This Christmas we are planning to cut back a lot on what we get our kids. They have sooooo much stuff and honestly they just don't play with toys as much as they used to. They still have some favorite things and we will keep those for now but we hope to buy them one meaningful gift that is something they would really love and use.
In comes my ideas and questions ...
My girls both have generic Am. Girl dolls, you know, the ones you can buy at Target for a fraction of the price of the 'real' ones?
So I was considering getting them real ones for Christmas and wondered if any of you have children that have them and whether you feel it's worth it or not? The main reason I wonder about it is the cheaper versions have horrible hair - I mean the hair has been a rats nest almost since the day we brought them home. It looks to me like the real dolls have better hair that isn't always in perpetual knots - please correct me if I'm wrong!
Anyhow, my next thought is this ... I could sew a bunch of clothes for the dolls which would be an inexpensive gift for my girls. I have plenty of spare fabric laying around and have some time before Christmas to get working on it. Do any of you know of places to get doll clothes patterns? I'd rather not spend a lot of money on the patterns if possible.
Finally ... if your daughter has a doll, what are the other 'must have' items to go with it? We do have beds for them already but nothing else. Would it make sense to have some sort of little closet or dresser for the doll's clothes?
I'm also thinking that it would be fun in the winter time to make a trip to the American Girl store in NY city for my daughter's 8th birthday ...
Anyway, I would appreciate your thoughts and opinions!
8 comments:
I'll be looking forward to reading other comments here. My daughter also has a knock-off AG doll~and, yes, the hair is a rats nest.
We love American Girl!
We had the Target knock offs for a couple of years before we bought real ones, and they don't even compare. AG is such a nicer doll, main plus being their awesome hair!
That said, we've been VERY happy with the accessories from Target.
We have these:
http://www.target.com/Our-Generation-Wooden-Trunk-Dolls/dp/B002BTNIH0/ref=br_1_1?ie=UTF8&id=Our%20Generation%20Wooden%20Trunk%20Dolls&node=2229926011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchPage=1&sr=1-1&qid=1287964002&rh=&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=pmrank&frombrowse=1
http://www.target.com/Our-Generation-Doll-Tea-Parlor/dp/B000N9BLSI/ref=br_1_21?ie=UTF8&id=Our%20Generation%20Doll%20Tea%20Parlor&node=2229926011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchPage=1&sr=1-21&qid=1287964048&rh=&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=pmrank&frombrowse=1
http://www.target.com/Our-Generation-Pink-Bathtub-Accessories/dp/B002BTKIRI/ref=br_1_12?ie=UTF8&id=Our%20Generation%20Pink%20Bathtub%20Accessories&node=2229926011&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchPage=1&sr=1-12&qid=1287964090&rh=&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=pmrank&frombrowse=1
And a few misc shoes and outfits.
Last year we didn't buy anything big for the dolls, from Target or AG. However, AG has a HUGE online sale the day after TG. I bought 12 items for $75 with shipping. From videos to hair accessories, outfits etc. Tons of stuff was 75-90% off. Their website was NOT ready for the amount of traffic it had that day, but it was VERY much worth it to me. (It probably took 2 hrs from start to finish.) But I literally FILLED all three of their stockings and had a few things for the gift closet.
SO much fun!
I can't think of anything else off the top of my head... but it is definitely one kind of playing we have really encouraged. History, books, real life stories and a quality made product that encourages girls to be little girls. Love it! :)
I've been sewing doll dresses this week! :) Hobby Lobby had Simplicity patterns $1.99 but Grandma was buying so we also got a McCalls pattern that was more $. Here is a link to the original patterns made by Pleasant Company (before they were bought out and became American Girl) All are out of print so available FREE!!!
http://www.agplaythings.com/AG%20Patterns/DollDressPatterns.html
Oh -- we have a Samantha Doll but the girls also have higher quality dolls I scored at Tuesday Morning. I'll be interested to read others' comments, too.
Our kids will also be getting less this year - at least the oldest two (9 and 8 years old) because of the same exact reasons - they have too much already.
My 8 year old has three AG Dolls - they were worth every penny. Lexi loves the stories that go with the dolls - all three dolls are historic dolls. As far as must haves, a nightgown for the dolls seems to be really important plus a dress up outfit and every day outfit. My 8 year old and 5 year old both love the little sets you can get for the dolls such as - tea sets, lunchbox set, little typewriter etc.
So, to acquire things over the past few years I will say I wait for sales (usually in November) and get what is on sale. Also, I shop the clearance rack during the year to see what I can pick up.
Also, my 5 year old has a doll that retired last year and I have done really well finding knock off AG items for this doll on eBAy.
I hope this helps! You are so lucky you can sew - many of our friends have grandmothers who make their AG doll clothes and there seems to be alot of great patterns out there.
One other thing about visiting the actual store.
We have hired our older two to do cleaning for us here at the house. These are not their "chores" but additional things they do for pay. It has worked *VERY* well. Of course they are far cheaper than a cleaning lady, but it gives them a bit more money to save towards fun things like AG trips.
AND, the house is always clean. ;) Works for me!
My American Girl doll (Felicity) got pretty nasty hair, but the short novels and activity books that go with the dolls (I think I still have a Revolutionary War cookbook) are really worth it. A great educational product!
My daughter has Molly from AG and she loves her and so do I. She has lots of accessories and they all seem to be good quality but honestly quite pricey (this is where grandparents are helpful :) As far as the hair....Molly's is almost impossible to comb but she came with braided hair so I blame it on that. They do sell patterns at Joanne Fabrics for AG. Good Luck and I believe in getting the kids one thing that they will have forever is worth it rather then buying all kinds of junk. "less is more"
Post a Comment