Gift Giving Guy

Today my nine-year-old niece stuffed a monkey; my seven-year-old nephew, a Jack Russell terrier. And they loved it, thanks to Build-A-Bear Workshop (@buildabear). This toy store, found in family-friendly malls, lets children create personalized teddy bears and stuffed animals, step by step. Here’s some advice from an uncle who delighted two Guest Bear-Builders.

• Build-A-Bear is more than teddy bears. Choose from dogs, cats, bunnies, leopards, tigers and other zoo favorites.
• If the kids are older than three or four, they will likely enjoy the bear building experience more. Younger kids may want the pre-built stuffed animals and might find the noise from the bear stuffing machine intimidating.
• Before you go, check online for printable coupons (such as $5 off a purchase of $25 or more).
• Prepare yourself for puns: “a beary pawsome experience you’ll always remembear!”
• Set a price limit ($30, $40 or $50 per stuffed animal) before visiting the store. For starters, the Marble Monkey cost $18 and the Jack Russell terrier was $22.
• The extras are why you’ll want a price limit. Adding a sound effect to the stuffed animal runs between $4 (for a dog bark or monkey eep) to $8 (to record a personalized message). Clothes and accessories range from $2 to $13.50. My niece picked the tie-dye two-piece outfit ($12.50) and my nephew selected the Harley-Davidson black leather jacket ($12) and denim shorts ($5). We skipped the shoes.
• When creating the birth certificate, you can skip the personal information like home address, kid’s date of birth, phone number and e-mail. On the other hand, providing a home address will allow Build-A-Bear to return lost stuffed animals.
• The stuffed animals come in great packaging called Cub Condos, a cardboard house that kids can color.
• The fun continues online. My niece and nephew received an animal ID and key code to play at Build-A-Bearville.