Build-a-Bear Birthday Party Review

So you know how you're always looking for interesting birthday party ideas, going on Facebook mommy threads to find out what everyone did for their birthdays and scouring Pinterest for themes?  Indoor play area birthdays are all the rage, but we recently attended a Build-A-Bear party and wanted to share about it, in case you wanted a different idea!

We got the invitation to our Build-A-Bear party via Evite, but you can also print paper ones.  Build-A-Bear provides different images for your invitations in case you want to use them.  When we arrived at the party, each child got a name tag, and I think they were also supposed to get a crown, but they didn't hand them out this time.  The brochure said that the bears are supposed to get a party hat, too?  We didn't miss them, though, because I'm sure Kiyomi would have taken hers off 2 minutes after receiving it, anyway.

Waiting to choose their animals

Our party leader introduced herself and had all the guests line up to choose their animal, out of a choice of 3 (brown bear, white bear, dog).  We asked about paying extra to upgrade to a different animal but were told we couldn't, since we were part of a party package.  I think this was a good thing, because you better believe we had our eye on the Darth Vader Bear, and I didn't realize until later that he costs almost $40!!  After that, I was gunning for the dog, but Kiyomi chose the white bear.  Womp womp womp.  But okay, this is her bear.  Not mine?

We did a fun march over to the stuffing area, where we played "I Spy" for a bit while the leader stuffed the bears one by one.  I think the best part for the kids was stepping on the pedal to get the machine to blow the stuffing into the bear.  I was impressed at how patient all the kids were while they waited for their turns, except for my girl who scooted her way to the front, haha.

After that, we lined up again for hearts.  This is obviously the most important part, because it brings your bear to life.  Fortunately, they weren't too busy in the store, so another staff member helped sew up the bears.  They were fast, so each bear took only a few minutes to stuff with a heart.  Kiyomi still talks about how she gave her bear a heart.  Awwww.

Then it was shower time!  Again, a little bit of waiting, but 2-3 kids could "wash" their bears at a time, so it was faster than before.  They took a little brush and combed the bear fur.  Very cute.  Then it was time to choose outfits.  I was impressed that they had around 5-10 different t-shirt choices, including Captain America, R2-D2, and some pretty fancy dress-up outfits!  A little more waiting while everyone chose, but more entertaining this time because we got to check out the outfits.  I think to ease the pain of not getting Darth Vader Bear, Kiyomi chose the R2-D2 t-shirt.  Her father was so proud.  Each bear also got 2 hair ribbons or a bowtie.

We marched over to another area for the Build-A-Bear ceremony, which involves the Build-A-Bear pledge about being #1 pals with your bear forever (i.e. until your bear gets too dirty, falls apart, or every parent's nightmare - gets lost!), and each bear got a birth certificate and bear condo (the official name for those cardboard boxes they put the bears in). I was super-impressed that they kept track of all the bears' and kids' names so they could put them on the birth certificates!

Look at the detail on this shirt!  So glad she chose it!

Our party leader was really great about remembering names, because she called the kids by name, even after they lost their nametags (of course).  I wish she had played more games with the kids to keep them entertained though, because we only did 2 rounds of "I Spy".  Most of the kids were old enough to wait patiently through all the steps, but I imagine this type of party would be rough for more active children.

Lots of waiting, but the kids were all really patient!

After our party, we moved to the mall food court where we had bagged lunches (in cute paper lunch bags decorated with stamps and colored by the birthday girl) and cupcakes.  Kiyomi loved the experience and was a goofball in the food court.

Still content, 1.5 hours later!

Build-A-Bear has different packages at various price points, depending on the number of accessories you want to include for each bear, but I think it's pretty reasonable, especially because the location, activity, and "loot bag" are all included.  I also think eating in the food course is an amazing idea, because it takes the pressure off of needing to have an elaborate food spread!  :)  The best part is that it's really easy in terms of prep and work involved.  The party ran around 1.5 hrs, and my one-year-old managed to hang out in the store the entire time.  Many Build-A-Bear stores are located in malls, so you can always take the little ones for a walk, or do a little shopping while the kids party.  Most of the parents stuck around, but they didn't really need to.

Overall, we enjoyed the party and the kids seemed to love their bears.  I wouldn't recommend it for really small children or kids with a short attention span, as there's a lot of waiting and lining up involved.  Otherwise, I think kids of all ages (read: husbands who are into Star Wars) would have a great time!  Kiyomi really likes her bear, but he didn't make the cut for bedtime lovey.  Maybe in time?

Have you ever been to a Build-A-Bear party?  Or have other ideas about great birthday party venues?  We probably have at least another 10 years of birthday party planning to do, so we'd love to hear your experiences!

Chemical-free, Fast Car-cleaning | e-cloth Review & Giveaway

<Stay tuned, because we're hosting a giveaway at the end of this post!>

Dust, grime, hair and dirt are the bane of my existence.  I could save so much time in a day if I didn't have to clean (read: more beauty sleep), not to mention the money I could save on cleaning supplies!  And aren't we all looking for more natural ways to clean, so we don't expose our little ones to harsh chemicals and solvents?

Microfiber cloths have changed my life.  I admit it, I bought my first one after I saw a live product-demo (sometimes I am such a sucker for infomercials!!), but it's really as great as they say it is!  The e-cloth can be used to clean tons of surfaces, with just a little water.  Yes.  Streak-free shininess and removal of 99% of bacteria using just water! I use mine to clean my glass-top stove, all the mirrors and glass surfaces in my home, and I use it to dust.  I'd use it for more, but I'm trying to prolong the cloth usage, haha.  I just realized I sound like an infomercial myself, but I really just love it that much!

When e-cloth reached out to us to review their auto care products, we were thrilled!  Let's be honest, car-cleaning can be annoying.  It irks me to spend money on car washes, but it saves time, so I head to the gas station for my washes.  I thought that if the e-auto car cleaning products were as good as the original e-cloth, I could really save time and money, and that I'd be way more likely to wash my car at home.

I picked a warmish fall day to test out the e-auto car cleaning kit, which has their Dual Action Mitt, Dry & Shine Cloth and Glass & Chrome Cloth.  The overall results?  Sparkling car in less time, using way less water than a usual car wash in my driveway!  I loved the Dual Action Mitt and Glass Cloth, and they did such a great job that I didn't end up needing the Dry & Shine Cloth.

Please ignore the chips in the paint!

The instructions said to soak the car with water (no detergent necessary!) and then use the Mitt to remove dirt and grime.  I just slipped it on my hand and rubbed away, starting at the top and doing the bottom parts of the car last.  I could see right away that it was removing a lot of the dirt, and you can see how dirty the Mitt was getting. As with any cloth or sponge, I was careful to rinse it frequently so that I didn't build up dirt particles that would scratch my car.   It seemed to really picked up the dirt, instead of smooshing the dirt around on the surface of the car.  The only complaint I had was that it doesn't come with a telescopic handle of some sort for the roof of your car.  I found it hard to reach the center of the roof, and I can't imagine the acrobatics you might need to get to the top of your minivan or SUV.  Still, I like it way better than my old car cleaning brush.  I think I'll call the Mitt, "My Cleaning Muppet."

See the parts where I didn't use the Mitt?  Still dirty.  I wish that I could just hose down the car, but obviously, a thorough clean requires a little more elbow grease.  And an orange muppet.

Ew, look at all the dirt that comes off the Mitt!

The water I used to soak the car started to dry by the time I got to some parts, but the moisture from rinsing the Mitt was enough to scrub the dirt off.  I also had to wet the Glass cloth a bit before I started the windows, as the windows had dried a lot, too.  The Glass cloth was amazing at leaving a streak-free shine (no squeegees needed!), and it was super-fast and easy to use.  I really can't believe I didn't have to use a glass cleaning solution!   I didn't use it on the interior this time, but I'm sure it would be great for cleaning the insides of the windows, and really any glass surfaces you might have inside your house!  Am I really getting this excited about cleaning?!

At the end, there were a few spots that were still wet, so I tried out the Dry & Shine Cloth.  I'd say that this cloth is the most comparable to a chamois (I love those things for washing cars!), but I think because it was my first use, it ended up leaving dust and I gave up using it pretty much immediately.  The car was almost dry (and streak-free!) by the time I finished the windows, anyway, so I didn't really need it.

The Dry & Shine Cloth did get dirty when I used it, which means I still had some dirt on my car, but you really couldn't see it at all unless you were super close-up!  For a more thorough clean, you'd probably have to spend a little more time scrubbing the car and rinsing the Mitt.  It took around half an hour from start (soaking with water) to finish (totally dry), and that was with my 11-month old strapped to my back.  He may have managed to pluck some leaves from a nearby bush while he was hanging out back there.  He may also have eaten some leaves before I noticed.  I was just super-engrossed in cleaning the car!  I think I would have been a lot faster without him on me. 

I showed off my handiwork to my family, and they were impressed with the shine, the minimal amount of water I used, and the fact that I used no detergent or any chemicals for the clean-up.  My driveway is usually soaked after a car wash, but you can see that my water trail didn't even make it to the street!  It's also great because a lot of cities and towns have by-laws against rinsing soaps into the street sewer system.  Good for my wallet, and the environment!

To summarize:
Pros:

• easy-to-use
• no detergent/soap necessary
• saves water
• fast (reduces the steps you need to clean your car)
• no need to dry for streak-free shine
• easy clean-up (just throw it in the laundry)

Cons:

• difficult to use for hard-to-reach areas
• still some dirt residue left, although it wasn't visible
• didn't really need the Dry & Shine Cloth (is this a pro?  Maybe it's a pro.)

Missed a spot!

So, do you want your own car cleaning kit?!  Enter our Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win one (open to Canadian & U.S. residents only)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway for an e-cloth Car Cleaning Kit!

I'll definitely be using the Mitt and Glass Cloth for my future car washes.  Or having my husband use them?  ;)  If you've ever tried any of these products, let us know what you thought of them below!

Check out the e-cloth website for more information about these and other products, and join their mailing list (at the bottom of their homepage) to stay updated with the latest products and deals!

Note:  These products were sent to us for review, but this post is not sponsored.  All opinions are our own. 

Children's Discovery Centre Visit and Review

With all the chitter chatter going on about the opening of the Children's Discovery Centre in Toronto, we had to go check it out for ourselves. It is specifically designed for children 6 years of age and under and is open daily from 9:30 to 4:30 (holidays included!). We headed over on a Thursday, just after lunch.  It wasn't busy at all! Where do we even begin!? This place knocked our socks off (if we were wearing socks...oh and speaking of socks, the infant areas require you to remove your shoes and wear socks. Lucky for us clean socks were available at no extra charge). Our toddlers (2.5 and 3 years of age) were begging to go back and even gave it a higher rating than the Science Center or ROM. Can't say we blame them; this place is kid heaven. It truly allows their imaginations to run wild. They played nonstop for 3 hours straight and could easily have kept going. The space is expansive, modern, bright and airy. Inspirational child quotes pop off the clean white walls.

Basically, there are 10 different "discovery zones", each very obviously designed with so much care and thought. We...uh, I mean our kids beamed with excitement while exploring each discovery zone.

Imagination Station: Out of this world! Foam blocks and large magnetized felt tiles allow kids to create masterpieces in an outer space setting. You can even join the foam blocks together to create a track for balls to roll on. Luckily there is a poster with ideas on how to use the felt tiles in case you're not feeling particularly creative.

Sky Grid: From riding tricycles/wagons through the "city" streets to working right inside a construction zone (hard hats provided), the Sky Grid zone was definitely one of our favourites. We loved that the construction area was full of small rocks instead of sand. Sand always finds a way to make it home with us. It's kind of like glitter's annoying twin.

Campground: Don't want to make the trek to Algonquin and brave nature with little wee ones? No problem (neither do we)! The campground zone allows your kids to experience camping without having to leave the city. You can even build your own tent if you're feeling super outdoorsy. Working flashlights and a camp ground complete with tree stumps to sit on and plates/utensils/play food made this zone extra fun. We also heard rumours that there is a fake campfire on the way.

Art Hive: Your little Picassos will love this zone! And don't fret, smocks are provided and the paint is washable (it came right out of our clothes). Our kids especially loved painting and squeegeeing the plexiglass panels. There is no such thing as being too messy in this zone. A clean up sink station is located right in the art hive...phew!

Storyland: Need a break from all the excitement? Take some time to relax in the Storyland zone. Reading nooks and hanging seats make this space extra cozy and inviting. At one point our kids were using the hanging seats as an amusement park ride. Not so relaxing. Moving along...

Boom Room: Ready to make some noise? Kids are free to test out different instruments and learn how to make music from everyday objects (like baking pans). We loved the map showcasing instruments from around the world, and so did our kids!

Make Believe: Ever seen a fire fighter in pink heels? You can be anything you want in the make believe zone.

Tons of dress up gear and a stage to wow your audience. Our girls were thrilled with the shoe options. So many to choose from.  There's also a space to make your own puppets and perform your own puppet play!

Pet Vet: Calling all wanna-be vets! This zone allows you to be a veterinarian without all the years of schooling! ;) Our kids loved pretending to be docs with the mini lab coats and stethoscopes. 

It's okay piggy, Dr. Kiyomi is here!

Eat Street: A marketplace equipped with shopping carts and plenty of play kitchens made this zone a big hit with our kids. Now we know why toddlers aren't allowed to have credit cards. Yeeesh! Check out that overflowing shopping cart!

First Discoveries: The perfect place for the littlest visitors to explore. Definitely intended for babies, this space is padded for safe playing and loaded with fun toys and mirrors. Sky Grid and Art Hive also have infant friendly sections to entertain babies and even toddlers. This is PERFECT if you have more than one kid. Baby can play happily in the contained section as your toddler or older child entertains themselves with other things close by. Win win!

Don't worry! We got you covered. Here is some other useful info to help prepare you for your visit:

Staff: Probably the best thing about this place apart from the fun activities!  The staff are so friendly, knowledgeable and hard-working.  They interact with the kids at their level and keep the areas clean and organized.  We didn't count, but it seemed like there were enough staff members so each area could have at least one person in it.  Wish we could take some of them home with us!

Washrooms: Clean, cute, with stools and change tables in both!  The washrooms feature cute underwater decals and automatic faucets, and they're cleaned every hour.  Be careful to check the door before you enter...I half-walked into the men's washroom!  They provide small bags to dispose of your diapers, and while the change table is a bit small, it's well padded.  Please note that I wasn't a creeper...no one else was in the washroom when I took the photo!

Breastfeeding room: There's a room in the Make Believe discovery zone with a small couch and chair for when you want to take a break (nap time, anyone?), and it seemed like the most comfortable place to nurse.  Otherwise, all of the infant play areas are padded for comfortable sitting-slash-feeding with the milk-makers.

Parking: This worried us the most since this place is located downtown in the heart of Liberty Village. We went on a weekday afternoon and had no problem snagging FREE street parking close by. They even have a small parking lot for visitors with mobility issues.

Storage: The easiest way to store your stuff is in your stroller (isn't that what we all use our strollers for in the mall?  Stash your bags in the stroller, carry the baby?).  There are a few areas for stroller parking throughout the centre, and cubbies available behind the front desk.  Don't bring your family jewels or anything, but the mommy code of honour seems to keep most things safe.

Food: Bring your own!  There's a clean, airy room with high chairs (and regular ones, yes) galore for when you get the munchies. We wish there were some small eats that we could purchase, but had packed our own snacks in case, so we're pleased to report that no one had a case of the hangries.  Kids who are familiar with the Sago Mini apps will love the decor in the Pet Cafe.

Microwave: Need to warm up some food or formula?  There's a microwave available for use in the birthday party room.

Re-entry: Stamp your hand and come on back!  There's a small parkette across the way, and Pizza Nova and Second Cup up the street if you want to picnic or grab a bite to eat.  The staff also suggested we could leave for nap time and then come back after.

Cleanliness:  All the materials and equipment were new when we visited, and the staff seemed to be cleaning everything really regularly.

Cost: Alright so I'm sure you want to know the cost to get in. Thirteen bucks (plus tax) per person for a play day pass (adults and kids). Kids under 1 get in for free. Seems pricey but after experiencing it first hand, the price is soooo worth it. Check out the website for membership options.

Tip! Planning on visiting more than once? Consider purchasing the package of 5 play day passes. Works out to $11(plus tax) for each play day pass.

Kid friendly map on the floor to find your way to the different zones!

Top 10 12 Reasons why you seriously need to take your kids here:

1. There are 10 unique and creative zones. Poor attention span? No problem! When your kid gets bored with one zone you simply move onto the next. Bonus that everything is conveniently located on one level. No need to wait for elevators!
2. This place is packed with a full demo kitchen and a nursing room (with comfy couches). You can literally hang out with your mama/dada friends around a kitchen island while your kids entertain themselves in the Eat Street zone.
3. Complimentary bottled water! You and your kids will need plenty of water from all the gasping you will be doing as you react in amazement to your surroundings.
4. Safety first! Helmets provided for ride-on toys. Kids' noggins fully protected while playing.
5. Don't want to get your house dirty? Your kid can go nuts painting on plexiglass and massive sheets of paper on the wall. And best of all your house stays clean:)
6. Super friendly and helpful staff. One offered to help our kids build a tent in the campground zone. They weren't the least bit offended when our kids took off half way during the activity.
7. Clean washrooms equipped with change tables. As a parent, a clean washroom where you actually don't feel totally disgusting dropping to your knees to assist a potty-training toddler is incredible.
8. Large, designated eating area with plenty of seating including child-sized picnic tables.
9. Forgot your socks? No biggie. Clean socks provided for both adults and kids.
10. Worried about germs? Leave goobered toys out on the ledges to have them cleaned and put back.
11. Okay, had to add an eleventh reason. The pet vet section has a mini X-Ray machine where you can view X-rays of animals, like a cute little bunny. Gasping yet?
12. Last reason, promise! With 2 children under the age of 3 (a 10 month old and a 3 year old), this place if perfect for entertaining both age groups. I actually found it RELAXING!

Bottom-line: GO! This a pilot project that will only run until the end of September. If all goes well and it attracts a lot of visitors, it just might become a permanent attraction. Help keep the Children's Discovery Center in Toronto! Be part of the change:)

Goodbye for now! We will be back soon:)