alright my daughter found an American Girl magazine the other day. she has always wanted one but now "REALLY REALLY WANTS HER PUH-LEASEEEEE MOMMY"

i never in my life thought id pay 95 bucks for a flipping doll!! do any of yall have any first hand knoledge of them? do they last? are they really that great? and even though it says 8 and up for the large dolls, do 9 and up really still play with them?? id hate to get her this pricey doll for Christmas , have it be maybe the only item from mommy and daddy and her not play with it in a few months!! She is a Princess Girly Girly and loves all things glam and glitz and girl, so i know she will love it now. im just stressing about paying this amount!!!

Also, any of yall sew ?? i need more than the outfit she comes in and i dont wanna pay 30 bucks an outfit !!

I have never heard of this doll before, but WOW! $95 for a doll?!?!? Is it life size? Does it paint the house? Does it wash the car? lol Now I am curious...What exactly does it do that makes it worth $95? Is it like one of those "parenting class" dolls that crys and needs to be fed and if you don't hold its neck it snaps and the doll dies? JMO but I don't think I would be able to justify spending that much on a doll.

When I was a kid, I played with dolls till I was 12. Girls nowadays don't seem to do that. I think, however, that the American Girl dolls are as much a collectible, sit-on-the-shelf-and-admire-it kind of doll as they are playthings, so if she decides she doesn't want to play with dolls anymore, that doesn't mean it couldn't still be something cool to have. I still like dolls and plush toys and still buy them just to have them.

Ive never actually heard of that doll, but I recall complaining about paying $50 for a doll a few years back for my daughter. I kinda sew, but not any type of clothes. I mostly crochet blankets and I used to do counted cross stitch, so im not much help.

I feel your greif though. I just paid $400 for an Xbox 360 elite for my son. The $60 for the 2 year waranty brought it up. The thing that bothers me most about it though, is that im constantly trying to get my boys off video games, but that is the only thing he wanted. What can you do?

LOL! sorry for some reason i expect EVERYONE to know what i am talking about i should have put a link huh

www.americangirl.com

no they dont do a dang thing, jus tsit there n look purdy but u can style their hair and curl it and stuff, its real high quality and doesnt knot up like the barbie type dolls... (i HATE barbie hair) (HATE IT)

its all she wants and has said she knows its pricy and that she is fine if its the only thing under the tree ..*sigh* what a decision to make !

I know what they are...They are a very well made doll. Yes, they are pricey...But you need to ask why she wants the doll so bad...Is it because they are the "in thing" or is it because she really likes the doll. American Girl dolls tell a story or are part of a story and there are books you can buy that coinside with each doll. The stories are history based. If you watch the Hallmark channel you can often see the movies based on the books and the dolls are those characters.

They do become a collectors item or I should say will become a collectors item.

You know what I'd do, and did when Andie was young and wanted something really badly. That I really had questions about, like you have, is I sat her down and we discussed it. Mainly to see how much she really wanted something and the reason why. Then we worked out a plan where she would do extra chores or do odd jobs for other people raking leaves, mowing lawns, vacuuming floors, washing windows etc.; and after she raised half the money or nearly half we'd go get the item.

My feeling is if they aren't willing to put out the effort for something expensive that the "really want...ppuuuuhleeeeeeeeeze can I have" then they really only want it because someone else has it. And if they've had to work for it, it hopefully has a little higher value in their eyes and they'll take care of it much better. And even if she doesn't end up playing with it in a year or two, she will still have the sense of pride knowing that she worked hard for what she wanted and has something to show for the hard work. And can be proud of herself because she did so. It also helps them learn the value of a dollar and the value of hard work... you work hard you set a goal and you achieve the goal.

The hard part is for mom and dad not to cave in to the promises "I'll be extra good, I'll do all my home work with out being told" etc etc.

There is also several clubs around that are all about American Girl and I'm sure if you get into it for the learning about history etc, you'll find other parents who sew and make clothes and other "props" for the dolls.

You might check with some of your home schooling co-ops and see if any of their kids use them for history lessons, those parents might be the ones to ask about sewing etc.

And all I can say is...Man am I glad I'm all past that stage!

I did ask her the "why" and its a mix of both how cool the doll is and how cool it is that they have a story and meaning. i almost always do the you pay half i pay half with her , i totally believe that!! she wants a nintendo DSi as well but since she has my old DS i told her she has to save her birthday and christmas money and after christmas ill give her the money i got from selling her old toys and let her trade her DS on the new one. She does kinda know the value of a dollar , as well as an almost 8 year old can. if she looks at expensive stuff in the store ill relate , "mommy has to work X days to make the money for that" so she knows that hard work = gratification (kinda)

but the doll is for her gift. the first one anyways, after that she has to save at least half. I will have to look into the clubs, that would be a great way to get clothing and extras for it! what a great idea!

ps doing good in school is never a barter item, if shes not good in school we take away EVERYTHING!! right now she is still on honor roll has been the last 3 years!! i know as school gets harder it may change but for right now im as proud as can be!! it goes to show that even with mild learning problems if you try hard you can do what needs to be done! shes my world and im so pround shes not a brat!!

Just a word from the child's point of view -- I don't have kids, so I still look at things like this as the kid I used to be and who still lives in here somewhere! I wanted a Cabbage Patch doll SO much when they were first popular. If you remember, you just COULD NOT get your hands on one. People actually fought over them in the stores. My mom found me a knock-off copy of a Cabbage Patch, and I was very glad to get it and still have it, in fact, but it wasn't QUITE the same as having the real thing. If your little girl has her heart set on an American Girl doll, then if you CAN get her one, I think you should. She might keep it all her life and cherish it. I still have ALL my dolls, and I just turned 48.

My gradparents got me and my sister one (She is 8, I'm older). They are OK, but they don't do ANYTHING. I don't play with mine, but my sister does ALL the time. She plays with it more than he Barbies or Polly Pockets. I'd say she would probably like it, but the hair is a rats nest after a while. You can send them to the "Doll Hospital", but that costs $100! I personally don't think they are worth the $95.

if we brush the hair daiy (she brushes dolls hair while i brush hers?) will that help it to not be a rats nest?? the thing is i CAN afford it , but it would be the only MOMMY DADDY gift under the tree, im sure santa and grandparents and family will still get her stuff though......

we were gonna get her a telescope but she seems to jus tlike the pretty stars and not want to learn , (we borrowed a neighbors LOL) so we can let her do that onthe computer! (thank you GOOGLE) i dunno, her dad is NO HELP AT ALL ! all he says is " ya sure fine" grrrrr men grrrrr

LOL. When I had little neighbors next door (boy do I miss them) Hattie was 9 when she got her American Girl doll. They were home schoolers and very much into history etc. Hattie is all about dolls and horses, And I can't imagine her not having a American Girl Doll. Though she has her play with me daily dolls and the these are my special look at me and play with gently dolls.

Andie still has her cabbage patch dolls and I too got her a "knock off" till I could afford the real thing.

You might look into a product that you put on the hair to keep it from becoming a rats nest...I can't remember what its called, but supposedly its a spray that helps keep the tangles out.

Not to add fuel to the fire or anything.... but have you seen these ones?

http://www.mytwinn.com/

They are INSANELY cool... I've been almost waiting to see if my daughter is going to be interested in dolls. *wicked grin* She turns 2 next week. My older two are boys and I'm finding the "little girl" thing VERY different.

ok - My daughter has had several for several years - maybe 5 years sine the first one. She played with them until about last year - she is now 13 and she still wants to keep her Elizabeth doll since that is her name but the others she is saving until her cousin is old enough to not ruin them. The clothes are pricey but there are quite a few sites tat sell knock offs - if I can find my list I will PM it to you. I think they can wear any 18 inch doll clothes. We never had a problem with the hair getting nasty and we styled it a lot. Since I live in the Chicago area I have taken her to the store - that is where they really get you - it is like $75 for 2 people to have "afternoon tea" nothing special about the food either. We went with a friend and her daughter for a special birthday.
I did make her read the books and we used it as a bit of a history lesson and that made me feel better about spending the money but I hesitated just like you and our finances were a lot better then than they are now.

cacophony i just had a heart attack!!!! WOW that make me feel better about 95 than i did!!

i think were gonna do it. i wish there was a store close but its 6 hrs to the closest one!!

My daughters have read the books, and we get the catalogs in the mail and look at the pictures, but they've never asked for one of the dolls. They look like they are well made. They have never really be into dolls that much though. The only things they have ever really wanted was animals.

Me too.... but you have to admit... it's a COOL idea. If you send in a picture of your daughter they'll even match her hair style and if she has freckles they'll reproduce those, and... *blinks* If you can't keep'em from growing up at least you can have a little one that doesn't!

I went through the same thing with my daughte when she was about 7 I gave in and got it when she was 9 and she still has it in pristine condition since she would never let anyone touch it. I got her the one you make that is current times where you select the hair and eye color and skin tone so it would like somewhat like here. She is now 16 and it still sits on her bed and goodness help the person that touchs it.

I also had to get her the my twin doll which is also in pristine condition and one outfit to match the doll but it needless to say no longer fits her. The doll looks so much like she did back then it was almost creepy.

My Niece Sophia is in to theose dolls and my sister had one heck of a time finding one type of doll that Sophia wanted. im glad i dont have to look for the doll. im guessing Sophia finally got one for xmas last year and i do believe that she plays with them.