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June Meetings
Saturday, June 12, 2004
We had our Build-a-Bear party! Seven of the eight girls attended the party at the Castleton Build-a-Bear store. We budgeted
$20.00 for each girl to spend however she wanted on an animal and clothing or accessories. Each girl's parent(s) had the
option of contributing up to an additional $10.00 to their child's total allowed amount.
We had a hostess who stayed with our group and explained the process every step of the way. The girls were gathered onto
a circle of inlaid tiles, and our hostess gave everyone a name tag. Then each girl went over to the bins and chose an animal.
There was quite a range of animals-- bunnies, a pig, dogs, a lion, a (tiger-striped) cat, and of course, bears (oh, my!).
Most of the girls chose the less expensive animals-- bunnies and bears-- so that they could also choose accessories.
Once everyone had chosen an animal, we all returned to the circle. Each girl was given a small stuffed heart (about the
size of a quarter), either red satin or red-and-white checks. The hostess had the kids jump up and down, "warm"
the hearts between their hands, and kiss them (for love). They also rubbed the hearts against their foreheads (to make their
animal friend smart) and against their tummies (to keep their animal friends from eating too much). Then the hearts were
tucked inside the animals, along with a bar code so that if the animal is lost, any Build-a-Bear Workshop can track down it's
owner.
Next the girls formed a line behind the hostess and marched to the back of the store, with the unstuffed animals perched
on their heads like droopy hats, shouting "stuff my animal!" as loud as they could. At the back of the store, the
girls sat in a circle on the floor. The hostess tossed a small stuffed animal into the ring and had the kids pass it from
person to person until she yelled "stop!". The child with the small animal then got up and proceeded to have her
animal stuffed. There were no tussles, then, over who went next.
Each girl was asked how squeezable she wanted her animal to be, soft or firm. Then she was asked to press the start button
on the stuffing machine (a big blower with a tube which was inserted into the open seam of the animal). Stepping on a foot
pedal turned the blower on. Once the animal was filled, the hostess "laced" up the open seam.
Next, the animal had a "bath". At a kid-height counter shaped like a bathtub, the animal was placed under a
foot-operated blower shaped like a shower head, and the girl brushed the animal's fur with one of the provided brushes. This
allowed stray bits of stuffing to be removed.
Then each animal was named at a computer terminal. The girls' names and addresses were input so that a lost animal could
be returned to them, and the animal was given a name. When the information was complete, a "birth certificate"
was printed at the main counter.
Then, on to the clothing and accessories! The leaders and the hostess were kept busy tallying totals as the girls chose
shirts, shorts, shoes, sunglasses, swimsuits, and accessories like beach chairs and umbrellas. There were many, many outfits
to choose from, and many accessories as well. When each girl was satisfied with her choices, and an adult had verified that
she was still within her budget, she returned to the tiled circle with her animal and it's extras.
The hostess removed tags and tallied up the final total one girl at a time, and once the total was reached, they each
dressed their animals. We ended up with quite a mix-- one bear had a swimsuit, towel, and beach chair. Several animals,
bunnies and bears, had T-shirts and shorts, and sandals or shoes. One bear was dressed in a sports uniform. He even had
little cleats. One bunny had a khaki skirt and a green Girl Scout vest.
At the end of the party, each girl was given her animal's birth certificate, and a cardboard carrier "house"
to take her animal home.
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