Parents will (or, perhaps won’t) be pleased to know the Build-A-Bear ‘Pay Your Age Day’ is back – but this year, it’s running slightly differently.
Last year the bespoke toy brand announced a new promotion, that matched the price of bears to the age of the children they were intended for. Meaning, for example, that a bear for an 6-year-old would cost just £6.
Given that the coveted bears can cost up to £50 – yes, really – this caused quite a stir among savvy parents. Shopping centres were overrun by crowds, leading some stores having to close and others having to bring the police in to manage the enormous queues.
To avoid similar chaos this year, the promotion is back with a few changes. Rather than rolling up to a store and hoping for the best, wannabe bear-builders will now have to register online by 16 June for the Build-a-Bear Bonus Club, which includes filling out a birthday profile.
Then, 200,000 hopefuls will be randomly selected to make a bear. The chosen ones will then have two three-day windows – June 24-26 or June 26-28 – to pop along and make up to two bears (as long as they have their relevant-aged children with them). Parents of children younger than one will have to round up, while children up to 23 months old will pay £1.
But we can’t promise there won’t be any queues – after all, there’s a lengthy process of building each little fluffy pal. The eight stage creation requires you to: “Choose Me, Hear Me, Stuff Me, Stitch Me, Fluff Me, Dress Me, Name Me, and Take Me Home.”
So... um, good luck?
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