On a recent Friday date, Hofstra University students Stephen Winley and Jaidan Hill hit a Build-A-Bear Workshop in Garden City, where they assembled a new furry friend together for the first time.

Hill, 19, of Freeport, first picked an unstuffed light brown bear from a wide selection of plush animals and then a small cloth heart to place inside the toy before an employee stuffed it with fluff. The couple spent a good 20 minutes creating a cuddly companion through an interactive workshop.

“It’s just a personal gift from me to her,” said Winley, 20, of Laurelton, Queens, as he beamed at his girlfriend of a few months.

With a personalized birth certificate in hand to authenticate their creation, christened Jackson Aaron Winley, the couple could understand the appeal of returning to the

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