Find out what MNers and their DC’s got up to at the Build-A-Bear Workshop! NOW CLOSED!

[AaronMumsnet]

We were asked by Build-A-Bear Workshop to find 150 Mumsnetters to visit the stores closest to their homes in order to trial their bear-building service. Read on to see what they thought of the in-store experience.

Here’s what Build-A-Bear have to say: “CeleBEARate Easter with Build-A-Bear! From birthdays and holidays to good behaviour or an A+ at school, there are so many moments to #celeBEARate with a new furry friend from Build-A-Bear Workshop! Help us #celeBEARate Easter this year.

As we approach the Easter holiday and half term break, parents are always looking for fun, unique and personalized activities and traditions for the family. Bring your kids to Build-A-Bear Workshop to share a fun, heart-filled experience. Document your experience in photos and let us know about your experience with your kids and what made it memorable and meaningful.”

Testers, please share your photos and answer the following questions on the thread below:

1. Please upload a photograph of your bear and any other photos of your in-store experience.
2. Please tell us all about your DC’s new bear. We would love to know the name of the bear, the reason that your DC chose this name, in addition to any other background details regarding your child’s bear selection process such as their reason for choosing particular clothes, scents or accessories?
3. Would you recommend Build-A-Bear Workshop to a friend or family member? If so, why?
4. How did you and your DC find the overall in-store experience? What were the highlights?

Everyone that shares their feedback and fills in a short survey as required will be entered into a prize draw where one tester will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

I took DS (7) and DD (4) to the Plymouth shop today to spend our £50 voucher and had a wonderful experience. Both children had seen adverts on the TV but, as we live over an hour from the nearest store, had no previous experience.

On entering the store we were greeted by very helpful and friendly staff which was great, as it could have been slightly daunting as we didn't know what we were doing. The staff all seemed to be in their PJs and dressing gowns - charity or just a Plymouth thing? I'm not sure.

After a good look round, DD chose a rabbit and DS a dog. The accessories seemed to be targeted more towards girls - DD could have chosen any number of outfits but DS was uninspired and happy to choose a sound for his dog instead. Selecting the sound and getting onto the chip was quite exciting - he went for real puppy sounds. DD chose a Belle dress for her rabbit.

The stuffing, heart ceremony and stitching up bit was great - lovely to see the bears coming to life before our eyes.

This came to approx £45 so we bought 2 of the backpack bags too which were very cute with their heads and paws sticking out and also made our trek back to the train station easier.

We also enjoyed making our creatures' birth certificates at the computer terminals.

I would definitely recommend Build a Bear to friends. Whilst it is quite pricey, the bears are very high quality and it was a very memorable experience.

Both children are now fast asleep in bed with their new cherished friends.

1. Hopefully the photos have uploaded. DD2 playing in store with a ready-assembled Rainbow Dash that we didn't buy, DD1 browsing for shoes and DD2 home with Tempest Shadow.

1. There was no doubt about what we were going to buy when we got the vouchers. Both DDs love My Little Pony and DD2 is obsessed by Tempest Shadow but there aren't many Tempest Shadow soft toys, her being the baddie and all. I'd had my eye on this as one of the better TS toys but don't think I would've bought it otherwise. We opted to have the free heart as we wanted to get her armour and roller skates (having had such fun pulling Rainbow Dash around the shop).

1. I would recommend it. It's not as expensive as I'd imagined for a bear. The accessories, though, I think are expensive. Tempest's armour was about £14.

1. The highlights were the shop assistant allowing DD1 to push the stuffing up into the vacuum tube (she'd asked where the stuffing came from and the assistant said that only children who asked good questions could see - whether that was truth or not, it made DD1's day). DD2 hates noise so was hiding on the other side of the shop for the stuffing but even her curiosity got the better of her and she came over to help some stuffing be sucked up. The girls weren't interested in the certificates at all - they were recycled when we got home.

Worst points, I don't feel they were interested when there was a problem. We got DD1 a Twilight Sparkle too. Her wing was creased and when we mentioned this for about the fifth time they said it would uncrease. It hasn't. Because the voucher was so large I didn't like to make a fuss. And then, I think we were badly advised in the footwear. The assistant knew we want rollerskates. So we had to buy shoes too (it all gets expensive..). But the rollerskates kept falling off the shoes in the store and rather than admit they'd advised us badly with the shoes they just advised us not to out the skates on outside the shop in case they fell off. The staff were young and I know I hated potential confrontation at hat age - maybe some extra training required?

All in all, a good experience for the DDs. The ponies were good value, they're big and very solid but the accessories are sooooo expensive. Armour + 2 pairs of shoes (you need these for rollerskates) + 2 pairs roller skates = about £36... I wouldn't have spent my money on the accessories.

But Tempest Shadow is much loved so thank you very much, BAB.

Chickoletta I'm from Exeter and your "charity or just a Plymouth thing" comment has just made more choke on my 🍷!!!

Just following on from the feedback I posted yesterday - today, the fastening on the back of DS1’s unicorn has come apart (the bit where they put the stuffing in and then tied it up afterwards).

I’ll be stitching it back together myself rather than returning it to the store to ask them to repair it, as we’ve got a very full diary for the rest of the school holidays and DS1 will want his unicorn back sooner than that.

But I’m not very impressed with the quality of this, given that DS1 had barely had the unicorn for 24 hours before the fastening came undone. I’d expected the unicorn to be fastened up (or stitched up?) a bit more securely than this.

1. Please tell us all about your DC’s new bear. We would love to know the name of the bear, the reason that your DC chose this name, in addition to any other background details regarding your child’s bear selection process such as their reason for choosing particular clothes, scents or accessories?

My son originally wanted a dinosaur, because he thought he'd seen one on an advert for Build A Bear, so was a bit disappointed there wasn't. However, he then was really happy with the tiger cub only to then get upset that there were hardly any suitable outfits for it and he couldn't have his favourite. In the end, he was really pleased to get a monkey - a cheeky monkey like him apparently! So we have Mikey the Monkey (no explanation for the name apart from it starting with a M) complete with beating heart and giggle sound (because it's a cheeky monkey, of course!). No scent, because he didn't like any of them.

1. Would you recommend Build-A-Bear Workshop to a friend or family member? If so, why?

I'm in two minds about if I would or wouldn't. It was quite stressful experience to start off with, trying to manage my son's expectations and get him to understand that he couldn't have certain things he had wanted but the staff were brilliant especially with my son. They did say, however, it was nice to actually be able to spend time with him because they don't normally get chance to spend much with each child as the queue is so long. Also, the expense versus the expectation of what the child wants may make it difficult but it's great when all, especially the child, are happy at the end.

1. How did you and your DC find the overall in-store experience? What were the highlights?

Very welcoming and they were good at explaining each step, as we hadn't been before. My son loved listening to the different sounds you could choose, especially the giggle and the fart ones!! We were disappointed by the vast number of 'character bears' rather than what I would call proper bears and we felt there were far too many multicoloured/rainbow/unicorn ones. The main highlight was the moment that my son was finally happy with his choice of bear and had a big beaming smile from then.

1.Please upload a photograph of your bear and any other photos of your in-store experience.
2.Please tell us all about your DC’s new bear. We would love to know the name of the bear, the reason that your DC chose this name, in addition to any other background details regarding your child’s bear selection process such as their reason for choosing particular clothes, scents or accessories?
My 'dog obsessed' ds was very excited and knew before we arrived what he was looking to choose, it didn't take him long to find 'Waffle' name chose by ds from his favourite kids tv programme at the moment. He chose lots of accessories too.

3.Would you recommend Build-A-Bear Workshop to a friend or family member? If so, why?
Yes I would. It is a lovely memorable experience for kids and great fun that they get to make the decisions them selves.
4.How did you and your DC find the overall in-store experience? What were the highlights?
He absolutely loved it and thought it was great fun putting the special heart through it's steps. The staff member was really good and interacted well. My ds loved that he was able to pick what he wanted although and chose the dog sounds chip.

On the left is dd2 - her bunny is called Princess Craziness. Dd1 is on the right. Her dog is called......Princess.
We were given an additional £10 off voucher so I let the girls choose whatever character they wanted.
PC has clothes that dd2 fancies. P has a tutu a lead and training treats I think because dd1 is doing a lot more with our dog now she is older and is getting in to dog training.

We had a lovely time bab it was really fun thank you! I would recommend it to family and friends as a special treat activity

an add on to my earlier review. one of our toys had become unstitched so I looked at my receipt today to see how to contact them. the receipt had been handed to me folded and I had just popped it in my purse as I have disabled children and they were starting to struggle. anyway I looked at the receipt this morning only to find we have been charged for 4 toys instead of 3! that's upset me as it isn't easy for me to get out with the children with their problems and it had been a real treat for them. we are now left having paid for a toy we didn't have and one of the toys we do have is unstitched. this has put me off going back in the future

That’s such a shame bigarse1, it’s annoying enough to notice that sort of mistake when you’re still in the shop, let alone a day or two later.

We had the same problem with the stitching on the back of DS1’s unicorn. I stitched it back together myself as it’d be over a week before I could fit in another trip to our local Build a Bear shop.

But this morning, DS1 has noticed that some of the stitching on the unicorn’s foot has started to come undone. I’m not at all impressed by that.
I can understand that the bit on the back where the stuffing goes in might be a weak point, but that failing, and the stitching on the foot coming loose hasn’t left me with the best impression of the quality of the toys.

(DS2’s Star Wars bear has been checked and has stitching that is 100% intact)

This is Rainbow Bear. My children aren’t known for originality when it comes to naming their toys! The name is obviously directly related to it’s fur. It was primarily chosen because it matches my DDs friends bear! She chose a berry scent but no sound. The clothes were chosen to complement Rainbow Bears fur and played to the rainbow theme.

My DD loved the experience and will definitely be wanting to return. She enjoyed all the different parts of the process and probably most enjoyed choosing all the clothing.
I found the staff mostly very good and child friendly but one member of staff was quite pushy in the accessory area making lots and lots of suggestions to my children which of course they wanted and it was getting hard to manage their expectations by this point. I’d prefer to proceed through this area without any assistance.

I would definitely recommend build a bear to anyone although it can get incredibly pricey so you do need to either go all in and buy everything using your full monthly salary or prepare for a few tantrums when your kids can’t have everything they want! But overall it was a really fun experience and DDs build a bear has pride of place in her bed now.

I forgot to mention ours was the Plymouth store. I paid £67 at the till £50 voucher from this £10off voucher given to me by another customer - £7 out of my own pocket. I let the girls choose 3 items each for their character and I needed to top up to make it fair. Granted the product test was for one child but I have two....
The average price of a toy is about £18. Garments/accessories are mostly £5 each. So average spend is around £35. I realise there is no suggestion that you go to build a bear every day but that's very very expensive for an essentially 30 minute activity.
Bearing in mind I spend £30 a term on brownies!! Theme park entry for the 3 of us would be about the same price!!!!

1. My daughter chose 2 bears, one for herself and one for her baby sister. Hers was a pink strawberry smelling bear which she called ‘Cupcake’ because of the smell and she called her sister’s pink rabbit ‘Cuddler’. They had an outfit each and a sound each. There was so much choice for the outfits, but in the end chose a pretty sparkly dress and a pair of pyjamas

1. Yes I would recommend it as it is a lot of fun and the bears are great quality, but I would advise them to set a limit on how much the child could spend as it’s easy for a child to get carried away by all the accessories

1. The atmosphere was great and it was lovely that the children can get involved. I thought that choosing the heart and giving it a little kiss before putting it in was a nice touch and we also liked the birth certificate at the end. All in all a fun experience for both of us.

2, my child chose a charmander toy with scent and sounds. He also chose to dress it up as if it was going to Hawaii. Our toy is called Hawaii Charmander. We're not too creative with names either.

3, Whilst on the whole I think it can be expensive, I do enjoy build a bear. I get a lot out of watching my child choose bits and pieces for his toy. Plus he gets a lot of play out of the bears as well.

4, atmosphere was a bit crowded and noisy but overall it was fun. I have a younger child who wouldn't enjoy the noise at all, but my oldest is in his element. I also had a lovely chat with a teenage worker who was planning on becoming a peads doctor, she was so lovely with my child. I think all the workers there are lovely, never had a bad experience to be honest.

2.My DC usually gets overwhelmed when presented with a wide range of choice, so before our visit we spent a little time on the website looking at the choices, this gave her the opportunity to pick her favourites. At the store she chose the Disney princess bear with aurora clothes, silver shoes, red underwear, wand, bubblegum scent and a heartbeat. She decided to call the bear Aurora as that is her favourite Disney princess.

3.Would you recommend Build-A-Bear Workshop to a friend or family member? I found the bears are very expensive especially after buying an outfit and accessories. However, I do realise your paying for the whole experience. Based on that I would recommend this as a special treat or special occasion.
4.How did you and your DC find the overall in-store experience? What were the highlights? My DC loved it! It was very quite when we went into the store so the assistant was able to give my DC a lot of attention. DC particularly liked the little heart ritual and also giving the bear a fluff using the bath and brush. The birth certificate was a lovely touch at the end. DC was absolutely beaming when we left and hasn't put the bear down since. Overall, it was a lovely memorable experience for both of us.

Meet Moody! My DS wanted a Peter Rabbit inspired 'bear'. He wanted to call it Peter but decided that didn't really suit her! He choose the jacket to be the same as Peter's jacket and the shoes because although Peter Rabbit doesn't have shoes, he quite the shoes.

He chose rabbity noises for the sounds, three noises which are a hopping noise, carrot crunching & sniffing and he also opted for a heart beat sound.

Overall, the experience was positive. The staff were pleasant and made a little fuss because we hadn't been before, gave him a sticker etc. Unfortunately, there was a family also there that behaved as though every staff member was there for them alone, which tainted the experience slightly as we felt we like we were competing for help whenever we needed anything. Not really the staffs fault but they should be aware of people monopolising staff.

I would recommend Build-A-Bear and I think we definitely go again with my daughter for her birthday.

Should be Mopsy not Moody, flaming autocorrect!

Addition to previous message as I missed some crucial info:

Our nearest store is a concession within a big department store, so very small but certainly functional.

When we visited, there were 2 staff members there and 2 other families. Despite being busy on the tills/with other clients, we were approached straight away by a member of staff to see if we needed help, asking if we'd been to a store before etc.

When choosing options/accessories we were shown the bits that would be suitable for our bear (unicorn) and left to look around and decide at our leisure.

I found the staff to be helpful and knowledgeable without being too pushy - they were on hand to answer questions but I didn't feel pressurised by them to buy more than I wanted to.

1. Please upload a photograph of your bear and any other photos of your in-store experience.

1. Please tell us all about your DC’s new bear. We would love to know the name of the bear, the reason that your DC chose this name, in addition to any other background details regarding your child’s bear selection process such as their reason for choosing particular clothes, scents or accessories?

My little one chose the name Mario . He chose the Super Mario Bear and filled it with the popcorn smell and brought roller skates and shoes extra .

1. Would you recommend Build-A-Bear Workshop to a friend or family member? If so, why?

Yes I would . It was a good experience and lots more choice than they used to have .

1. How did you and your DC find the overall in-store experience? What were the highlights?

We really enjoyed visiting the Birmingham store . It was nice to go in there and for the staff to be so friendly and interactive with my son . That definitely added to the experience

First off I want to say a HUGE thankyou to MN and Build-A-Bear for this, it was magical to treat DC in this way and to not have to limit them. We went to the Liverpool One store and I presented it as a reward for how amazing they have been through a difficult time, and a special Easter treat. I haven't had and chance before now to write up our experience, as I wanted to make sure to repay you with as good a review as I can manage

1. Please upload a photograph of your bear and any other photos of your in-store experience.
Attached and more in next post

2. Please tell us all about your DC’s new bear. We would love to know the name of the bear, the reason that your DC chose this name, in addition to any other background details regarding your child’s bear selection process such as their reason for choosing particular clothes, scents or accessories?
I took all 3 DC (Nearly 4, Nearly 8 and 10) and I did intend to get them all a bear, hoping for them to choose cheaper ones, but they decided to get a special family bear to play with together, meaning they could get more clothes for it

They initially chose a dog, but there was a queue for the stuffing machine so they started looking at the clothes and realised that there was a really limited amount of options for dogs/ponies, so they changed their mind and they ended up with happy hugs teddy because they thought it must be the best one as teddies should give good hugs and make you happy. We didn't notice the scents but wouldn't have gone for that option anyway as sometimes smells can bring on migraine in eldest DD. They had fun testing all of the sounds but none went with their idea of their new bear (not sure what that means but it's what I was told!) they did think about recording their own but we weren't sure how to do that and if you got to rerecord it until happy with it etc, and I'm not sure how well it would have worked in a noisy shop anyway.

They loved the heart rituals, the assistant was great and had them all complete some actions, and then each of them complete one on their own, which made them all feel involved and special. They didn't try to upsell the charity heart, they were just discreetly at the back of the box, but DC asked and once explained they decided they wanted to buy one of those. I've seen a beating heart mentioned on here a few times, we didn't see or get told about them but they sound cool!

The next part took a long time and involved a lot of squealing as they found something new that they loved, some very serious discussions about what their bear needed, they decided one pair of pyjamas was enough but it should have plenty of outfits for day time. They kept checking in with me that it was ok, and it was lovely to be able to just say yes! They fell in love with a pair of rainbow shoes and were so excited when they found some with roller skates attached (discounted slightly from buying them separately too)

We headed to the till and when we queued up a shop assistant came over and explained about the birth certificate so we went to do that, I can't really say the name they chose as it is made up from their own names, the shop assistant was great help with this and they all love the bears name

The only upselling we had, though I wouldn't really call it that, was asking if we wanted a big box he could live in (making it sound appealing to DC) or the backpack, and asking if we wanted to buy any half price gift cards. I had shown them the voucher beforehand and when they got to £50 they suggested buying the bear and accessory separate to take advantage of buying the gift cards, which I thought was great customer service! I ended up buying 4 in total from the 2 transactions, using 1 for the bear and putting 3 to one side to treat them for birthdays/Christmas/special occasion as each one is basically the equivalent of an outfit

3. Would you recommend Build-A-Bear Workshop to a friend or family member? If so, why?
Most definitely, though I would make sure to mention the cost and suggest it as a special occasion. The bear is so much more special than one just bought in a store, and you are paying for the experience. I love the extra little special touches which are included in the cost, the heart and the birth certificate. The staff really made the DC feel special and got them excited with the little rituals they had to do. We were all greeted at the door and they were asked their names and how old they were, guessing older than their age which started them off laughing.

The first visit will always be the most expensive, but future visits could be cheaper by just buying an outfit for the bear they already have, or by buying another bear which can share the outfits you have at home.

4. How did you and your DC find the overall in-store experience? What were the highlights?
Biggest highlight has to be the staff, they really made the DC feel special, they seemed happy to be there and there was no upselling, pushy selling or aiming selling at DC to get me to spend more, they even saved me money by suggesting splitting the transactions and buying the voucher

I also like the added extras of the heart and the birth certificate, and the rituals that come with the heart to prolong the experience (technically you are paying for the experience so you are getting more for your money)

DC loved how much choice there was, and I was especially impressed with the wheelchair for the bears, as a wheelchair user myself it is wonderful to see it being normalised and I know what it would have meant to me as a child when all of my toys were "normal". We all feel that they have a very special bear because there is no other bear out there that is the same (name, clothes, special skills and wishes inside etc)

Here is our bear in pyjamas and rollerskates I did question it, but the two replies were "but it matches!" and "it's so it can skates in its dreams"

I forgot to mention, I loved how clean, tidy, organised and bright the store was, it made it a better experience & easier to find what you wanted and looked more professional and worth what you paid. Even with kids running round in excitement there was plenty of room & although it was a small shop it certainly wasn't cramped or stuff crammed everywhere, as a wheelchair user this is one of the hardest parts of getting out and about, but your store had plenty of room for me

A few points that aren't criticisms, but just suggestions to consider

• There seemed to be a lot more "girl clothes" than "boy clothes" which is a bit disappointing, especially as girls have more chances to play with those sort of toys (DS isn't limited but I know a lot of boys who are steered away to traditional "boy toys"

• I would have really appreciated prices displayed, especially as a first time customer, instead of having to take the item from DC and check the tiny price on the back before agreeing. This would also help children with working to a budget when spending pocket money etc

*A pocket money section would be great, things that are already sold like single t-shirts, skirts etc at £5 and under in a marked £5 and under section

Signs in the window saying bear plus outfit and shoes from only £ (from made clear not in small print though) - This would have made me buy from the store before now, I always worried about the cost but actually depending on the bear and outfit, it can be quite reasonable. It's the fear of the unknown, you don't want to take your DC in as you aren't sure if it is going to cost too much, and you don't want to get their hopes up by going in to find out

We managed to get 2 bears plus clothes with our voucher at McArthur Glen outlet York. DS 4 a few days before, so a real birthday treat! Frozen is his general theme on most things! And at the moment, pink is his favourite colour.
'Elsa' a pink swirly candy scented bear, in her dress and sequin shoes, singing 'Let it go' obviously!!! The voice began to wobble fairly quickly, but a back room operation got her going again!
While we waited, with some money left, Anna was chosen too, the proper bear this time, dress and slippers, strawberry scented, singing Anna's song, both bears with their own backpack carriers and certificates.

We went on Friday afternoon, before the holidays, only a few people in the store, but they were all preparing their bears. Every member of staff spoke to us, no pressure at all though. They spoke to my ds by his name, and even tried to remember my email address on the 2nd visit! They all made his experience fun and lovely. I would recommend the store, as a treat bear, and (when good behaviour allows) extra accessories. There was never any rush to finish the bear, or get you out of the way for the next customer, which is really refreshing. No pressure to buy anything either. Every member of staff were really lovely, chatty and kind. They made my ds feel special, and even though he can be shy, he spoke to them and had a dance with Elsa before we left.

It was mentioned that some stores have a computer which downloads the voices or sounds onto the box, bit not this one, it would be such a good idea, as Elsa is going wobbly again, so needs an operation again soon!

Ds now wants to know when we will be visiting again, he enjoyed our special time together at Build A Bear. Yaa he loves shopping!!!

We visited the Solihull store today with my DD to build a bear for her and her little sister who was stuck at home with chickenpox.

The store wasn’t busy and from the moment we arrived the staff were really friendly.

DD chose one of the Honey Girls characters, Risa, for herself, and the smiley monkey for her sister. DD had already looked online and had shortlisted Risa, but she did look and feel some of the others before making her final choice. She said she might change the name to Poppy (she’s a Trolls fan!). She picked the bubblegum scent and the fairy sounds to go inside, and the ‘make a wish’ satin heart as she wanted to give some money to charity to help others. She then wanted the most sparkly tutu and top to complete the outfit.

She chose a lavender scent for her sisters monkey, with the charity heart and a monkey sound chip. The monkey was completed with Trolls pyjamas! She christened the monkey ‘Monkey MooMar’ - but I have no idea why!

I would recommend Build a Bear - I was expecting the bears to be extortionate but they seem good quality and the outfits and extras are the things that add up. But for a standard bear it’s not too bad. The store in Solihull was clean and well laid out and the staff were really great with my DD and spoke to her and not down to her through us. That made her feel more involved and special. They weren’t pushy either in trying to get you to buy lots of accessories.

I’ve uploaded pics of her choosing her bears and then ‘washing’ them, then the final result - happy DD!!

Here is Pikachu with accessories. He was not renamed as DS wanted to keep it. DS is 7 and I was surprised how much he loved the experience. He got a heart which donated to charity as we thought it was a nice touch. It’s got a pikachu voice box which the member of staff kindly showed us. DS loved looking around choosing the cool accessories. He also chose a bag to carry him around with.

I would certainly recommend Buildabear as there was more to it than I expected. The price I felt might’ve been a little pricey for some.

The staff at Leeds White Rose were amazing. They recommended a few products for him to spend the card on and he fell in love with the passport and skateboard instantly. He thought the headphones and iPod were a good addition to the skateboard look.
Thank you for this, it certainly was a memorable experience.

Hi there. It was the first time ever for my 6 year old to visit build a bear shop. She choose spotty colourful bear with rainbow shirt and shorts along with pink sequin shoes. She was jumping up n down all the time while building a bear. Thankyou so much for this gift. This trip 'll be memorable .x