We're thinking about getting our 7-year-old daughter her first American Girl doll for Christmas. I hear the store is really fun and we have one near us at the Mall of America. I think my daughter would enjoy it, but I don't want to totally ruin the surprise for Christmas morning either. I made the mistake of letting her look at the AG catalog when it came and all she can talk about since is Rebecca, even though she knows that IF she gets the doll she won't get anything else from us. However, she really wants to use her own money to buy Rebecca's pajamas now "so she'll be comfortable on her first night here and not have to sleep in her clothes," as she put it. So do you think I should let her get the pajamas now? And should I take her to the store to do it, or should we order everything online?
PS I tried having her look online at the Target Our Generation dolls, but she's just not at all interested in those and really specifically wants the AG Rebecca doll.
Take her to the store after Christmas, buy her the doll and have someone get her the PJ's for Christmas morning. If she is already obsessed I would try not to bring her to the store before Christmas because it will just fuel her desire.
My daughter got her first AG doll at Christmas when she was 7 and she wanted the “looks like me” doll. She LOVED it! She is now 12 and still has it in her room. My daughter plays violin and does karate so all she wanted was the violin and karate clothes for her doll.
Although I did not go to the store to buy it. I just bought it on-line since I knew exactly what she wanted because she showed me in the catalog.
IMO I would say give her the doll and pjs Christmas morning. If she mentions that SHE wanted to pay for them with her own money, maybe tell her you will take her to the store to pick out her first outfit or whatever. Then again she may be SO excited to get the doll and PJs that she will forget all about wanting to pay for it on her own =-)
Added: If you've never been to the actual store, be forewarned that it is overwhelming. At our mall the shop is HUGE and even has a restaurant and movie theater. Buying on-line the first time may be better since you know exactly what to get!
We have Molly and Kit. Grandma;s on both sides supplied many of the accessories that same year so under the tree after Santa brought the doll they had lots of stuff for them.
We went online. Take her to the store when you have a day after Christmas when you can spend all day there and not be rushed. Maybe she can use her Christmas money to get something else. I would make sure pj's are under the tree with Rebecca.
my kids love going to the store. we have taken them twice. now for christmas i am ordering accessories, a kitchen, and a bed online since they're having this free shipping thing until mid november.
:)
so if she has never been to the store take her. she will LOVE IT
My daughter (who turns 7 in January) is also getting her first American Girl doll for xmas this year. I don't live near a store, so I had to go online. However, if you decide to order online, enter PF02283 in the "key code" field and you will get free shipping! This code will be good thru 11/7/10. Our daughter decided a few months ago that Santa was going to bring her the doll. I also wanted to get a set of jammies....the matching set for the doll and my daughter. However, I was so shocked at the price for a matching set of jammies! I wound up going to lakeside.com and ordering this little set of matching nightgowns for a grand total of $9.95!! LOL Now, Santa will leave her the doll, the special hair brush, and a matching nightgown set for her to change her doll into xmas night. =0) Here's the link to the matching jammies in case you're interested......
http://www.lakeside.com/Matching-Girl-and-Doll-Nightgowns...
Well... its a long time from now until Christmas... if she gets the pajamas now. Can she wait???? for the doll????
Or, will she then, want other clothes for her doll already????
I have a now 8 year old girl... they are fickle. They change their minds a lot.
So, do you know for SURE that she wants this doll????
You know she wants the "Rebecca" doll... and its for Christmas... so it won't be a "surprise" for her, anyway... even if she can't have it until Christmas. And if you get her the doll... can she even wait until Christmas to have it????
You have indicated to her, that you will get her an AG doll.... so already, that is not a 'surprise.'
I would, get the doll for her as a surprise, if that is possible. You know she wants the Rebecca doll... so you can get that for her, when you are not with her. To make it a surprise....
And just go to the store, with her maybe, to 'choose' a pajama for the doll.
Once you/she gets the pajamas... then you are cinched in to get the AG doll, for her.
Again, girls this age are fickle.... and make sure she will not change her mind.
My daughter last year, wanted a "Liv" doll. She REALLY wanted it. I got her one for Christmas. Well, she played with it for a little while. And that's it. She was not into it, once she got it. Ugh.
all the best,
Susan
could you have gramma/aunts/uncles get the pjs for her? that way you're not really ruining her surprise, and she gets the pjs that day. maybe she could use her money sometime that following week to take her doll to the hair salon at AG or have lunch at the AG bistro or buy her doll another outfit/pj set?
Try Ebay - lots of Rebecca dolls there and you can buy the most amazing handmade clothes from China. No kidding, everything I have bought from china is extremely well made, with a lot of attention to detail.
We took our then 6.5 yr old DD to the AG store at MOA last year a couple weeks before Christmas and let her pick her doll and an outfit as an early Christmas gift (so obviously it wasn't a surprise.) I would take her to the store just so she can see the dolls in person (there are tons!) to let her make her choice, along w/ selecting the pajamas. My daughter chose the "look alike" doll to match her features and she still LOVES it and has a lot of clothes/accessories for her now. We've never bought the matching clothes for my daughter though cause I agree, the price is absurd! Have fun at the AG store, it's so much fun for the girls!
