Hellobee Boards

A friend of mine just posted an Instagram story of the mayhem at our mall around this. No violence, but a line around the entire (outdoor) mall. THE ENTIRE MALL!

My girlfriend fled, and took her kids to the thrift store and bought them dress up costumes instead.

All the stores around me where crazy too. No violence, just very long lines. I work so I didn't even have to entertain this idea

I haven't heard of any actual problems with violence, but the concern was that with that many people in a space there was the potential for safety issues to arise.

This whole thing was supposed to be a promotion to kick off a new perk where you can pay your age for a specific birthday bear on your birthday. But that was hardly mentioned anywhere and just made this whole thing look like a failed publicity stunt. I bet a lot of people would have stayed home if they knew they could just do it on their child's next birthday.
https://www.buildabear.com/count-your-candles.html?AID=12204923&PID=3640640&SID=74968X1525078X3ea8739856720cef6ddffa7f791ed6b3&partner=CJ

@kiddosc: oh wow that was very poorly put out. They made it sound like a one time thing so I guess that's why people overreacted to it.

Now that I have kids, I no longer wait in lines for free or discounted stuff. Ain't got time for that.

Someone on our local moms group posted that she was near the front of the line, yet it took 4 hours to complete the process!! Holy crap, my time is way more valuable than that. To save, what, $10? I mean, the accessories are the real expense, right? And those weren't free.

@Iced Tea: as far as I can see it was for a bear that retails at $14 dollars. Cute but if your kid is 5 you could easily get another beat from target for the same price ($9). I guess if you have a big family that would be a big savings but still. Not worth it.

@skinnycow: no you’re saving a max of $13 for the birthday bear. Assuming your kid is 1. That’s crazy.

Some of the bears can be expensive for a stuffed animal, especially the special characters. I've seen some in the $50 range. But ofcourse that still doesnt justify standing in line for hours.

@Foodnerd81: No, that’ll be the savings for the birthday bear, but yesterday you could get anything for that price. @skinnycow: I think it was only really an awesome deal for bigger families. A friend of mine with five managed to get in and said it was the only way they’d afford taking all the kids just for fun like that.

With three kiddos, I’d have saved around $75, so we checked it out. I expected a line, so we went an hour before opening with some snacks, books and go fish. There were easily a thousand people there already! No thanks! We found some friends in line, took the voucher and hit the carousel. It ended up being a lovely day, tbh!

@rattles: Makes much more sense for large families!