American Girl dolls - did your DD get bored with it quickly?

[imsayin]

My daughter was never a doll person, until she got her AG doll, when she was 6. She played with it for many, many years. Worth the investment for us.

 

[ElizK]

I absolutely LOVE the AG dolls. Therefore, I am very weak when it comes to my DDs asking for AG stuff. DD16 just HAD to have Josephina when she was 9. DD13 got a Bitty Baby when she was 6. DD16 never did much with Josephina, and gave her to her sister a couple years later. DD13 has never played pretend much with her dolls, but she will often pull them all off the shelf, do all of their hair, and give them all new outfits. Her 13th birthday was Sunday, and I gave her an outfit for her Bitty Baby. She was delighted! Also, for her 11th birthday I took her to the LA AG place for the day (I work for an airline... we flew into LAX in the morning, and flew out the same night). That is a trip that both of us will always cherish. I don't regret a dime of the many, many dollars we've invested. DD13 has Josephina, Samantha, Mia (I think), and Nellie, and a Bitty Baby.

 

[mpls_mm]

I have a new AG in the closet waiting for my DD 9th bday next weekend. I am sad I can't do the AG experience. I live too far. Do they ever do anything in Wisconsin? I hope she doesn't get tired of it. She has been asking for a year!

 

[dizagain]

I say go for it! Both of my girls got Bitty's when they were very young and their first AG for their kindergarten Christmas. They are 12 and 14 now and each have 3 dolls and a TON of clothing/accessories. They both still get them out and change clothes/hairstyles every now and then. Heck, the bitty babies are still in the crib because they won't let me put them in the attic even though they don't play with them! I plan to divide up the clothing some day and pack them up for grandbabies!!

I've only been to AG Chicago but it was amazing and we really enjoy the cafe experience alot. It is also fun to just do the store, though, and it will still be there for a future trip if it is better to come on home this time. Enjoy!

 

[NMW]

My DD is 6 and has many AM Girl dolls. She plays with them every day and LOVES them. She has a lot of the clothing and has never damaged anything and she really, really plays with it. One of her favorite things to do is to watch one of the DVD movies with her dolls and change their clothing as the characters in the movie do. She especially enjoys this with Felicity and Elizabeth since she has all their clothing-tea outfits, riding outfits, Christmas dresses, capes, summer outfits, and Penny the horse.

 

[chisnpeke]

I got my first American Girl doll, Kirsten, in the first grade at age 7. I loved her and have many many of the AG dolls. I played with them until I was 12.

 

[dizkids]

DD got two one Christmas..one from Santa and one from grandma and played with them in spurts. Then she got another one from Santa becuase it was named after great grandma who passed away right before Christmas (Emily). Well now she doesnt play with them. They trio now stand in the corner on her window seat and gaze outside to see what the rest of the world is up to.

 

[StephMK]

I have 2 DDs and in my experience, if she's not already a doll kind of girl, getting an AG won't change that much unless she has friends that are really into them. DD14 got to go to the Chicago store w/hers, lots of clothes from gma etc but she was still more into her barbies. Her BFF liked them so for that reason, she played with her doll some.

DD8 got bitty baby at 4, twins at 5 & AG at 6-all from doll loving gma. However, DD is a true animal lover so none of them has gotten a lot of use. I was a doll kid so hopefully if they have DDs, one of my future grandkids will get some use out of them.

I'd vote for the day trip & see how excited she does when she gets there. If she's really into them, she'll remember that day if you get one. Good luck & let us know how it went!

 

[Cindy B]

My daughter wanted one because her friends had them. I bought her a Samantha off of Ebay for $65. She got a few outfits for free from my neice that has outgrown her Samantha. I bought her one outfit on Ebay.

In total, I was out maybe $75-80.

She played with it a few times and that was it. We went to the American Girl store this past summer and she wasn't interested.

 

[westjones]

Oh I miss our AG days! We took at least 3 trips to Chicago (once with our whole Girl Scout troop). Picking out a day at the AG store is SO fun. To be honest, I think I loved going as much as my girls (they are almost 15 now, and we still have the dolls).

Go enjoy the trip. Honestly, I think it was priceless....memories we will have forever. I am hoping to go for lunch there again with them when they are older and would think it is fun again (right now they are in the "that's for little kids" stage---but around 17 or 18, they would probably get a kick out of it again).

DJ

 

[IDoDis]

I have a new AG in the closet waiting for my DD 9th bday next weekend. I am sad I can't do the AG experience. I live too far. Do they ever do anything in Wisconsin? I hope she doesn't get tired of it. She has been asking for a year!

Yeah, isn't that where they make the AG dolls?

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

My daughter is 12 and up to 7 dolls. I just ordered Ruthie. She LOVES them. She doesn't 'play dolls' anymore, but she is in tons of online clubs of girls that have them and make videos with them and post them on youtube and they all judge each other. Her best friend is 14 and into them as well. Of course it is a big secret at school that she still 'plays with dolls' and no one could ever possibly know!
Funny thing is she is an extremely mature 12, but not a 'sexually mature' 12 like some of the girls out there today, so she still loves her dolls and that is fine by me!
They are a great investment and great quality.

 

[sndfan]

My nieces have been playing with them for years. The oldest got hers at 5, the youngest at 4.

Keep in mind that the "Kit" movie, based on an AG character, comes out July 2nd in the movie theater...she may want to get the Kit doll...just an idea!

Enjoy!

 

[Dancemom03]

I have a new AG in the closet waiting for my DD 9th bday next weekend. I am sad I can't do the AG experience. I live too far. Do they ever do anything in Wisconsin? I hope she doesn't get tired of it. She has been asking for a year!

The third saturday in July is the big Madison Children's Museum sale in Middleton. The girls and I are driving from MD with all extra seats out of my van for optimum cargo space on the trip home. I've never been before but have a close friend who volunteers and want to see it for myself. DH and parents think I've lost my mind - especially with high gas prices - but I am excited and hope it'll be an adventure to remember.

I sold DD7's kit trunk on ebay because she wasn't using it and promised her the new white nightstand style trunk instead for her room. She was thrilled when she saw it in the catalog but at $300+ it was way too rick for my blood. They haven't released the 2008 price list yet but if things are priced like last year, it should be $80 or less at the sale.
I've seen price lists the last few years and there are impressive savings to be had. My goal in the next 3-4 weeks is to clear out the excess and sell it on ebay so I can buy DD7 and DGD7 the new dolls and furniture they've been looking forward to at the sale.
With three tickets we'll have three times the sale limits available. I don't expect to buy every item we could but will likely get much more than anticipated in the heat of the moment. The potential to really need the money saving tips on the budget board after this "doll crazed weekend spree" is looming...

 

[katie26]

The Christmas morning that I got my first American Girl doll - it was Samantha, back in the olden days when there were only three AG dolls out and we had to walk to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways - was probably the best Christmas of my life. I'd wanted the doll terribly, for months, and I knew that it was outrageously expensive and didn't really expect to get it - but there it was, under the tree, in that pretty wine-colored box. I'm twenty-seven now, I was eleven or twelve then, and I can still remember the moment so vividly. (And I also remember the outfits my mom and aunt had sewn for her from the AG patterns... don't think they sell those anymore.)

Anyway, maybe it was just something about how much and for how long I'd wanted her, but having Samantha and her little velvet hat and coin purse and teeny-tiny handkerchief is somehow one of my happiest childhood memories. (And I played with her loooong after I'd admit to in public. ) YMMV, but if your daughter reeeeally really wants one, I think it's worth it.

Re: budget concerns - have you checked out Megabus? (I think the url is megabus dot com.) They have super cheap fares to and from NYC. (My friend and I are going to Philly next weekend for $4 each way!) And also - if you'd prefer to do a one day trip, there are lots of nice places in Manhattan for you and your daughter to have a nice Mom-and-daughter lunch or tea. I've heard that Alice's Tea Cup on the Upper West Side is lovely, and my mom and I still like our ladies' lunches at Sarabeth's. (Gets busy on the weekends, but a late lunch should be easy to slip into.)

Have fun!

 

[Pigeon]

I think it really depends on the kid. I have two dds, one who is into dolls and the other one, who has never been interested in playing with dolls for more than two minutes.

Against my advice, my sister got both of them AG dolls. Just as I had predicted, the younger one loves hers and plays with it frequently. The older one has played with hers for maybe a total of 20 minutes since Christmas.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

My DD11 got her first AG dolls (just like me for b-day 5 days before X-mas, Jess from Santa and Emily from Aunt and Uncle) when she was 10. This past Christmas she got Nikki and Julie for B-day/ Christmas. She is already asking for Mia , Kit and Ruthie for Christmas 08. Before her 10 th birthday she really had no interest in them, now she plays with them all the time. You might want to wait until your daughter show an interest in them. Prior to her AG dolls she had My Generation Girl from Target that filled the bill until she was activly interested in AG.

 

[Michelle67]

Honestly, for a kid that isn't really into dolls there's no way I'd buy one, let alone do the whole big trip to boot. I can totally see myself regretting the money spent every time I spied the doll lonely and ignored on the shelf. The trip might be a special time, but IMO for a six year old a special day trip to places in your own town that she would enjoy, maybe a grown up teatime in a nice restaurant in a fancy dress, after shopping for said dress and lovely (inexpensive) jewelry, and a special toy of her choice in a regular toy store, whatever kind of thing would appeal to her...would be just as special and memorable for pennies on the dollar. You can make a huge day out for a little girl without spending enough to take the whole family on vacation. JMHO

Don't get me wrong. I was a doll girl, and I still have some of my faves who were very well loved and cared for (most cherished is my original Sasha) as well as played with, as someone else said, for longer than I would admit to in public. I would have LOVED one of those, and played with it often and for ages. But my own daughter "loves" dolls for about half an hour, and only wants them generally based on whatever the other girls at school "love", and after that they are completely ignored. If I'd ever bought her an expensive one, I'd be kicking myself around the block.

 

[Lisa06468]

If she's not into it and/or not asking for one, I wouldnt bother just yet. My dd's are now 12 and got their doll probably 3 years ago? They love it. They dont "play" with it at this point, mostly just change their outfits. They each have only one - the price to me can not be justified. Last year I was able to score $200 worth of AG clothes at a tag sale for $20!! I gave it to them for christmas and they were in their glory.

Be aware that AG in NYC is insanity. We went there 2 years ago, the line to get in was out the door and down the street. The store was jam packed. The prices are are outrageous. This was a saturday, a week day would probably be your best if possible.

 

[disnee4mygirls]

I am definitely guilty of buying my girls too many AG dolls! I love them and my girls love them too! We have been to the AG store as a family once, and once by myself the first time! It's an awesome store with so much to see! The thing that really got my girls into it was seeing the movie for the first ones they got! Nelly and Samantha! They sleep with their dolls every night and play with them all the time! My dds are 4 and 7! Sure, they go through times where they leave them sitting but it is still constantly that they play with them! They do not abuse them! We have bought two off ebay and had good luck with one and not so good with another! So it's a chance you take! I always figured the little bit you save on ebay was not worth the chance of getting a dud-more worth it to us to have a new one. I would definitely think a one time special trip is well worth it! As long as you know the cost ahead of time, you won't be shocked! I never had an AG doll when I was little but my cousins did! I mainly remembered Molly and always dreamed of having one myself! Have fun if you go!!!