\"Build a Bear Workshop\"

These stors were originally named the \"Bear Factory\". Since their name change they appear to have taken the market by storm and can now been found in most major towns and shopping centers.

My local store is located in the Trafford Centre, Mancester, and although I am not able to put my finger on quite why - I always seem to find myself in the Build a Bear Shop.

The shop is laid out like a "cartoon" factory, with lots of brightly dressed, super ubber happy assistants being set to work to help you create the perfect bear. These are not stitched together bits of fabric and stuffing. These are lovingly created, cuddly furry friends that you bring life to. Let me explain the process...........

The initial step into this parallel universe, is through the shop door, where you leave your adult life behind and dependant on the age of the child you enter with (or if you don't the one you stand near), they will either love the new you (you become 5) or hate you for being so embarrasing. Luckily my son is 2, so I still have a few years of being cool !!

OK...so you are through the door, and you will find yourself quickly greeted by a happy smiley member of staff, who you will instantly recognise as a BABW (build a bear workshop) employee, by their brightly coloured, covered in bear fluff clothes.

You will be directed (even though there are massive 4 ft signs to direct you) to the "Pick Me" section. Here you will find a selection of un stuffed sad looking little piles of empty coloured fabric.....with a head on top!!! You must then of course as the sign says..pick me!! There is quite a large range available, mainly bears of diferent styles, but also bunnies, dogs, cats, frogs, monkeys and even a dinosaur to name but a few.

Once you have selected your little friend, you continue through the process to "Hear Me", this area is optional and does carry an extra cost, however by now you are absorbed in the creation and of course 9 times out of 10, you will pay the extra to give your friend a voice. Again there is a good selection to match each of the available animals, plus tunes such as Happy Birthday etc. You are also able to create your own voice (this costs a bit more) by selecting the create your own and although I have never used this option, the information provided would lead me to believe that once at home, you are able to activate it to record your message, which is then saved.

So you have a saggy friend and maybe a voice, so off you go to "Stuff Me". Here an assistant will fit the voice and using the big, blowy fluff stuffing machine, will then stuff your bear. This bit is great for the kids, as the stuffing machine has clear sides, so you can see all the fluff floating about. Once your friend is stuff to the correct firmness (you have to check this) you then select a silk padded heart and everyone in your party kisses it and sends happy thoughts with it, these include promising to love your friend etc etc yadda yadda. The heart is then snuggled into your friend amongst the fluff and the assistant stitches it up.

You now finally have something that looks like a fluffy bear or whatever you selected, off to the next stage you go "Fluff Me". Here you are provided with a grooming station, with brushes and air blowers to fluff the plush of your friend. It's a bit daft and most people just walk past....but give it a go, you are paying your money, get the whole experience is what I say.

OK so you've picked, heard, stuffed and fluffed.......you could at this point stop, but by now you have the bug, and you find yourself in the dressing room. Ohhh yes, they have clothes to suit all the situations and occasions you can think of, and many that you would never even dream of. There are school cloths, jeans, shoes, skates, wizards, fairies, fishermen, army, bikers and nightwear. I could go on for hours and still not cover all the options. So off you go and you dress your friend......this is where the money starts to add up, so be careful, all those little accessaries cost money.

Once you have picked you outfit(s), you and your friend go to the dressing table to try on you choices, this is a good time to come to your senses about the prices of these bits, just remember, its a toy and can almost certainly do without those designer boxer shorts !!

So your ready to go, just one thing left to do, give your friend an identity,,,you have to pick a name. Many people spend months trying to come up with names for their children and even though this is only a toy, trust me, when you are faced with this question as you sit in front of the computer screen where you register the birth....you will, almost definately have a completely blank moment, at this point remind yourself again, it's fur stuffed with fluff, it won't be picked on in school in a few years if you choose the wrong one, just pick anything!!

Once the registration is complete, you are ready to pay, off to the tills where the shop assistant will present you with your birth certificate and will safely pack your little frind and wardrobe into a nice box that looks like a house, this seems a really good idea, until you try to carry it around for more than 5 minutes (if you are planning to carry on shopping a word of advise would be to ask for a carrier bag) the box is bulky and I am yet to carry one without getting some sort of paper cut...the choice is yours! Payment made your are off to start your new life with your friend...have fun, enjoy, be five again, if only for a while.

Prices

The toys themselves start at around £10.00 and can go up to £30.00, this includes everything excluding the clothes, which are around £5.00 an item (tee shirt, jeans etc) or £10.00 an outfit (top and matching bottoms, or complete dress up outfit)

You can also have a party (birthday etc) there, I have seen a few of these and they seem to have fun and each child goes away with a birthday bear. The group are guided around the phases by a designated member of staff and play games and sing happy birthday, I think the prices for this is about £10.00 - £15.00 a child, which doesn't seem too bad as they all get a decent toy.

Overall, I like this shop, my son enjoys the experience and seems to play more with the toys he has built, on the downside, it can take a while and queues at weekends can be long. You could easily get an equivalent quality toy for less money, but its theexperience you are paying for, and if you have kids or are young at heart, it's definately worth a visit.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, I hope you found it helpful. x