Build-A-Bear = Big Business!

Well, last Sunday was Kaleigh's Build-a-Bear Birthday Party. These were the selected few who were lucky enough to get invited. No one usually turns down an invitation to a Build-a-Bear party, namely because you walk away with a $25.00 bear, bunny, monkey, dog, etc! Kaleigh had gone to one for her friend (the one with the black hair in the center of the shot) and she had about 12 girls there! Her parents of course can afford this. I told Kaleigh that 6 is the minimum and that is what she would have. We actually allowed 7 in case one child really couldn't make it, which happened. They were out of the state.

So you see, no one really wants to miss the opportunity. Well, it was a fun time for all and they truly did not notice the hundreds of people that were there! I mean the room above the main store is for parties only....usually. When they can't fit anymore people downstairs they allow them to come up as well. Well, that made for an interesting Birthday celebration! I was a little confused, but apparently everyone knew about it but me! So the "private" party room wasn't as private as I thought! They did however have a person with us the entire time, helping the girls (and guy, sorry Cole) pick out their animals, helping them get stuffed and doing all the normal party stuff. They even went so far as to take extra items for the parents that were there or extras the kids were paying for and instead of having to stand in a HUGE line, our helper went to an unused cash register and we did not have to wait at all. That was a biggie for us! I mean for a Sunday evening at 4pm, I did not expect that the place would be that bad! Wow, that place must really bring in the bucks. I mean each animal is anywhere from $10-$25 alone and then of course you buy the little outfits that range anywhere from $5-$35!

And then there are the accessories like cell phones or pom poms or even shoes! As you can see by the photo (that I tried to put here!) Cole is helping the lady stuff his dog, "Frank", she holds the dog on the machine and Cole pushes on a pedal with his foot. It is very interesting how they make it so interactive. The kids then put a little heart in it, but not before wishing on it, kissing it, hugging it, all sorts of things to make the animal their own.

Well, it was worth the money, for the most part, the kids love their animals, Kaleigh and Cole both got dogs and Kaleigh named hers Cocoa. Very fitting.