Why I Bought my Daughter an American Girl Doll

To buy or not buy an American Girl Doll, that is a HUGE question.

Not only a question but a full on debate.  And we’re NOT trying to start that debate with you right now… but this topic is one that ALWAYS comes up at this time of the year.

Some people DO buy them.

Some DON’T buy them.

And that is O.K.!  Everyone has their OWN reasonings, and nobody is any better or worse than anyone else for having their own opinion.  But today I wanted to tell you why we DID buy one. 

I’ll be the first to admit they are quite expensive. I had no clue.  My daughter thankfully didn’t care ……..or so I thought.  One day a catalog found its way to our home and she went through it and highlighted all the things she’d buy if she could have an American Girl Doll.

Before I continue let me say I don’t pay for chores.  Because I know that WILL come up sooner or later.

My rules are simple.  

We all live here …..so we should all work at keeping the place compliant with health codes.  That being said, I’ve always told my kids that our job as parents is to make sure they have what they need.   Their job is to go to school and get good grades.   

My daughter is very competitive … my son, on the other hand, not quite as much.

She is an honor roll student (and has been for quite a long time…) ……so she made me a deal.  

“Mom, if I stay on honor roll for the entire year can I get an American Girl doll?”

YES.

When I worked outside the home after many successful years my boss gave me a bonus ~ so I saw no problem in giving her the doll she wanted IF she met her goal.  Afterall, we all appreciate incentives  right? 

Having the doll is one thing – we all know accessories can cost a bundle, too.  So I let her know she will have to save her allowance, and we can work together to figure out how to afford it.

It was a Deal

And the end of year, she attended the 4th grade awards assembly and she had met her goal of making the Honor Roll.

As promised, I had to pony up the doll.  We congratulated her, then we got the catalog and she ordered Rachel.   When Rachel arrived in box … she was the most beautiful doll I had EVER seen since my own Cabbage Patch Doll Phase way back in my childhood.

Though we had a slight problem – we can’t possibly expect Rachel to live in the same outfit forever ….can we?

So with that said, we explained to her that Rachel was now hers…. and SHE was responsible for making sure she was dressed.  I don’t mind helping once in awhile but thats why she was going to save her allowance.

Comparing Doll Options

Not everyone can pull off buying an American Girl Doll – thankfully, there are some nice knock-offs that are totally budget friendly.  Walmart has a line and so does Target.  

Walmart has the My Life As Dolls that look really cute.    They run $30 for an 18 inch doll that comes with an outfit.  

Target has My Generation Dolls (which we think are much cuter) ~  for around $24.99.

The American Girl Doll is $120. 

But I promised her an American Girl Doll – and so I saved my money because that was what SHE wanted.

Yes the original is always the best but let me just say I’m wearing a $3 t-shirt from Old Navy clearance so no doll in this house is going to wear clothes that are crazy expensive.  But I let my daughter decide that.  She had her allowance and wanted to buy Rachel a new outfit to go on vacation with us to Rocky Point.  

The outfit on American Girl is gorgeous but it’s $30, no accessories – but I DID find a NICE outfit on Amazon for $17.95 {that also included Crocs}… which was an easy decision – she handed me the money & got her outfit.

You can also find clothes at Target and Walmart for ½ of the price.   We’ve tried the Walmart clothes and they do not fit right.   The clothes for Our Generation at Target fits perfectly as so the clothing we bought on Amazon.

Furniture

As you can see it can easily snowball.

But don’t be a monster, I mean the doll can’t sleep in a box forever.  Didn’t you watch Toy Story 2?  Jessie was claustrophobic!

There is a gorgeous bed and bedding on American Girl for $150, YIKES.  We checked Walmart and Target and they run between $30 to $40.  

I offered her $10 and she’d have to pony up the rest.  

But she found an even cheaper way……

Through tutorials on YouTube she made one from the cardboard box the doll came in and a few fabric swatches from Walmart!  I loved it and it cost under $5 because she repurposed the box and used an old travel pillow.  

Not only is she learning to look for deals and save money but also is turning into quite the DIY’er!

More places to find Accessories and Clothes

At one point I called Once Upon a Child in Chandler and they had sets of used clothing at a total deal.  I will tell you I’ve never found accessories OR clothes at Goodwill but you should always check your thrift or consignment stores… you just never know what might pop up.

Here are some MORE ideas to find inexpensive Accessories & Clothes:

• If you child has friends with dolls they can hold clothing swaps (much similar to how we would hold a swap, this time it’s for the kids)
• eBay, and Amazon are great sources as is Craiglist
• Use the Wish List option on Amazon

When family and friends ask me what to buy the kids as far as toys go, I email/share this list with them and they get what they’ve been hankering for.

In the end, the decision to buy or not to buy that American Girl Doll is yours.  What might work for some may not work for others.

For us, it was an incentive for her to work towards ~ and she DID work for it.  She took great pride in working very hard work her entire 2014-2015 school year.  Not only was it an incentive for her to work towards, she also learned some real life lessons in budgeting, saving money, comparing prices and also improvising — that is, deciding to look up ways to do it herself.