How many dolls is too many dolls?

[KrisM]

I am really not a doll person. Never have been.

DD loves dolls. She has 2 AG dolls now that get a lot of play. A MAG and Kanani. She really wants McKenna, this year's GOTY. I just don't know. Three dolls seems like too much to me. But, she does play with them. They have parties. They ice skate, rollerblade, and break their legs :). They bake, sleep, and do cheerleading.

She got the MAG doll about a year ago at the store. Kanani came for her birthday in June. If I buy McKenna, I could do Christmas, her birthday, or even Christmas 2013.

I don't know if she's just going to want another doll every year (um, no!) or if she really likes this one. Any advice from doll lovers?

[Melaine]

I am very firmly of the belief that you can never have to many dolls. Really, I do believe it in my heart almost as strongly as "you can never have too many books". I'm saying this as a life-long lover of dolls.

BUT....on the other hand we have a space issue and financial constraints that will have to be considered in our house. If she plays with them and the price isn't a problem, then I would let her have it.

[KrisM]

DD will love you :).

How often would you give a doll?

The money isn't an issue, as it'd be the main gift for whichever occassion and that would work for us. Space? The dolls don't take up much space, it's all the stuff that takes up the space! I won't get her more big accessories because they're just space hogs. But a doll would fit.

[lalasmama]

I'll admit this early on: I am a doll person. My mom was a doll person. My daughter is a doll person. As a young child, I received, and loved, each and every Cabbage Patch Kid that came into my life. For the record, Henrietta joined the family in 1984, Lana and Tara in 1985, Adalie and Anson in 1987, Mahala in 1988... you get the point. From 5 years old to about 8 years old, I received, and adored, the dolls that came to us for my birthday and Christmas. My parents capped my collection off at 18 years old, with a hand-stitched, soft sculpture CPK (in other words, a $300 doll that is not to be played with). Even today, I collect rare/elusive CPKs that I wanted as a child and never received. Around 19 or 20, I fell in love with Lee Middleton dolls (basically, those dolls that look like real babies), and that was my "collection" for many years. They are in boxes at the moment, except for Emily and Austin, who DD fell in love with, and now carefully carts around. Our babysitter actually caught DD absent-mindedly "nursing" Austin today. Apparently, as a nursing couple, they prefer the clutch/football hold. LOL. She will also sit there and bounce and rock the babies, without even "realizing" that she's doing it. So cute :)

I guess this is all a really long way of saying, IMO, if AG dolls are her "thing", I'd go with it. She's playing with them often, she's caring for them, she's begging for more. You can explain that because they are $110 a pop without accessories, that only 1 can be received every x amount of time (like, 1 a year, which would seem reasonable to me). For other gift giving occasions, I would attempt to focus on accessories, or other interests she has.

[Green_Tea]

Between my two girls we have at least 16-18 dolls, including 6 or 7 AGs. They get played with more than any other toy. I say go for it if that's her thing.

[KrisM]

Dolls are definitely her thing. That and crafts. Okay, I'll order her during free shipping. I do hope that she doesn't just want every girl of the year! It might be a little crazy.

I'm glad to hear that multiple dolls do get played with enough to make it worth it.

[Seitvonzu]

this sorta melts my heart.... :) as soon as i read the title of the thread i thought "is there such a thing?"

but that's a glib answer from a crazy dolllady :) i even worked at a crazy doll store in college. and as a kid i DID have TONS of cabbage patch kids, but i only had ONE american girl-- Miss Samantha Parkington. She can be counted as my "last doll" (a la , the little princess by frances hodges burnett) and i have just about (with a few notable exceptions) EVERYTHING for her-- collected over MANY years. i was a married lady and still getting frocks for her from my mother for christmas! i honestly loved the anticipation of "collecting" and would do silly stuff like inventory all my Miss Sam stuff. while i loved some of my other fancy "play" dolls (i have some beautiful robin woods dolls with fantastic wardrobes), my DOLL from childhood is still Samantha.

now that i'm an adult i have FIVE american girls, all historical-- Kit (i was gifted her from my longtime AG email list friends for my wedding shower) , felicity (got scared when she "retired"), kirsten (it was between her and Samantha when i was a kid, again, freaked by the whole "retired" issue) and Cecile (i've often declared that my heart lives in New Orleans, and myohmy this doll and her STUFF was just to gorgeous to resist). my "big girls" are currently living in boxes, and so is all their stuff. i have a few bigger accessories (horses, kit's stove, and of course sam's furniture), but i really do try to resist that stuff...even though i think the accessories are what make these dolls so special. have you guys seen the new caroline abbot stuff AG is introducing this fall? the parlor set looks AMAZING! my husband would seriously freak out. i recently ordered the "limited edition" yellow dress for cecile and had to really put the brakes on ordering the patio furniture. so nice! but SO BIG.

i think one doll per year as a big present seems reasonable. your daughter is playing with them and it's not a hardship. my child has shown VERY limited interested in dolls (she's 4.5), and i wish i had your problems! ;)

[Seitvonzu]

krism-- free shipping is not insignificant, is it? :)

i didn't mention that with my cecile outfit, i "had to" order a few things to get up to 50 dollars (for the 10 dollar code)-- so i got a couple books (a samantha mystery and tiny treats) and also TWO bitty baby hospital outfits. i guess they were redoing them , and getting rid of the old ones.

well, OF COURSE, we needed more than one. what is a doll hospital without more than one patient? (i nearly got three , but decided on something for my sam collection instead ;))

so....my doll ignoring child DID play "hospital" with her bitty and her corollevanilla for about 45 minutes,even past when her beloved Da-deeeeeeeeee! got home :) i call that doll success, at least in our household!

[KrisM]

We just had a trip to the Natick store while on vacation. DD spent her money and bought the guitar, teal swim suit, and the rollerblade set. I paid for Kanani to get her ears pierced. I also gave her earrings I bought last year on Cyber Monday and actually remembered to bring on vacation with me. I bought the McKenna movie, so she used the $10 coupon.

I also ordered last week and bought a couple things for her for Christmas - the accessory set with the faux dollar bills, the pet earrings she liked, and the hair dvd. I added Kanani's party dress and a 3-pack of underwear for a neighbor. I was just over $50, so the code was great.

Free shipping is the best for the doll though. Saves me MA tax (and hiding the doll from her) too.

I also have Kanani's chair and ottoman put away, as well as the luau outfit.

Her wish list is always the stuff and not the outfits: snowboard, skateboard, scooter, violin, etc. I'm hoping to find random pieces on ebay, as she doesn't want the clothes it all comes with :).

[MarylouH]

How many dolls is too many dolls? you can get as many as she wants,
i hope it doesn't spoil her :)