If, like me you have children who you need to bribed to stay shopping in the malls, then visit the Florida Mall and promise a visit to the Build a Bear Workshop. Make sure you keep this shop more or less to last as once they have visited here, your only “be good and patient bribe” left is an ice-cream!
We visit Teddy Bear Factory here in the UK and Build a Bear is similar to this but as with all things American – BETTER! We have girls but this is so fantastic as they do boys outfits too and there always seem to be plenty of boys shopping there too.
You will spend a good while in here so be prepared! There are lots of teddies to choose from – my favourite had to be the Pink Poodle – so cute with lots of curls but they do every kind of animal/cuddly imaginable. They had wonderful rabbits when we were last there at Easter. You can chose the one you like best and off to the filling station. They attach the bear to the end of the tube and ask your child to put their foot on the pedal and the bear then fills up – they even ask you to test it is cuddly enough and if it isn’t or it is “overstuffed” they will adjust it.
Your child then has to chose a heart to go inside the bear, they have to kiss it and make a wish – but they can’t tell you what it is!
Then to the computers to print out the bear’s name and birth details, the computer stations are so cute that the kids love to do this themselves. However when my Mother visited last year she bought the girls a bear each for Christmas and after Christmas they could log on to the website, enter the details and print the certificates themselves at home in the UK.
Now to dress the bear! So many different outfits to choose from, from tops and jeans and skirts, to full outfits including pyjamas, dressing gowns, shoes, just about everything! The boys can even choose from American football outfits. My daughter enquired when we were buying the clothes if they had any of the pretty little bows that they put in the animals hair ( fur?), the assistant opened a box and let them take several with no extra charge
There is a selection of “Limited Too” clothes for the bears and you can then go this trendy shop in the mall and buy the exact same outfit for your girls! Unbelievable.
Bar far the best outfits have to the Disney range – only $15 (compared to UK this is so cheap as you would pay at least £15 for this in similar shops in the UK). We bought a Beauty outfit and a Beast outfit – complete with brown fur for the Face!
They do Skecher sneakers for the bears and all kinds of shoes but you just have to buy the Roller Skates because you can then pull the bears with aide of reins around the mall! If only I had dreamt up this idea.
I guarantee you that every visit thereafter another outfit will be purchased. Every time you spend $10 they stamp a card and after you have collected 10 stamps, you get $10 off your next purchase – we kept ours from last year and it was readily accepted this visit.
A fantastic place for the kids to visit and so much cheaper in the US with a far better selection of bears and costumes/outfits.