Build-A-Bear: Myrtle Beach Style
Let's just preface this post by saying:
My kids are obsessed with Build-a-Bear.
Little do they know, but we have one a mere 30 minutes away at a local mall in the next town over. And until they learn to drive and figure this out for themselves, I ain't telling!
So, they currently believe that the only places to get Build-a-Bear stuffed animals are when we are on vacation either in South Florida or at Myrtle Beach. Jaina did build a bear (well, a dog) once at a mall in Atlanta, but she's too young to remember it and I never remind her. If I did, then she'd expect a Build-a-Bear trip every time we visit my parents. Which is like 4 times a year and we just don't need that many animals in our house.
The second we got in the car to head to the beach, she would not stop talking about two things: Hermit Crabs and Build-a-Bear. We took care of the Hermit Crab issue pretty soon after we got there so all that was left of the desire of her heart was Build-a-Bear.
Last year, we waited in line for almost an hour. This year, I smarted up and called ahead at the store to find out the best time to go.
Laughter was the answer I got first. Not a good sign.
Oh, wait. We would totally do something like that if our kids wanted one bad enough. (insert bag over the head smiley here)
So, basically the Build-a-Bear worker said our best bet was to get there on a Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 10:00 AM right when they opened.
Brian grumbled a whole bunch when he heard what time we'd have to leave to accomplish this task.
Wednesday morning, bright and early, we set off for Broadway on the Beach.
We had only one destination in mind.
Look, Ma! No line!!
Jayce immediately went for the Brown Sugar Puppy that was right before him in our place in line. He does not take long to make decisions.
Jaina hemmed and hawed the entire time we were in line before choosing this bear.
This bear wasn't even on her radar when we looked our options online the week before. She was thinking of the sting ray or a flamingo or another dog.
She was going to name him "Patchy" and he was going to be a boy bear. She couldn't wait to introduce "Patchy" to "Patty" who is a similar bear we already have at home. I'm happy to announce that the two bears get along just fine :)
"Hey Jayce! What are you going to name your puppy?"
"Hoo Doo."
"Um, okay. What was it again?"
"Hoo Boo."
"Oh."
"I mean, Hobo."
"Whatever, Jayce! Hobo sounds like a good name. Let's keep that one, okay? Mommy can actually remember that one."
Then it was time to build our bears :)
Jayce was asked to give Hobo a hug to see if his stuffing was just right :)
Now it was time to "wash" our bears at the cleaning station. I think Jayce thought he was dirty himself.
Brian was on dressing duty. Jaina wanted Patchy to have boxer briefs.
Jayce picked out a motorcycle for his dog Hobo. But when asked if he wanted to get him an outfit he replied, "No! Dogs don't wear clothes!"
After paying close to $100 for a bear, a dog, a bed, a motorcycle, boxers, an outfit, a pair of sunglasses, and roller skates, we left with our free $5 drawstring bag that we got with a coupon.
Brian swore we weren't buying them ANYTHING else the rest of the trip.
We had some happy campers in our midst :)
Then we went to the bridge to feed the fish.
More on our Boardwalk at the Beach adventure later!
My kids are obsessed with Build-a-Bear.
Little do they know, but we have one a mere 30 minutes away at a local mall in the next town over. And until they learn to drive and figure this out for themselves, I ain't telling!
So, they currently believe that the only places to get Build-a-Bear stuffed animals are when we are on vacation either in South Florida or at Myrtle Beach. Jaina did build a bear (well, a dog) once at a mall in Atlanta, but she's too young to remember it and I never remind her. If I did, then she'd expect a Build-a-Bear trip every time we visit my parents. Which is like 4 times a year and we just don't need that many animals in our house.
The second we got in the car to head to the beach, she would not stop talking about two things: Hermit Crabs and Build-a-Bear. We took care of the Hermit Crab issue pretty soon after we got there so all that was left of the desire of her heart was Build-a-Bear.
Last year, we waited in line for almost an hour. This year, I smarted up and called ahead at the store to find out the best time to go.
"Hi, we are traveling from out of town and would like to visit your store sometime this week. Can you tell me the best time we can come when we won't have to wait in a line outside your store?"
Laughter was the answer I got first. Not a good sign.
"Well, definitely do NOT go on Tuesday evening. We had a line that lasted 2 hours up until we closed at 11:00 PM last night."O-k-a-y... what parent would keep their kids up till 11:00 PM waiting in line for a bear? That's insane!
Oh, wait. We would totally do something like that if our kids wanted one bad enough. (insert bag over the head smiley here)
So, basically the Build-a-Bear worker said our best bet was to get there on a Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 10:00 AM right when they opened.
Brian grumbled a whole bunch when he heard what time we'd have to leave to accomplish this task.
Wednesday morning, bright and early, we set off for Broadway on the Beach.
We had only one destination in mind.
Look, Ma! No line!!
Jayce immediately went for the Brown Sugar Puppy that was right before him in our place in line. He does not take long to make decisions.
Jaina hemmed and hawed the entire time we were in line before choosing this bear.
This bear wasn't even on her radar when we looked our options online the week before. She was thinking of the sting ray or a flamingo or another dog.
She was going to name him "Patchy" and he was going to be a boy bear. She couldn't wait to introduce "Patchy" to "Patty" who is a similar bear we already have at home. I'm happy to announce that the two bears get along just fine :)
"Hey Jayce! What are you going to name your puppy?"
"Hoo Doo."
"Um, okay. What was it again?"
"Hoo Boo."
"Oh."
"I mean, Hobo."
"Whatever, Jayce! Hobo sounds like a good name. Let's keep that one, okay? Mommy can actually remember that one."
Then it was time to build our bears :)
Jayce was asked to give Hobo a hug to see if his stuffing was just right :)
Now it was time to "wash" our bears at the cleaning station. I think Jayce thought he was dirty himself.
Jayce picked out a motorcycle for his dog Hobo. But when asked if he wanted to get him an outfit he replied, "No! Dogs don't wear clothes!"
After paying close to $100 for a bear, a dog, a bed, a motorcycle, boxers, an outfit, a pair of sunglasses, and roller skates, we left with our free $5 drawstring bag that we got with a coupon.
Brian swore we weren't buying them ANYTHING else the rest of the trip.
We had some happy campers in our midst :)
Then we went to the bridge to feed the fish.
More on our Boardwalk at the Beach adventure later!
my kids have never built a bear and there is not one in out town, but Ashley knows that the cousins have one in their mall and thinks it would make a fun birthday trip :) we shall see....
ReplyDeletecute pictures of the event !!
I love Broadway at the Beach, but I hate the lines! We try to go there when we go to Myrtle in the winter to visit my grandparents, then we can do whatever we want with no lines! :)
ReplyDeleteWhoever came up with this store is a genius! Why can't I think of something like this and become independently wealthy?
This just looks like SO much fun. Now, I have a confession! I have never taken my son to do this. He is 10 now and he would STILL just love it as he loves animals of all kinds. I don't know what stops me. I feel like the worst mom! I think it is SO cute that you can't tell the kids that there are locations in other places : ) So cute!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had an awesome time and the kids had great fun! I love their new bears : )
My DD built a bear in New Zealand - actually a little white lamb called Lavender. She wears a tu-tu. Go figure. Glad you had fun, and rest assured, it's as expensive in the Southern Hemisphere as the Northern ;).
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of Build-a-Bears too. My Sam is especially obsessed with the dogs.
ReplyDeleteOne night he told me he wanted to be a "grown up man."
I asked why, and he said so he could go to Build-a-Bear any time he wanted. How creepy would that be? Heaven help us, I hope he outgrows it!
Everybody seems to be doing the Build-a-Bear thing lately. Z dragged us in there last week and we somehow managed to distract her with something to get her out of there.
ReplyDelete