Can't Register New Friend Or Receipt Code

I bought a few bears online, and they arrived today. I had blank gift certificates sent with them so they could be filled out by hand without waiting to get to the store 4 months from now. (It's far to an actual store.) I went to Bearville and tried using the birth certificate codes to register the bears into Bearville but was told the codes are invalid. I tried the receipt code, which I received via my email, and was told that's invalid as well.

What can I do about this? Is it just a glitch, or do I have to wait till we can get to the physical store before the birth certificate is considered valid? If that's the case what do I do about the receipt code? It says they become valid upon shipment of the order. You would think now that it's actually arrived it would be valid already. Little help please?

receipt codes and birth certificates have been working for me for new furries and old, on 12/12/14.
sometimes I have to clear the line where the numbers go, but  I bring my Build-A-Bear Workshop furry friend to life online. the website says
To bring your furry friend to life online:
- Log into your bearville.com account
- Go to the virtual Build-A-Bear Workshop store
- Give the Bear Builder® associate the animal ID and key code found on your furry friend's birth certificate
Your furry friend will jump into your cool virtual backpack and you'll be ready to explore the world together.
If you have a question or just need a helping paw, email vwhelp@buildabear.com and we will do our beary best to get back to you as soon as possible! You can also look for more FAQs when by clicking on the button with 3 question marks (???) once you are logged into the virtual world.
have you had success in the past?

did you get this straightened out before Christmas?
I wonder if the online stuff was already not working...