Build a Bear Workshop

I just took my son for his birthday in Nov. He enjoyed it, but he was 5 years old so his older cousin had to assist him with the computer to create the birth certificate. He got a bear with basketball clothing that came to around 20 to 25 dollars. I wasn't aware that you could have an actual party.

I would give them a call and ask them what do they suggest.

The key is to only invite a few children, and choose a time when it won't be crowded - ask the party host when their least crowded time. And explain to the party host that you want the children to play games and focus on the sale/budget items. I suggest 5-7 kids total. Then make cupcakes and have the kids eat them at the mall food court while opening presents. You can choose how much to spend per child and it can actually be more affordable than other bday parties (Chuck E Cheese, Pump It Up etc.). And make sure you sign up for the free rewards card - after the birthday party we were shocked to learn that we earned $50 in Build A Bear bucks (which we saved until this month and "Santa" went shopping for their Christmas presents). I was a nice surprise and completely made the party worth it.

How old are the kids? There is a lot of waiting involved. They have they have the kids take turns stuffing their bears, and depending how many kids you have it can be a long wait until your turn. Also, if the parents will be staying, it gets very crowed. We did it for mt daughter's 9th Birthday with 7 friends, they had a blast. They were old enough to understand about waiting and enjoyed watching each other make the bears. We went to a party there with five year old, and it was a disaster. Everyone wanted to make their bear, they got very impatient. They do not have a room for cake. When we did our, the shop was at a mall. We used the food court to have cake.

I did a Build a Bear party when my daughter turned 5. It actually was the cheapest party to date. We set the budget at $15 per kid and ended up getting 9 to come. Afterward we walked to the food court. I had set up tables a head of time, brought some snacks and juice boxes, and had pre-ordered a few pizzas. Then we did cake. My parents waited at the table while we were at the party. They let you set the budget anywhere from $10 per person on up with a minimum of 6 party goers (they gave us a discount for going up to $15 per person so it ended up being really about $12). I'm not sure what ages your twins are, but we see parties in there all the time and everyone has a good time.

Both my girls had BaB parties. They were awesome! The cost really depends on how many kids you have and how much you budget for them. We had no more than 6 kids per party (the fewer, the better for this type of party, IMO) and told the BaB people that the kids could spend $40 each (that's usually one animal and one pretty good outfit and accessory, but $20 each will also be pretty generous). After the party, we all walked over to California Pizza Kitchen and had Mac and Cheese (in the family size, not individual portions, it's way cheaper) and cake. And I used some coupons and discounts I had saved up at BaB, so in all, the party cost me no more than $300. I've done at home parties which only cost slightly less, but I had to spend HOURS planning, cleaning, running the party, etc, and in the end, it was SOOOO worth it to do it at BaB.

My daughters did this with their girl scout troop a quite a few years ago and had a blast. I would say its a great place for kids to have a party that are between the ages of 7 and 10.

The animals and clothing come in all different price ranges. You can put a limit on how much each child spends by giving them a limited choice.

To the best of my knowledge they do not have an area for serving food. You could bring cup cakes, and serve them in the food court.

My recommendation would be to have the kids come to your house. Then you and hubby can transport them to the mall, go to Build A Bear, and return to your home where you serve cake. I would also recommend 10 kids max. Keep in mind that even though your having a party, the store is also filled with other customers.

I don't know about having a birthday party there, but the final cost is going to depend on what you allow the kids to make and the clothing/accessories they can purchase. That's a very difficult part of the question to answer.

I think it would be super fun! I'm sure they have birthday packages don't they? I would check and see what the options are first and what you get for what price and go from there.

I think the thing you need to be clear about is the cost per child. My son was invited to a Build a Bear party and the cost was set at $20.00. One store employee was assigned to the kids (age 7) and she explained which bears they could choose and what their cost limit was. Some of the kids got a less expensive bear and a set of clothes. Other kids chose a more expensive bear and no clothes. But, the employee would explain to each child what their options were with the bear they chose (and of course, some of the bears were not affordable). I stuck around for the party (along with some of the other parents, but some parents just dropped of). After the party, like some of the others, we walked down to the food court and had cookies. There were no tables (available), but the center of our food court has carpeting and so the kids sat in a big circle and ate. They all had a GREAT time. But, it was crowded in the store. It really wasn't bad for the kids though because they all enjoyed watching what the other kids were getting. The employee also had them sit in a circle and play a game - she kept them well entertained.

-L.

It is expensive. You can do the basic build a bear thing. and that is like $10 you get the bear stuffed. and that is it. now if you add clothing that is another $15 to $20 per item, a voice box (meow, bark, oink etc) those can start at like $10 per bear. The bear's are fun but can lead to big bucks. As far as I know there is no place for cake etc we did our's in the food court at the mall and then upstairs to build a bear. Depending on whether you want to spend all the excess money and how many kids your having it could be fun or could be buku bucks.

2 kids cost me over a hundred bucks. we got a cat and a dog, each had a voice thing and each got an outfit and shoes and some bling. so there were extras but the bear builder is at the back of the store and you can't get there without going thru all the other stuff.