Jan 30 2010
Why Little Girls Love the American Girl Store
When the American Girl catalog arrives at our house, my daughters ascend on it promptly, oohing and aahing at the various dolls and calling them by name. I have neither the desire nor the means to spend $100 on a doll, not to mention all of the accessories, so the prospect of owning one of these dolls is just a dream for my girls.
On our recent girls’ day out to Mall of America, my daughters and I wandered into the American Girl store to see the dream dolls up close. This relative newcomer to Mall of America is located between the Best Buy Rotunda and Nickelodeon Universe. The first floor is primarily for shopping, and the second floor houses the cafe.
We meandered in on a quiet Thursday morning. A clerk politely asked if she could help us find anything special. I was up-front with her: We’re just here to dream, as I can’t afford an actual doll. She left us to our browsing, and we wandered through the store, looking at all of the dolls and their accessories, and even the area where little girls can have their dolls’ hair styled. Yes, there’s a beauty salon for dolls within the store.
In the back corner, we found the book section, and I allowed my kindergartner to choose one book. She carefully looked all of them over, chose the one that looked best, and we went to the checkout counter. The same clerk was there, and as she put the book in a bag for my older daughter, she also put some stickers in a tiny bag for the younger girl. It was such a small thing, but it made the little one happy and showed that the American Girl store is really about service.
Later that afternoon, we returned for a snack. I would have loved to take them there for lunch, but again, it was out of my budget. Dessert, however, would be our treat for the day. We sat at the counter (the girls’ choice), and there were dolls and highchairs that each could borrow to “eat” with us. Our server promptly brought out glasses of water for us, and then tiny cups of lemonade for the dolls. We were told that anything on the menu could be shared, so we decided on the trio of petite ice cream cones (with sprinkles) for around $5. We each chose our favorite flavor and type of sprinkles. Again, our dolls also received little treats so they wouldn’t feel left out.
Soon we were done eating, and my oldest daughter noticed a cake on the table behind us. “Is that a real cake, Mom?” I didn’t know, so we asked the cook. No, it isn’t real, but an example of cakes that can be made for birthday parties. And then it hit me. “I have to make a cake tonight!” “Yes, Mom, it’s my birthday tomorrow!”
Overhearing this, our server asked my daughter’s name and how old she’d be, and said she’d be right back with a surprise. Protesting that it wasn’t really her birthday yet, we had to convince this almost-six-year-old that it would be all right. She was presented with a small bowl of swirled whipped cream with sprinkles, complete with a lit candle. The three employees in the restaurant were soon singing happy birthday to her, and she loved blowing out the candle.
I’ve seen people leave the American Girl store with multiple bags of dolls and accessories, so I know that our miniscule purchases were far less than what many people spend at the store. I was pleasantly surprised, then, at how attentive and polite the staff were, even knowing that we weren’t going to be buying much. They made the girls feel special and made the entire experience fun for us. Bringing a special birthday treat was just icing on the cake.
Thanks for posting this. I can’t afford to buy my daughter one of these as well and in the back of my head I wonder if I am depriving her of some experience that girls of her age will share when they get older (although many of the same dolls of my generation have made a comeback, so I have those to share with her). Anyways, I was planning on taking my daughter to the MOA on her birthday using the free unlimited day wristband she gets from Nickelodeon Universe. And she will probably get a free meal at some restaurant as well, so taking her here for dessert will be so much fun. I never thought of going there just for dessert. She asked to go there once & I looked at the menu and told her we couldn’t afford it and that she had to choose between lunch there or her free meal on Toddler Tuesday & a $9.99 (plus tax) wristband that day. Rides were muchmore impressive than a too expensive meal with dolls. But I think that will be a special treat on her birthday.
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[...] in the American Girl store to dream, or have a snack in its 2nd-floor cafe. We had a delightful time with $5 worth of [...]
Mom of Two,
Thanks for your comment. I’m not a believer that we’re depriving our kids by not buying expensive things for them even if that’s what their peers have. It can be a good discussion point, though, to say “what other things could we buy with this same amount of money?” I don’t begrudge people who can and do buy these dolls for their daughters and granddaughters, but I won’t feel badly about not buying them for my girls.
The birthday wristband is a nice promotion–your daughter will love a day at Nickelodeon Universe! We were given wristbands for Christmas and are anxiously awaiting the day when we use them.
My girls both have January birthdays, so we ate at Famous Dave’s with their free birthday meal coupons. If you haven’t yet, sign up for Famous Dave’s P.I.G. club (http://ilovefamousdaves.wordpress.com/) for the adults and kids in your family and you’ll get nice coupons for each birthday.
For some other cheap but fun things to do at MOA, see this post: http://minnemom.com/2010/01/30/fun-things-to-do-kids-mall-of-america/
Have fun, and thanks for stopping by!
I have two daughters and understand where you are coming from on the American Girl frenzy. I have been able to find good deals on deals at Ebay for the girls’ birthdays. I think I paid $30 each for dolls that are gently used or once owned by collectors. We buy all their accesories from Walmart, Target or wherever we can find a good deal.
.-= Toni´s last blog ..I Have a Theory =-.
Toni, Ebay is an excellent idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks for sharing.
Linda
Our daughter just celebrated her golden birthday (4) last fall – and several of our friends (6 couples actually) all chipped in and bought her an American Girl Doll – something she has been asking for for ages (and loves to play at friends’ houses) but something that we weren’t willing to buy for her.
She loves her Molly doll and takes excellent care of her – we’ve visited the store just once for dessert and had an excellent time.
I think if you explain things to your kids just right – they get it – even at age 4…
I know mine does – she is content to look around and while I’m certain she wishes for things – I am confident I am doing her a favor by not buying every thing under the sun – especially at the expense of our mortgage!!
.-= darcie´s last blog ..Ah…Winter…and a pretty cool give-a-way! =-.
What a lovely story. I love that you were resourceful about figuring out a way to create a lovely memory for your girls without blowing the budget.
.-= Debbie Dubrow´s last blog ..Favorite Travel Links =-.
[...] (minnemom) writes about family travel at Travels with Children. The American Girl Store and Nickelodeon Universe Ropes Course are other things her family has enjoyed at Mall of America. [...]
We have been to the store in NYC after a year of begging I gave in and took my daughter to AG to get Lanie on opening day.We waited in line forever and finally got in to get our hands on a doll.And of course after seeing the Camper my little girl wanted that to so after about 10 minutes of begging and me being daddy I gave in.I was worried about the $295 dollar price tag that this would be another toy that sits in the bedroom used.After getting the Camper home and placing it in my daughters room I was suprised how well made it was.This wasn’t some creap toys from toys r us it well made and really well crafted.And after a year and 4 months my daughter still rushes home from school every night to play with the Camper.Lanie follows us in my daughters arms every where we go and every night is tucked into her sleeping bag for bed in her camper and never skips breakfast or her shower every morning before school.I understand how you all feel about the price tag but as much as I see my daughter and her friends playing with the dolls I think it was worth one time giving in and spending the money.My daughter who is only six takes super good care of that doll and knows it was one time thing.I think she will keep the camper and the doll forever and pass them on to her own daughter.
well where i am you cant get American girl dolls if you can afford them or not im in the UK but their is a lot of cute AG doll look alikes in the uk thats a lovely story and how the staff really went out their way to let her borrow a doll and even give her a little birthday part so cute iv heard of the AG dolls really through the internet and i have family in the states and my little cousions have the dolls shure the dolls are pretty but their over priced theirs a store near me that sells AG doll lookalikes theirin UK only sadly but they cost £20 also they sell accessories and clothers for them all under £15and their just as well made as the AG dols things