Build a Bear Holiday Fun

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I recently took my son out for a day in New York City.  Being only a few miles away, we go into the city often, but there is something special about the holiday season in the city.

I wanted to bring my son to see all the “traditional” holiday sights in the city- Macy’s window displays, the tree in Rockefeller center, ice skating in Central Park, and of course the highlight of the day would be F.A.O Schwarz, toy store extraordinaire.

He was small last time he saw the Macy’s windows, so he had a great time endlessly walking from one to the next and delighted to see what was inside each one.  We also went upstairs to “Santaland”, where he not only visited, but also looked at the “extra” window display from “Miracle on 34th Street” the classic holiday movie.  We had just watched it the night before, so he really enjoyed it and loved telling me which part came from where in the movie, and telling me about the scenes.  (Since of course, I didn’t watch it with him or anything like that.)

He loved seeing all the lights, displays, and of course the giant tree that NYC has to show off during this festive season.  He has not been to FAO during Christmas time ever, so this was a surprise for him and he was thrilled.  The store was bustling, quite crowded, and full of shoppers and tourists alike.  As a six year old, being in the most famous toy store in the world at Christmastime was almost too much to bear, and he bounced around from one area of the superstore to the next before deciding he wanted to go to the new Build a Bear Workshop now in the store.

As he walked over, the store was filled with choices, from famous characters like Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman, to classics like Santa, and of course teddy bears, bunnies, and more to dress up in Christmas costumes.  There were even adorable elves and toy soldiers in miniature that could also be adorned and dressed as you chose. My son loved choosing new holiday friends (he chose Frosty and Santa, he just couldn’t decide, so he made one “for mommy” as well) and decking them out for yuletide greetings.  He even took holiday photos with them, he loved them so much.

As we finished our day with holiday cupcakes and tea before heading home, I know this will be a day we both remember. He sleeps with his new friends each night, and when he makes his daily call to Santa from our North Pole Communicator and opens his nightly Advent Calendar for his chocolate treat, his personally stuffed buddies take the task with him.

We all have special toys and holiday memories, and I know that this day “being tourists” and making our own toys will be fond recollections that will stay with us both for a long time, if not forever.