American Girl Dolls for a 5 year old..

[Disney Mommy 3]

My little girl wants the Just Like You doll for Christmas. She is in loooove with this doll-she already has lots of the Little Mommy dolls, so she doesn't want a baby Am. Girl. The Just Like You doll says it's recommended for 8+, do any of your girls who are under 8 play with this doll? I am an early Christmas shopper and would like to go ahead and kinda nail down what we want. Also, I want to get some of the outfits that are on sale!!

What is ya'lls experience with these dolls? Oh, she loved the Kit movie, but doesn't like any of the AG dolls that are book characters. We love the Kit and Samantha books, so I thought she would like those dolls, but she doesn't. Can't figure that out!! We were teetering between the JLY doll and the twins, but decided against them.What to do? Help me mommies of little girls!!!

 

[AwaitingMagic]

If she is that into the doll, I would get it. My daughter had a Bitty Baby when she was 3 - she was totally ready for Samantha when she was 5. She LOVED her. I'm glad I got her when we did because now at age ten she'll sometimes do their hair (we have 3 now) or dress them, but the really 'playing' with them days are gone :::sniff::::. If you wait, she may not get as much out of her. In my opinion, I'd rather have them played with and loved than just sitting on their beds ).

 

[cogero]

you should be fine buying her one of the AG dolls. I bought my DD her first AG doll that wasn't bitty baby at 4. She will be 7 on her birthday and she loves her AG dolls.

What I did was have a series of rules for the AG dolls since they are so expensive. Not on floor, all pieces together, hair must be kept neat.

This has worked out great.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

My DD is getting an AG doll for Christmas this year and shes 3. She has a 10 yr old cousin who has umm quite a few AG dolls. She let dd try one out for a few weeks and she was in love.

 

[budbeerlady]

DD got her first American Girl doll at 5 (maybe even 4 1/2), she loves them. She got a bitty baby at 3 and took good care of her. They hold up well and I wouldnt hesitate to buy them for a child who is under 8.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Thanks!! I think I will go ahead & get it! Do any of you have the Just Like You girl? She's very good with keeping her stuff together and not getting them dirty or anything like that.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Tiffany, which doll are you getting her?

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

My daughter was 4 when she got her first doll. She LOVES it! My youngest daughter, age 2, always wanted to play with her sister's doll so I went ahead and bought her her own. She LOVES hers too! Ours get played with multiple times a day.

I think the age 8 is more because of the stories that come with he historical dolls, and there are books that come with some of Girl of Today outfits. Otherwise I'm not sure why it would be age 8. Most girls age 8 that I know either don't really want doll or would are on the tale end of playing with them. If you buy them younger then they can enjoy playing with them for more years and they can learn the stories later.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

My dd just got her first AG Just like you doll for her birthday a few weeks ago. She loves dressing her up, and loves it when her doll and her wear matching outfits. She also loves asking me to do her dolls hair. I bought her doll a pair of skates, and she took the doll with her to her ice skating lessons last week. So I would say that if she is really into it, get it for her!

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

We are getting her this one. It's the one she requested LOL

http://store.americangirl.com/agsho...T/webTemplateId/3/uniqueId/86/saleGroupId/128

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

Oh and the only thing I wish were different... I wish the big kid clothes were available in smaller sizes. LOL

 

[kinntj]

My 4 year old will be getting a Just like me AG doll for Christmas from Santa. She wants a doll and the bath tub with fake bubbles. I figure she'll play with it at this age and might not when she's 8 or 9. She plays with her bitty baby, so I know she'll play with the bigger doll. She doesn't like the dolls that are suppose to look like her, so she'll be getting something different. She already has coconut and licorice.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

We are getting her this one. It's the one she requested LOL

http://store.americangirl.com/agsho...T/webTemplateId/3/uniqueId/86/saleGroupId/128

OH My Gosh!! That is the same one my dd wants! Has to have those earrings!!! I just thought that it looked big-size wise, but she wants it!! I think I am going to get her the ballet outfit to go with it. She takes ballet, so I think that will be fun. If I find any cute outfits on sale I'll get that to go with it.
We got Coconut at Barnes & Noble a while back. So...I guess I just need to get busy!! How long does it take for this stuff to get shipped & is it gonna be in a box that isn't a dead giveaway?

 

[seeking pixie dust]

My dd got hers at 4 1/2 - a onetime treat from grandma. We're lucky to have a boutique & bistro here in dallas, so we go often to look. She's taken her doll's hair to get done and like the AP she is getting the bathtub for Christmas and my mom is getting her the hairdo chair and supplies. She thinks the character dolls are cute, but we're waiting on those until she gets a little older. For now the Just Like Me ones are perfect.

 

[Ephany]

DD(5) just got her first doll a few weeks ago. It's a JLY doll and she LOVES it. We do have a few ground rules like no taking the doll outside to play and she has to keep her clothes in the storage bin when not in use. We've had a lot of fun buying outfits from Michaels, Target, AC Moore etc... as well as ebay. She totes it everywhere we'll let her, and calls the doll her little sister since she's a singleton.

She's absolutely convinced that Santa's bringing her Mia for Christmas much to DH's dismay. I think Santa will be bringing the doll while Mommy and Daddy supply the outfits and accessories. She enjoys the movies (Costco had all three for $14.99) but isn't really into the historical dolls yet.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I am soooo glad I posted this! Makes me feel more at ease to know your girls don't like the historical dolls either Nah, I am glad they are about her age and they really enjoy them.That's quite a chunck a' change for a doll that they really don't love enough to play with often.

Are ya'll early Christmas shoppers as well? I just love 2 know I can enjoy Fall, and then the holiday season baking cookies, and hanging out with the kids without all that pressure. The adults on my list are the killers!!!!

Also, my oldest son's bday is the first week of Dec. so, that's a big stresser there!! He always has a hard time trying to decide what he really wants to do, and since the weather is usually yucky here, we are limited. I would flip if I had to do his birthday and all my Christmas shopping at the same time Of course by this time of year I am usually wrapping up the details on a secret/surprise Disney trip, so that does fill my days Ha!!

 

[AKBAFB]

My DDs each got an AG doll when they turned 3 - and they love them and they take care of them. I let them pick which they wanted and we ended up with Kit and Mia, but I would have let them get the JLY dolls too.

I did find that you can get the bitty baby clothes on the big dolls (some are a little snug, but not to the point of ripping the clothes or anything) and we were able to get the girls matching outfits and pjs with their dolls that way. Now DD6 is finally big enough to fit into some of the clothes for the bigger girls, which is fun, but Mia and DD3 are still wearing the bitty baby things when they want to match. The bitty baby denim jumper with ruffles has a matching outfit for girls and it is particularly cute!

 

[MandM-Mom]

My dd7 got one when she was 5, my dd4 got hers at 3. We started with the twin dolls, we split a set between my oldest and niece for Christmas that year and then we took the girls for easter that year to NYC so they could pick one of there choice since they did so well with the twin doll. DD7 picked Nicki and dn picked a just like you doll. Then this last Christmas dd4 wanted a doll so we got her Kit because of the blonde bobbed hair just like dd4. DD7 got Molly from Santa aswell. I love it just as much as my dd's do!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

DD got her first one last Xmas (at 4). She absolutely loves her. She goes everywhere with us (which is currently a concern about her coming to Disney. Trying to convince DD that she needs to stay in the room! )

She has the Asian Just Like You doll. We are not Asian but that is the one she wanted. She tells everyone that Miss Claudia is adopted from Korea! This year she wants Kit from Santa.

 

[lilybrooke14]

Okay, not to totally hijack (even though it kind of is).....

I've been thinking about getting DD2 the Bitty Twins for Christmas. She caught me looking at them on the computer recently and went nuts! Will Bitty Baby's clothes fit on the Bitty Twins? And which one is better? I liked the twins because they had hair and more options (haircolor, boy and girl dolls), but, frankly, Bitty Baby has cuter clothes...and the matching ones.

ETA - And I was also wondering if Preemie baby clothes will fit on the dolls.