessories for the bear. Then you go to the "stuffer," where your bear gets a heart and stuffing. The child is asked to "hug" the bear to make sure that it is the right softness or hardness that the kid wants.
Then you go to a computer and type in the bear's name and kid's name and other info and get a bear birth certificate printed out.
This is not cheap. John's bear cost $36.50. He's dressed in a fisherman's outfit with hiking boots. A pith helmet would have been another $5, sunglasses another $4...
The bear shell is $20, and each item you add sends the total up. You can also get "voices" put in the bears, and of course, that costs too. At the checkout, you get a little cardboard house for the bear and a coupon to entice you to come back and buy more clothes for the bear!
I was looking at all the outfits and accessories... beds, shoes, jewelry, fireman's clothes, biker clothes, hippie clothes, everything... and it occurred to me that these bears are better dressed than many children in this world!
The place was packed! It was as busy as a chuckecheese's without the pizza smell! While we were there, a "build a bear" birthday party was going on...
It was an interesting experience. i guess John is not too old for stuffed toys. He's really enjoying his bear, whose name is Joe.
It was a wonderful day. Abe (my up and coming corporate ladder climber in the fitness world)... took us to lunch with his lovely girlfriend. We ate at the Mongolilan Barbecue.. What an interesting place that is.
You go through a line and pick out raw meats, fish, veggies, sauces, spieces, etc., and then it is cooked for you on a big grill. At your table are rice and tortillas to go with the grilled food. Abe had a tex-mex flavor, I went for shitake mushroom and teriyake, john went for bbq, can't remember what Dorkus had...
Anyway, after stuffing ourselves there, we went across the road to the mall to Build A Bear...
Merciful heavens, what a racket! I don't know who thought up that concept, but he or she must be filthy rich now!
If you havent' been there, the child picks out a bear or other type of animal and gets just the outside part. Then you go through a line and pick out clothes, shoes and accessories for the bear. Then you go to the "stuffer," where your bear gets a heart and stuffing. The child is asked to "hug" the bear to make sure that it is the right softness or hardness that the kid wants.
Then you go to a computer and type in the bear's name and kid's name and other info and get a bear birth certificate printed out.
This is not cheap. John's bear cost $36.50. He's dressed in a fisherman's outfit with hiking boots. A pith helmet would have been another $5, sunglasses another $4...
The bear shell is $20, and each item you add sends the total up. You can also get "voices" put in the bears, and of course, that costs too. At the checkout, you get a little cardboard house for the bear and a coupon to entice you to come back and buy more clothes for the bear!
I was looking at all the outfits and accessories... beds, shoes, jewelry, fireman's clothes, biker clothes, hippie clothes, everything... and it occurred to me that these bears are better dressed than many children in this world!
The place was packed! It was as busy as a chuckecheese's without the pizza smell! While we were there, a "build a bear" birthday party was going on...
It was an interesting experience. i guess John is not too old for stuffed toys. He's really enjoying his bear, whose name is Joe.
