Build A Bear

I have to say I like the concept of building your own bear and dressing it… Though I am a big kid…
However…The bears are not the nicest looking and very pricey.
and the clothes are seriously expensive!
It’s a big waste of money in my opinion and I would never want one.
Though…I do my own build a bear.
I have an old Hamleys bear which is far nicer looking which cost £0 because I already had it .
I go into charity shops and buy baby clothes that I like that’s newborn, 0 – 3 months that costs from 20p-£3 max and on a good day I can get 10 items in charity shops that maybe cost about £5 in total and if those same items were bought in build a bear they would prob cost £50 in total.
I’m being charitable, I can donate the items back into charity shops cause the clothes have been so cheap, and the baby clothes is actually much nicer.
And in the long run I’m smarter than the average bear. ;)
But if I had kids I would not buy them a build a bear. Nor would I buy anyone else a build a bear nor do I ever want anyone to buy me a build a bear.

Build a bear is really cool. They let you pick the type of teddy you want-​bear, owl, unicorn… etc. They then fill it with fluff and put a little heart in and then the real fun starts where you can pick out clothes and accessories for your beloved bear.
The accessories can be pricey and it would probably be cheaper to dress a young baby but kids love this place and they also do kids parties which is sure to be a hit. Yes it’s a chain, and yes its overpriced but if it keeps the kids happy and quiet and lets them experiment with their own style, sure where’s the harm!

Not really sure how to review this perennially popular store. As a 26 year old female, I have no need for teddies. The concept of this place is definitely weird. It seems very American and very consumerist. You pay more for the bear simply because it’s ‘kinda’ been made from scratch.
They have a teddy bears hospital shop in Dublin which I think is a far more charming sentiment than a place like this. You can imagine kids lapping this kind of stuff up, stomping their feet and throwing a tantrum until their parents allow them to partake in the life enhancing prospect of building their very own teddy bear, or something. Take your kids somewhere with a bit of charm instead.
Ripping the stuffing and charm out of teddy bears, literally and metaphorically.

I write this as a male who can make his own stuffed animals. No joke, check a sample out here if you don’t believe me:
I believe that if you want to have a beloved childhood or grownup plushie, I think it should be handmade. That is unfortunately the kind of person I am. I love things that are hand crafted, personalised and are crafted with love. Build a Bear, whilst popular, doesn’t fulfil these criteria for me.
In fact I actually find the whole shop somewhat creepy. I see the merits of choosing the type of teddy and size you might like, but dressing up teddies in a frankly ridiculous range of outfits is creepy to the extreme. Why someone will want a fireman or policeman teddy is beyond me. The range is ridiculously large, I will not be surprised if they would be inspired into a Josep Fritzl range and labelling it basement chic!
The one time I came in here to take a snoop round the staff kept buzzing in and around me as they frankly seemed to not have much to do. I recommend that you avoid this place, unless you have some sort of animal dressing fetish, in which case fill your boots!

I have seen this chain throughout america and canada, so it was easily recognizable to me when it came to Belfast. It is located in Victoria Square and it is quite surreal to see a teddy bear DIY shop swimming in a sea if fashion outlets.
I bought a bear for my nieces birthday a while back and I have to say it was a really enjoyable experience. It was a surprise present but I regret not having my niece with me at the time because they have a little process which is really catered for children.
How it works is that you choose your basic bear style which ranges from basic bears to fancy pants bears. You then present your bear skin to an attendant that stuff the bear with wool or cotton from a big candy floss like container. Then she puts a heart in the bear and then you can clothes it and even get a bear birth certificate!!! The whole process is very interactive and the children love it.

This place is just creepy, who wants a bear in your bedroom that can talk, it has chucky written all over it. Maybe this is just my over exposure to 1990’s horror films talking but I do not like anything that is stuffed but can talk.
Passing Build a Bear the other day I began to realise how this place makes its money, a toddler was lying down in front of the shop, kicking her feet and screaming, «MUMMY I WANT A BUILD A BEAR!!!» this was a full scale tantrum, a code red in my experience. The mother of the child was mortified and she managed to haul the child up by promising, «I will get you a Build a Bear if you are good today.» This means that the mum is going to try and distract the toddler and hope she doesn’t remember. This means avoiding Build a Bear which is exactly what you should do.
This place is what is wrong with the commercial world, the shop from the outside looks like a toy box and there is no doubt that they tap into children’s marketability and this in turn makes parents waste there money on a useless bear to keep there kids happy.
I am sorry but it is a big thumbs down for me, but this doesn’t mean I do not have a heart, I like kids toys as much as the next guy but on this occasion they are just overpriced.

There is something unmistakeably bizarre about making your own bear — not the concept in itself, personalising a bear for a child would have completely bowled me over when I was young but the way in which it happens is obscure and a little bit odd.
Watching the staff fill the bear with their bear guts (when I say guts I mean fluffy stuffing) and putting his little bear heart in. I have a feeling children are going to grow up with confusing and jaded perception of the internal workings of mammals, specifically bears… or maybe I’m being needlessly anal, who knows.
The prices are also a little on the high side, although think might be somewhere for future presents for my little cousin… that’s her next birthday sorted.

Now, this is quite a hard for me to review this place because I am neither a 4 year old child or a girl who has a bizarre liking for cuddly toys. When I worked in Belfast barely a week would go by without somone in my work coming in with a new build a bear that they had just bought. I generally looked on with complete amazement as to why you would bother with this kind of shop. If I had kids they would never be brought here because it is simply a way to make money off wee kids and their unbelievably put upon parents.
We are talking about £15−20 for a teddy bear which to my ears is just ridiculous. How much money do people have to simply waste on this kind of tat? Only redeeming feature is its location but other than that, basically everything that is wrong with consumer capitalism.

If I were a four year old child, this would be undoubtedly the single greatest place on Earth ever. The chance, not only to have a toy, but to actually make it and get it stuffed myself, AND to get a certificate to give its own name thus making it the most fantastic day ever!!!
Sadly however, I am not a four year old and though I would love to go back to my mispent youth where I never had enough cuddly toys (1,2,3…awww!) this shop is so blatantly a money making scheme designed to guilt parents into buying ACCESSORIES for a teddy bear… since when did a teddy bear need a change of clothes and a wardrobe to put them in?! I’m blaming Lady Gaga.
The shop is designed with the sole purpose to get children to make their own toy at a rather hefty price tag. Shame on you!
But then the child in me creeps back and says that all the other shops in Victoria Square are designed to get adults to buy themselves stuff and not us children so its only fair that we get to build a toy that will stand the test of time!
Perfect for children.
Nightmare for adults.

Build a Bear, in the city’s Victoria Square shopping centre, is definitely worth a mention. In it, kids can literally have their bears «built», picking everything from the skin to its clothes and name. This place is packed even on school days, with lines extending out the door sometimes, despite being open for over 2 years now. If you’re in the city, take your kids here; it will astound and amaze them.

Firstly, this workshop is very expensive. That said, my kids absolutely loved it. The reason they loved it is because it’s not your average bear/​toy shop. In this workshop the kids get to make their own bear (with supervision of course). They get to pick the type of bear and they get to stuff it. They can also buy clothes and other items for the bears. These tend to cost a lot but it is unique and pretty special for the kids to get to make their own bear. It is a fantastic shop and makes a change from the usual toy shops.

This is a great gift idea to bring a child along to make a bear. It is great fun but pricy. You pay for the bear but also have to buy an outfit.