When a colleague invited me to a recent birthday party for her one year old son, I was not sure what to give as a gift, until I happened onto the Build A Bear Workshop store.
The way the store works is that, you guessed it, you build a bear or stuffed animal.
First, you get to choose the type of stuffed animal you want to build - the classic teddy bear, or a bunny rabbit, or a baby chick. The animal you picked is essentially just the skin - no stuffing is in it yet.
Then, you go over to a large machine with a rotating arm that fluffs up the stuffing, kind of like a large cotton candy machine. When you step on a lever, the stuffing shoots out of a nozzle and the store attendant directs this into the animal skin, filling the body with stuffing, kind of like a reverse vacuum cleaner. You get to choose how stuffed you want the animal to be. You also get to insert a sound chip if you want, and you also get to insert a tiny plush heart. The attendant then closes the hole in the back of the skin and you have a new friend ready to go home with you.
But you might want some clothes for your new friend!
The store carries a wide variety of outfits, and most are interchangeable no matter what animal type you picked out. I chose a Buzz Lightyear space suit, though if I was going to keep the bear for myself I would have chosen the Harley Davidson motorcycle jacket.
If you give your new friend a name, they will print off a birth certificate, and you are on your way home with a relatively inexpensive, customized gift.
The store also has an online bearville where kids can enter information about their bear, play games, watch little movies, etc. I could see how a child would find the whole process very entertaining, and the parents might like the ability to customize the gift as well.
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