My introduction to Build-A-Bear began from my sons school. They have a small dark brown bear as a work incentive. The pupils have a chart in the classroom. They are awarded with stars for good behaviour and being a model pupil. At the end of the week that stars are all counted. The pupil with the most stars is awared the bear, for a week only. My son has had him a few times which he has loved. The presence of the bear creates enthusiasm in the classroom. Needless to say, having an occassional bear was not good enough. A visit to Build-A-Bear in Plymouth became necessary.

I have not visited any other Build-A-Bear shops, just the Plymouth one. There are actually 46 Build-A-Bear workshops in the United Kingdom. They are also located in other countries. They are all listed on the webiste which is www.buildabear.com.

The website is quite nice. It is colourful and you can look at the available bears which you can order on line also. You can also book parties. It is quite interactive for children. Take a look at the website, the review is about workshop.

Build-A-Bear.

You don`t literally build a bear, you just stuff them. You enter the shop and there are choices available. They are mostly bears but there are also dogs, dinosaurs and cheeters and other things depending on the store.

In the Plymouth branch, there are lots of bears, but there are far more accessories.

As you enter on the right, are the bears. They are not really bears, they are shells, skins, whichever you prefer. Actually I do prefer them. The skins are empty, they have no stuffing. The heads are stuffed though. I find them quite endearing when they are empty, even though I am not a fan of teddy bears.

There must have been at least 20 different skins. It took ages for my son to choose one. He now has two, one is a bear and one is a dog. The prices start from £8 to £15. The price includes the stuffing. What it doesn`t include is the heart.

The skins are a variey of colours and materials. My sons are both velvet which is apparently asthma friendly.

Options.

When you have selected your bear, you have the option of a sound. They start off at £1 but most that I saw were £4. There were some unusual sounds like someone shouting goal. There was a dog barking. There was a cow, though no cow was avavilable at the branch. There was a Brahms lulaby. There were several sounds available but the most popular one seemed to be the heart.

The heart does not beat, until you squeeze it gently. It then beats for a few seconds.

Stuffing.

Once you have chosen your bear, you can then ask the staff member how hard to stuff it. You can either have it soft and cuddly or firm. The stuffing flies around inside a large glass tank. You give the bear to the member of staff who puts the hole in the back of the bear over a little outlet pipe. The child then puts his foot on a lever. It is almost like a sewing machine control. This releases the stuffing into the bear.

The machine is a bit noisy when in use.

Heart.

When the bear is stuffed, the heart is inserted, or whichever sound has been chosen. The staff member gets the child to hold the heart and rub it. They then make a wish and it goes into the bear.

There are loose stitches at the back of the bear. All the staff member needs to do it pull them tightly and tie them up. There is no need to sew and no needle is required.

Accessories.

Well the list is endless. The cost could really escalate. My sons bear has a pair of pyjamas, a pair of shoes and a pair of trousers and a top. My mum bought all of this for Christmas. We bought him a skate board today. All that we bought for the puppy (with my sons money) was a dog bed. The skate board is for them to share.

My son wanted to buy the puppy an outfit but we didn`t today. I told him that dogs didn`t wear clothes. He wanted to buy him roller skates at £4 a pair (2 pairs required), 2 pairs of shoes £5 tp £5.50 a pair for the roller skates to stay on, at outfit at least £10 and a collar and lead.

There are lots of different outfits like spiderman, harley outfit camoflage outfit. You could buy so many but it would be a bit expensive.

There are also lots of accessories like sunglasses, handbags, even an Ipod. If you wanted to you could just spend, spend, spend. There was even a goal and a tent!

Birth Certificate.

Once the bear has been selected, he is issued with a birth certificate which is included in the price. You need to enter the details on to the computer yourself an it is printed out behind the counter.

Parties.

The shops even provide parties. There was a party today when I was there. This may suit a child keen on bears. I looked into it but thought it was a bit expensive. The party prices start off at £8 per child. If the prices were £8 this would not be too bad but I don`t think it would stay at £8.

The price of the smallest bear is £8. The party guest of which there is a minimum of 6,can chose their own bear which they then take home. This is good but they may not all want the cheapest bear. Also, if they want a heart or a sound, that may put another £4 on the price making it quite expensive in my opinion and this is before they want clothes. It is actually quite good as that is what the bear would cost anyway, but, it is a lot to spend on each individual party guest.

The party involves chosing and stuffing your own bear which is great. There were several things that I didn`t like about the party. The party is in the shop, there is no privacy. The party is right next to the stuffing machine, very noisy. The party price does not include food, in fact it is not provided.

There were party games and the children seemed to enjoy themselves. I may have considered a Build-A-Bear party if food had been included but it would have meant more expense and a change of venue for food.

My Verdict.

I think that the shop is very novel. It is great fun for children. I think it is a great idea and the children really seem to form an attachement with the bears. The only drawback for me is the price. £8 for the cheapest bear doesn`t sound very much but when you add up the heart, the shoes, the pyjamas, the clothes and anything else that the child sets their heart on, it soon mounts up.

I think that it is worth a visit. Before the parent takes the child, it is a good idea to look at all of the prices on the website first. You can then come to an agreement with the child what to buy beforehand. Unless of course, money is no object.