It’s a “Beary Special” Build-A-Bear Birthday Party!

Why is it that when we are kids, time moves so very slow?  But now that I am a Mom, I can’t seem to slow time down enough.  Earlier this month, my baby girl turned four years old.  FOUR!  This year, she started preschool and could not have been more excited to have her first “school friends” party.  I was not at all surprised that she requested a Build-A-Bear party given the fact that we have mounds of bears and accessories already at home.

Inviting friends was easy!  Build-A-Bear provides many different customizable party invitation templates right on their website.  I printed the invites on photo paper and they looked fabulous.  The day before the party, I headed to our local Build-A-Bear Workshop to meet with our party host and get a run down of what would happen at the party.  She was incredibly helpful!

The day of the party, we arrived about 10 minutes before our party time (no set up required!).  Our party host gave my daughter a ribbon to wear and I got a name badge to identify me as the “Party Mom.”  As soon as our guests arrived, our party host had the kids sit in a circle as she provided name tags for each child.  For our party, each child had $30 to spend which allowed them to pick just about any animal in the store.  Of course, the smaller amount spent on an animal left more to spend on clothes and accessories.

Once the animals were selected, we were ready to stuff!  The party host marched the kids to the back of the store singing and skipping.  The kids each selected a satin heart and made secret birthday wishes for my daughter before placing the hearts inside her bear (this was incredibly sweet to watch).  A store associate played games with the kids as each child had a turn to make their bear.  It was such fun to see the kids connect with their new stuffed friend!

After the bears were brought to life, it was time to give them a bath and pick out clothes and accessories.  The kids had a blast pretending to clean the bears and get them all “dolled up.”  In our group, we had princess bears, summertime bears, superhero bears and even a Miss Piggy bear!

Each child had a chance to name their bears before receiving a birth certificate and a “house” box for their new friend.  Once everyone was finished, the party host led the kids in singing Happy Birthday to my daughter and even allowed her to ring the store bell.  At the very end, my daughter received a special bear for her party guests to autograph!  This was truly a “beary” magical birthday for my daughter, Aubrie.

Interested in hosting your own Build-A-Bear Party?  Parties start at just $10 a child, but you can use the handy online party calculator to estimate the costs.  Check out all the party perks and make a reservation today!

As a member of Build-A-Bear’s “Friendly 15”, ten party guests were covered by Build-A-Bear.  No monetary compensation was received.  All opinions remain my own.