making new friends

A few weeks ago we were given the opportunity

to test out the whole Build-A-Bear experience.

To say we were blown away

would be a complete understatement.

In a word;

it was fantastic.

We were greeted by Jack in our local store

and he took us through the entire process.

I have to say that he made the experience for us.

Not only was he really knowledgable about everything they had available

but he also had a fantastic way with both the children.

He did hi-fives with the little man

and spoke directly to the both of them instead of through me,

which I thought was lovely

and which both of them clearly loved.

We had gone in expecting to make a bear for the beautiful boy

and were surprised and thrilled to hear we could make one for the beautiful girl too.

So we went about the process of choosing and making two little friends to take home.

This started with choosing an empty bear for the beautiful boy

and picking a sound effect to put in his paw,

and then helping him get his stuffing.

The little man watched on a little cautious as his own bear was made,

but he was really interested in the pedal that Mummy helped press

which put stuffing into his bear.

The beautiful girl loved watching her bear come to life

and the sound and lights of the stuffing machine really interested her.

All the bears are given a heart

which the children can choose and then put in themselves.

Each heart is kissed and placed into the bear with a special wish.

And by the time his sister's bear was being made,

the little guy had warmed up to the whole process considerably

and he helped Jack to put the heart into her bear.

With lots of hi-fives of course!

The beautiful girl was thrilled to meet her new bear for the first time,

lovingly made by her brother and Mummy.

 Then comes the exciting bit
of choosing outfits for your new friends.
The beautiful boy's bear went for some black jeans
and a trendy t-shirt and shirt
as well as some very cool converse-style trainers.

And the beautiful girl's bear 

was dressed in a pretty summery patchwork dress

with matching peep-toe shoes.

 The final step is then to register your new friend
and give them a name
so that they can leave the shop with their own birth certificate.
Scarlett the bear after her red dress.

And Harry the bear
as it's a favourite name at the moment of the little man.
Although we did say afterwards that we should have called him Jack
after the lovely man who helped us in store.
He really made quite an impression on the beautiful boy
who spent the rest of the day telling us that things were "awesome"
in the same way that Jack had in the shop.

We really cannot speak highly enough of our Build-A-Bear experience.
We adored it
and have raved about to it lots of people since.
It was a really special activity to do
and one which the little man is just at an age to really start enjoying.

Our new bear friends have been loved and played with lots since they come home
and I'm sure we will be popping back into store in future
to buy some additional outfits for Harry and Scarlett with our pocket money.

(And if you happen to be in the Colchester area
we'd definitely recommend popping along
and asking for Jack; he was "awesome".)

I've been nominated as a finalist for Best Baby Blog in the MAD Blog Awards 2013

and would so love your vote.

You can vote here should you wish to.

Thank-you so much.

We were invited to take part in this experience
and received both bears and their accessories free of charge
for the purpose of this review.
But all words, pictures and opinions are my own.