New to American Girl - what has been the best accessory you have bought?

[ktlm]

Originally Posted by 100AcreWood

Okay, I can definitely see them needing clothes. I had not thought about tiny food or tables. There is a ton of that stuff on ebay - or should I order food directly from AG? Thanks for the heads up on the free shipping offers this time of year. Both of my girls wants a "my ag doll" so I don't have to worry about the hot item this year.

If you find cute stuff on EBAY, I don't know why that wouldn't be fine. My DD doesn't care about "brand" other than that there are certain things when she sees them in the AG catalog or store that she really wants. I think any kind of doll food, tables or plates would be great. DD also likes to dress even her historical AG dolls in non AG brand clothes sometimes. Her dolls have AG and non AG brand stuff. TJ MAXX also sometimes has some really cute girl's dresses with the matching doll dress attached in their kid's clothes section. I will say that the AG beds are MUCH higher quality than the Disney Princess & Me doll bed we bought, but they also cost a lot more.

[jennylyn_b]

Op, hope you don't mind I just have a quick question...I know what the ag website says but I was wondering....what age for a doll, not bitty babies? My MIL wanted to get her one but she has passed on and we will get her one in her memory when its age appropriate but 8 seems waaaay too old to start. What did you do? How old?


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[RMulieri]

Originally Posted by jennylyn_b

Op, hope you don't mind I just have a quick question...I know what the ag website says but I was wondering....what age for a doll, not bitty babies? My MIL wanted to get her one but she has passed on and we will get her one in her memory when its age appropriate but 8 seems waaaay too old to start. What did you do? How old?


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Not the op, but my Daughter got her first doll ( not bitty baby she got them at age 3)at age 6.This year she is 8 and asked for MCKenna and since she is Girl of The Year and will be retired this year, I bought her months ago.SOme of her accessories are backordered already

[Pesky]

Originally Posted by jennylyn_b

Op, hope you don't mind I just have a quick question...I know what the ag website says but I was wondering....what age for a doll, not bitty babies? My MIL wanted to get her one but she has passed on and we will get her one in her memory when its age appropriate but 8 seems waaaay too old to start. What did you do? How old?


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DD is 5 and getting bitty twins. I don't think she is QUITE ready for the big doll just yet and figured this would be a good test run for her interest. I think it isn't so much age as maturity and interest. If you have a DD who is very careful with the dolls she has and plays with them, maybe time for the big doll. If not, maybe wait or test the waters with a smaller one like a bitty baby or bitty twins.

[100AcreWood]

So I saw the wardrobe was on sale at Target today and I was intrigued by the new scooter. Anyone have the kitchen? It looks kind of cheap but there are a lot of food pieces with it and it was around $50 or $60 I think.

[ktlm]

Originally Posted by jennylyn_b

Op, hope you don't mind I just have a quick question...I know what the ag website says but I was wondering....what age for a doll, not bitty babies? My MIL wanted to get her one but she has passed on and we will get her one in her memory when its age appropriate but 8 seems waaaay too old to start. What did you do? How old?


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I agree that 8 is way too old to start if you want to get your money's worth out of the dolls as far as playtime. You are getting really close to them growing out of playing with them. At that age, there will be more of an interest in their books and stories, but less of an interest in actually playing with the doll.

DD (6) started early because she saw a catalog at our house after we bought stuff for our niece. At age 2, from about May or June she insisted repeatedly that Santa was bringing her an AG Felicity doll for Christmas. It was basically the NO. 1- nothing else will do- only thing on her Christmas list...so Santa brought it. She was 2 yrs 10 months at Christmas. Almost 4 years later and lots of play and that doll still looks perfect. She got the bitty Baby and twins for her 3rd birthday and had very little interest in them at all- she wanted to play with "friends", not pretend to be a Mom. From that point on, she has gotten an AG doll from either Santa, Mom and Dad or a Grandparent, pretty much each Christmas and Birthday because they are always No. 1 or right behind it on the list. The dolls and their accessories are the most played with items in our house. Most of her pre-school friends got them for their 3rd or 4th birthday. Our niece also got hers at 4 years old. By age 9, our niece had completely grown out of wanting any AG stuff or playing with the doll. I would say 4 is a really good age to start. We take a trip to the AG store a couple of times a year as there is one where her grandparents live, and I would say probably the bulk of the kids in there are in the 3-7 year age range.

[jennylyn_b]

Originally Posted by ktlm

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennylyn_b

Op, hope you don't mind I just have a quick question...I know what the ag website says but I was wondering....what age for a doll, not bitty babies? My MIL wanted to get her one but she has passed on and we will get her one in her memory when its age appropriate but 8 seems waaaay too old to start. What did you do? How old?


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I agree that 8 is way too old to start if you want to get your money's worth out of the dolls as far as playtime. You are getting really close to them growing out of playing with them. At that age, there will be more of an interest in their books and stories, but less of an interest in actually playing with the doll.

DD (6) started early because she saw a catalog at our house after we bought stuff for our niece. At age 2, from about May or June she insisted repeatedly that Santa was bringing her an AG Felicity doll for Christmas. It was basically the NO. 1- nothing else will do- only thing on her Christmas list...so Santa brought it. She was 2 yrs 10 months at Christmas. Almost 4 years later and lots of play and that doll still looks perfect. She got the bitty Baby and twins for her 3rd birthday and had very little interest in them at all- she wanted to play with "friends", not pretend to be a Mom. From that point on, she has gotten an AG doll from either Santa, Mom and Dad or a Grandparent, pretty much each Christmas and Birthday because they are always No. 1 or right behind it on the list. The dolls and their accessories are the most played with items in our house. Most of her pre-school friends got them for their 3rd or 4th birthday. Our niece also got hers at 4 years old. By age 9, our niece had completely grown out of wanting any AG stuff or playing with the doll. I would say 4 is a really good age to start. We take a trip to the AG store a couple of times a year as there is one where her grandparents live, and I would say probably the bulk of the kids in there are in the 3-7 year age range.

Thank you this was very helpful. DD turns 2 this month so I will wait til her bday. Op, thanks for letting me ask. I hope you find tons of great deals for your girls.


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[eeyore29]

I think the reason they list ages 8+ is due to all the little accessories that could be choking hazards. I think 4 is a good age to start with the dolls, but just be mindful of the little pieces if you get any accesories.

[Tallent]

fyi the build a bear clothes fit the dolls perfectly. We don't have an ag store super close but the mall has a build a bear and that's where dd used to get her clothes.

[100AcreWood]

Okay, so can you tell what I've been doing this week?

For those of you who have the food, do you have the American Girl food? The stuff I found on ebay is expensive since you are buying it a piece at a time. Also, I checked into the kitchen Target has and it has mostly cardboard pieces.

[my4girls10]

We got our girls their first dolls for Christmas in 2009. My oldest was turning 8 just days after Christmas. They all have 3 dolls each, and my oldest (will be 11 this year) saved up and bought a Bitty Twin for herself this summer. I wouldn't necessarily assume that a girl will grow out of this when she's 8. My girls are 5, 7, 9 and almost 11, and they will have entire days where it's all AG!

They always have AG clothes on their Christmas and birthday lists! My in-laws got them each 3 outfits last year for Christmas. For our first day of school this year, I found some erasers that look like food and drinks...they are the perfect size for the dolls! I would just google food for 18" dolls...there are several sites that sell these things for good prices.

Also, I would invest in a wig brush...I got ours at Sally's. We have the AG brush, but as much as we have doll hair days around here, the brush started coming apart. The wig brush has the wire bristles that the hair needs.

Hope this helps!!

[ktlm]

Originally Posted by 100AcreWood

Okay, so can you tell what I've been doing this week?

For those of you who have the food, do you have the American Girl food? The stuff I found on ebay is expensive since you are buying it a piece at a time. Also, I checked into the kitchen Target has and it has mostly cardboard pieces.

We do have some of the AG food and dishes and I cringe every time that DD suddenly HAS to have one of those specific sets on her holiday lists, because the AG food and plates are, in my opinion, ridicuously expensive. I do have to admit I like the quality though. I think you can find plenty of food and dishes that will work fine which aren't AG. Any tea set or set of toy dishes etc, will do . Our AG dolls don't just eat AG food, they eat stuff from the kitchen and related food sets that DD has had since her 2nd birthday, along with other "food" toys we have picked up through the years.

[100AcreWood]

I found the my dolls life site and I think I will order some clothes and food from them. They seem reasonable. The only AG accessory they seem set on is the wheelchair.

[my4girls10]

Originally Posted by 100AcreWood

I found the my dolls life site and I think I will order some clothes and food from them. They seem reasonable. The only AG accessory they seem set on is the wheelchair.

My DD7 has the wheelchair and loves it! DD10 got the set with crutches and casts for her bday last year...for the soccer injuries her doll incures!

[Fyrefly]

Originally Posted by jennylyn_b

Op, hope you don't mind I just have a quick question...I know what the ag website says but I was wondering....what age for a doll, not bitty babies? My MIL wanted to get her one but she has passed on and we will get her one in her memory when its age appropriate but 8 seems waaaay too old to start. What did you do? How old?


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8 isn't terrible, but it were me I would consider one of the historical characters. At 8/9 she'll be the age of the girls in those stories and even if you only get another year or two of dedicated playtime out of the doll they can open up a great love of history and I think the historical dolls personally are more interesting than the modern ones. Any company can do an 18 inch doll, AG does the characters right.