My Kid’s Birthday Was A Build-A-Bear Nightmare
As I wrote about before, we decided not to have an actual birthday party for my kid due to our cranky houseguest. More than anything, she wanted to go to the Build-A-Bear workshop and create a stuffed animal. Cool, cool, easy-peasy, we would take her there, let her pick out what she wanted, and go home and eat some delicious takeaway and cake. Simple, no?
No. No no no no no no. So, my kid choose her bear, actually, a dayglo orange Hello Kitty, which was actually on sale for fifteen bucks. Fine. Who am I to judge, it’s her birthday, it was her birthday money, she was super excited and hugging all over the un-stuffed deflated carcass of this kitty and totally stoked about adding stuffing it it. But it wasn’t just stuffing. First she had to add a cupcake scented chip to it, which was basically like a car air freshener for over three bucks. Then her kitty needed clothing, so she choose a fancy dress for kitty and a bathrobe. But then the kitty needed footware, and sure, I can see where the kitty needed bedroom slippers but the kitty also needed shoes which cost, I am not joking, nine dollars.
At this point this kitty was way better dressed than I was. BUT this kitty also needed a wig. And that cost six dollars for this black wig with bright orange streaks in it just in case kitty was going to embark on some career as a super model stuffed animal or something. But that’s not all, because at checkout kitty also needed her very owns Pawsport, just in case kitty goes on any international flights in the future.
At the end of it, my kid’s Build-A-Bear adventure ended up costing 84 dollars. For a stuffed animal.
Now, maybe I could have been a better Build-A-Bear shopping companion and urged my daughter not to buy kitty an extra outfit covered in sequins and tulle. And I did remind my kid that she was spending a LOT of money, her birthday money, and that she wouldn’t have much leftover to shop for anything else. She said she knew, and that she was fine with it, and her kitty really needed that bathrobe to sleep in. I merely gently suggested she may want to save her money for things other than bear evening wear. But your birthday is the one day out of the year you should be able to do what you want, or at least that’s what I tell myself when I order an extra glass of wine at dinner. My daughter’s bear-y great bear facemask was her version of an extra glass of wine at dinner.
But when we got home my daughter asked to see the receipt and we went over it and she was gasping over what it all cost. When we had been in the store my husband whispered to me “Isn’t she a bit old for this?” and it wasn’t until we got home and she started doing the math and adding it all up and getting a tad bit outraged over the price of her kitty that I think maybe she even realized that yeah, her Build A Bear days are over.
I can so remember that feeling though, being little and having a pile of money from a birthday or something and thinking I was Money McMoneybags and then having buyer’s remorse over whatever I had blown my bank on. I guess the nice part is that she slept with her new kitty and is still changing its clothes and trying to place the wig on correctly so kitty doesn’t look like she is having some sort of toupee mishap. I have to give the Build A Bear people credit for those three dollar scented discs though. What kid wouldn’t want a cupcake scented supermodel kitty to sleep with?
(Image: Build A Bear)
