Build A Bear Workshop

I went to a four year old’s birthday party at this store this past weekend, and it was certainly an eye opener.
When we first approached this place, an overenthusiastic greeter asked if I had been there before. «No,» I replied and kept on walking inside the store. The look on his face was priceless.
We were running about 10 minutes late, so we walked into the «stuff» portion of the party. The girls (and one boy) had already picked out their animals and were holding them up to this machine full of cotton and who knows what stuffing. I am sure the machine looked more complicated then it was, it was mostly for the kids to play with and look at.
After the girls stuffed the animals, the Bear Specialists (employees) sewed them up (the toys, not the kids) and we all went to the front of the store. This is were most of the marketing happened.
Each girl got to «pick out» a shirt for her animal. Oh, and apparently, of the bears and cats were female because the kids also got to pick out a color of bows for the animals ears. :Eyeroll:
They had the kids in and out in 20 minutes and there was about 3 other parties going on! At a minimum cost of twenty bucks per kid (for the bear and the *must have* clothing) this place was making hand over fist.

Isn’t this trend over yet? It’s a cute idea, overdone. And as I was walking through the mall the other day, I was accosted by an employee trying to force me into building my own penguin. This is just too many damn trends trying to market themselves as one. Now, I have no doubt that every damn 11 year old in America is going to want themselves a built penguin for Christmas. Between March of the Penguins (that abysmal movie that was about 2 hours too long), Happy Feet, and all the other penguin related stuff that has come out lately, I feel that this trend is starting to wear thin. But, far be it for Build a Bear to see a market and not capitalize on it.
Now, I’m not necessarily criticizing (well, I am, but more society as a whole for being so bandwagonish and manipulated). But that penguin/​employee nearly molested me with his beak. That is overly aggressive marketing, especially for a children’s toy.