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Original poster

Birthday giftcard that will cost me (buildabear)

29 replies

Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:02

My son has been given a £10 build a bear gift card. He is ridiculously excited and talks about it all the time. His sisters are now really excited too.
I never intended to go into one of those shops, assuming it would be overpriced, and not really into that kind of thing as a family.
Now he is asking to go at half term as we live 30 miles from the nearest one. That means taking all 3 kids.
From what I can gather he is going to want a bear (£15?) plus a tshirt (£5?) as a minimum. That's £60 plus the cost of gojng there plus lunch etc...
Is there any way around this? Maybe I can get his dad to take him at the weekend, but I can't imagine leaving his sister out of it... unless maybe they bring her back a small consolation prize?
This was bought by a friend who has a lot more disposable income than us!

OP posts:
MyEnormousTurnip · 06/02/2020 08:05

Well it’s a birthday gift so I don’t see why you need to buy your other dc a bear as well. I certainly wouldn’t.

However it’s still annoying I agree. I’d get dh to take him on his own if possible.

CottonSock · 06/02/2020 08:05

Yep, first time we went it was 50 quid on one child! Only been since when the did that promotion a while back that caused queues and mayhem.

Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:06

Yes I think that's the answer, thanks.

OP posts:

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CottonSock · 06/02/2020 08:06

You can buy accessories on eBay. I would only let the birthday child do it.

Notthebloodygym · 06/02/2020 08:07

It was a thoughtless gift. I don't think there's a problem with excluding his sister. It's his birthday not hers, and she will need to get used to it. To me it seems ridiculous that if one child gets a birthday, any others are given a gift also.

Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:07

I don't think I can face 3 kids in build a bear demanding stuff at half term! We'll go one weekend instead. I just know that once he has one, his sister will desperately want one too. They are close in age.

OP posts:
Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:09

Yes it is just his birthday but his sisters are 2 and just turned 4, so not very mature about these things. The ebay tip is fab, I will look it up, thanks.

OP posts:
GiveHerHellFromUs · 06/02/2020 08:10

Did he have any other birthday money?

Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:12

Oh good question! He did. We usually put it in his savings but can add some of it to this. I weirdly hadn't thought of that!

OP posts:
RhymingRabbit3 · 06/02/2020 08:12

Do build a bear still do a "pay your age" birthday bear. If you go in the month of his birthday and sign up to the build a bear club then you can get a particular bear cheap. Not sure if you can pay for it with a gift card though 🤔

jellybeanteaparty · 06/02/2020 08:13

I have seen a factory outlet build a bears in Swindon which you can get a complete bear at a more reasonable - may be be nearish you or perhaps worth a Google to see if there are others?

MyuMe · 06/02/2020 08:13

www.buildabear.co.uk/collections/count-your-candles

So he gets the birthday bear which is pay your age and a t shirt.

The other children get nothing as it isn't their birthday.

RhymingRabbit3 · 06/02/2020 08:14

www.buildabear.co.uk/collections/count-your-candles

GiveHerHellFromUs · 06/02/2020 08:15

I'd use it on this occasion! Then the girls won't have missed out because you won't have had to pay anything (apart from petrol and lunch!)

User478 · 06/02/2020 08:18

They still do "count your candles" so the bear will be £4 for him (only the birthday bear) www.buildabear.co.uk/collections/count-your-candles
He could get 1 t-shirt or something for £6

Don't take the girls. Make it a special birthday treat for him. You can always take the girls on their birthdays.

Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:19

Thanks for the tips. Count your candles won't work on this occasion as it was last month. But I will remember that for next time(!).
Swindon is actually not far so I'll look into that too, thanks.

OP posts:
User478 · 06/02/2020 08:28

I would be willing to bet that they don't check ID...

Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:34

That would be fine if I take him. His dad would never ever lie about age. He is an anxious type!

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 06/02/2020 08:36

That's got regift written all over it and agree that it's a thoughtless gift.

Who gives someone a gift card that's only going to cover a tiny proportion of the minimum typical spend at an expensive shop?

Unless he's really set on doing the bear experience, I'd see if I could sell the card on ebay and let him spend the money elsewhere.

RhymingRabbit3 · 06/02/2020 08:43

It specifically says on the website that they dont require proof of age. I mean if you took a 10 year old in and claimed they were 3 they might question it but saying his birthday was february instead of january isn't going to cause much upset!

Spied · 06/02/2020 08:44

What a thoughtless gift. £10 is a ridiculous amount for build-a-bear.
A lot of outfits for bear are more than this plus you'll get the hard sell of beating hearts, sounds, scents etc to add to bear that you will feel mean saying no to.
I'd also steer him away from the TV character type bears/characters as these are very costly but displayed very prominantly. Our DD was adamant she needed the Elsa bear and once she saw it she naturally wasn't interested in a 'normal' bear anymore.Then obviously the accessories are needed....
Let Dad take him alone as it's going to be very expensive + you'll be paying the majority of the cost anyways. No way would I consider buying bears for your dd's too and it would be sad to take them obviously.

bookmum08 · 06/02/2020 08:45

Does he have any other teddies or dolls that you could just get some outfits for (the clothes fit Baby Born dolls etc). Can you use the voucher online of having to go to a store? Really I would just be honest and say "we haven't got a Build a Bear in our town so I am afraid we can't go there" and see if you can sell the voucher to someone else. Also I would say to the gift giver "Thanks for the gift card but unfortunately we don't have a Build a Bear in our town so it might be a while before we can use it"

Original poster
Poetryinaction · 06/02/2020 08:53

Thanks for the replies. He has seen it advertised on tv and is really excited so I don't think we can miss it now! His sister seems convinced she is going too, so that will be hard to resolve, but it is a lot of money to us, for things they really don't need.

OP posts:
KenAdams · 06/02/2020 09:29

You can get kits to make bears at home if your girls want to do something similar www.bemybear.com

nevertoooldforindie · 09/02/2020 15:26

I think Argos have an offer on their version at moment would that be suitable for your daughter. Or to put away for her birthday

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