I've avoided American Girl until...now??

[Twoboos]

If you're choking on the price (I was!) you can start with the "cousins" from Target or Walmart.

DDs bought their own AGs with Christmas/birthday money... and Grandma's Visiting Money.

They are 12 and 10 now and have pretty much wrapped up playing with the 1,258 AG clothes/items we have. (We have been incredibly lucky that MIL has sewn about half that and bought a quarter more.) I think DD2 would play with them for longer but she only likes to play with them if DD1 is playing too. <sigh>

Good luck. It's a zoo to be in the store. It makes me crazy.

[georgiegirl]

My DD (now 9) wanted one at that age (either 6 or 7), and I think I got her one a few years back when there was that deal on Marie Grace for like $60. She played with her a little but not nearly enough to justify the price. I ended up selling her last summer. But DD has never really been into Barbies or any dolls. I can't imagine her playing with AG dolls at all, unless she had a friend over who was really into them.

[acmom]

We love AG dolls, I totally think the dolls are worth it-they are really nice quality. I do tend to buy the clothes at target, walmart, amazon etc. My Costco has dolly and me matching nightgowns right now-my daughter loves those!

We are the same - love the AG dolls but often buy the clothes/accessories elsewhere for less. My DD who is 7 now has always been a HUGE doll lover, starting with a Corolle baby doll at 1 that still get played with today. Right now, she loves to set up school for the AG dolls and she plays that on her own and with friends. We have neighborhood girls who are still very into them at 9+. I think how much play they get may depend more on whether the child is a doll lover or not rather than just age. We have a couple (it has been pretty much the only christmas/birthday gift she has asked for) plus the 2 AG dolls I had when I was little, which are still in great shape!

[ang79]

My girls are 9 and almost 7 and each have one. But only because my younger cousin passed hers down to DD1 when she was 7 and then I passed my original Samantha to DD2 when she was 6 so that they could play together with them. They go through spurts with all their toys. They will love AG and play with the dolls daily for a few weeks, then they move on to Legos, Playmobile, Disney princesses, etc. Neither are big Barbie fans but with AG they dolls are bigger and they can have fun dressing them and have them go to school (we have the Learning Resources fold out school set), camping (they are getting a tent for Christmas), horse riding (we have a Target Our Generation horse and one from Walmart), etc. They each have a bed for their doll and my mom made them little pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. We've had fun making them little food items, hats, scarves, ponchos, etc. (lots of online tutorials for no sew and craft foam ideas). One of DD1's best friends has an AG doll so they sometimes get together to play dolls. They would each love another (so that their dolls can have "friends" of course) but I explained that they are very expensive and they are lucky to each have one. I ended up getting them each a Madame Alexander doll (one from Ebay, one from a consignment store) for Christmas. The hair may not be as nice but I love the facial features/expressions on the MA dolls. They will also be getting some doll clothes at Christmas. Oh, they love the matching Dollie and Me sets so they can dress like their dolls. I try to get them on sale and with coupons at Kohls (online has a better selection than in store) and sometimes my BJ's has them for a good price as well.

[wellyes]

My 7 year old is kind of "eh that's nice" about hers- I'd probably wait until they're older unless they are already very much into doll play.

AG *dolls* are worth getting for the hair and for the endless range of hair / eye / etc combo. The vast majority of their sales are "just like me" dolls, not historical dolls. But there is no way on God's Green Earth I'd pay AG prices for accessories. So many great alternatives that are indistinguishable except for brand name. Which I sincerely hope your 7 year old doesn't care about!

[rkold]

If you don't want a "just like me" doll, you can often find AG dolls cheaper and still in good condition lightly used. I belong to a AG FB group around here and there is a lot of buying and selling. One plus of them being owned and kept my "older" girls is they tend to stay in better condition.

From an adult doll collector's perspective... There are actually adults who collect and "play" with AG dolls, so technically your daughters might never outgrow them. It really depends on them. There are many adult doll collectors and not all of them collect porcelain or bisque dolls. I know many adults/late teens who collect: AG, Monster High, Ever After High, various Disney Princess dolls, toys in general. I collect 1/6 fashion dolls and modern Asian ball joint dolls.

My DD has not yet expressed interest in AG. For a while she wanted an AG Bitty Baby, but I was loathe to get her one since she doesn't seem to like large dolls. I'm waiting to see if she will become interested, as I think what other kids like in school does play a role.

[calebsmama03]

My DD asked Santa for an AG doll at that age. She loved it for about a month. Now it just sits and takes up space. In fact, I'm trying to find a place to sell some furniture and accessories to free up clutter. Some of it is retired so if any AG fans know a good place to list it lmk. 😄 DD got a Madame Alexander AG style doll from mil the previous year, purchased at Costco for $30. That one got more use and the quality was on par.

[twowhat?]

Thanks for all the info! I'm torn because my kids have never been "doll" kids. They are stuffed animal kids But if we were to get a doll, brushing and doing the hair would probably be the one thing most appealing to them...and it sounds like AG has the best hair quality. Good to know the accessories don't need to be AG. And maybe if I get good enough with my sewing I can make basic dresses or something

[Aishe]

I'll add that my dd has learned a lot of history from AG. The other day ds asked when showers were invented and thanks to Samantha Parkington dd knew the answer right off the top of her head! We've had a lot of really interesting discussions inspired by the AG books.

FWIW dd was always a stuffed animal kid as well. I was skeptical about AG because she'd never been that excited about other dolls. She got her first doll when she was seven, and now at nine she is still totally engrossed in AG. The thing that makes me okay with AG and their exorbitant prices is that I feel it keeps dd a little girl for just a little longer, if that makes sense. A lot of her friends, especially the ones with older siblings, are very into Katy Perry and other tween-y stuff and I am happy if dd just wants to play with dolls for a little while longer. In theory, less expensive dolls could do the same thing, but they just don't.

[jent]

We entered the world of American Girl when DD was in 1st grade- she asked for and got an AG that Christmas. I waited until she really wanted one though. I think I posted on here wondering if I should get one for her 6th bday (spring of kindergarten). At the time I realized while she liked dolls, I didn't really think she got the "specialness" of AG, so I held off.

Then in the next few months, she got more exposure to AG (summer camp, her cousin, etc) and learned more about them. As she got interested she started thinking about which doll she wanted and settled on wanting a specific one (Molly, whom I managed to nab before she retired). So, when Christmas rolled around, I was ok with spending $100+ on the doll, because that was really her major Xmas gift- and one that was really special to her. (We were just going through photos the other day and I just saw the priceless one of her face when she opened that gift.)

I would say she goes through spurts of playing with the doll, but she is definitely still "into" AG. In fact, she saves up her money to buy AG accessories, and I'm pretty sure her Xmas wish list will be all AG items. She loves the books (not just Molly's, all the AG historical doll books) and brings them home from the school library.

I would say if your girls know the difference between AG and other dolls, then they might be disappointed if they don't get AG. But, if they just want a big kid doll they can dress up, then they might be ok with the others (Target etc). And yes, you can have non-AG clothes and accessories for an AG doll!