Last Christmas, Bobby's dad bought Maggie a Bitty Baby and lots of accompanying accessories. I sort of cringed when I saw those red boxes all beautifully gift-wrapped under his tree ... I wasn't sure, but I suspected they were filled with American Girl things, and I was proven right as Maggie excitedly tore into them all.
I never really understood the whole American Girl phenomenon. Sure, they were cute, and I thought it was pretty cool that they tied the dolls to historic periods. (Goodness knows the youth of our nation need all the help they can get when it comes to historical facts.) But at an average of $90 per doll, I thought these dolls were total ripoffs. What a racket, I thought. I'll never buy stuff like this for my child.
Then I had a daughter.
After Bitty Baby's arrival last year, I slowly opened up to Maggie owning an American Girl doll, just this once. The items did seem better made ... higher quality and more attention to detail. And after all, I reasoned, I didn't pay that money. If someone else wants to buy her these silly, overpriced dolls, so be it. Just not on my dime.
And I had every intention of sticking to that rule until two days ago, when we were blessed with the arrival of the 2008 holiday catalog. I'm not sure how Maggie ended up on the American Girl mailing list ... my father-in-law doesn't have a computer, so I know he didn't order Bitty Baby online. I can only speculate that when he called to place his order last year, they asked him who the "lucky girl" was, and he gave them Maggie's information. Because now, twice a year, she gets their catalogs. I didn't intend to hide this new one from Maggie, nor did I intend to make a big deal of its arrival. I simply sat it on the counter with the other mail, and Maggie happened to spot it.
"Is that the Bitty Baby catalog?" she asked. I told her it was, and she proceeded to grab it, carry it over to the den floor, and spread herself out with the catalog. She flipped through most of the catalog pretty quickly -- that's where the other AG dolls are -- but the last eight pages held her rapt attention. "I want that for Bitty Baby, and that for Bitty Baby, and that for Bitty Baby," and so it continued until she had pointed to every outfit and accessory in the catalog. (Likewise, when we go to Target she wants everything on the shelf, so I'm trying not to stress too much about the rampant commercialism she's displaying right now ... it has to be typical of the age. Right? Please?)
Long story short ... I just placed my first American Girl order. She's not getting everything she asked for, but Maggie and Bitty Baby will be getting the changing table, a matching pj set, and a kitty cat costume (on clearance, no less!) for Christmas this year, and we'll mention the crib and mobile to Bobby's dad, who asked at her birthday party if she still liked Bitty Baby. To make matters worse (or better, I suppose, depending on your perspective), Bobby told me today as we were discussing these purchases that he, being a male, has no understanding or appreciation for this stuff and that all doll-related buys would have to fall on my shoulders. Within reason.
I'm already excited, thinking about her face on Christmas morning. Darn that American Girl company, their cute products, and their snazzy catalog and website. I've been sucked in.
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4 years ago
3 comments:
We get AG magazines as well as the company that makes customized dolls to look exactly like your child. Like AG, most of the dolls are for a bit older girls, but they also carry babies.
Rebekah has seen the magazines and likes to look at them, but she is not intrigued enough to ask for anything. T1hank goodness! Then again, Rebekah has never been a huge doll person. I've really enjoyed browsing the magazines, though.
Probably when Rebekah gets older we will look into purchasing some books to teach some history, but probably from Amazon or somewhere cheaper.
Oh, yay! I'm glad you got sucked in!! haha I had a Samantha doll growing up and my sister, being 7 years younger, had a Bitty Baby. They didn't have the Bitty Babies when I was young enough to play with them.
But, I LOVED my Samantha! I got a lot of outfits over the years and I, actually, still have her. If I ever have a daughter I'll pass her down! :)They are pricey, but from the amount of play and the years I played with her I think it was definitely worth it.
Happily, Emily identifies herself as a tomboy and there is not a single babydoll or Barbie or AG doll anywhere within her room. (There actually are 2 baby dolls in Jacob's room, but none in hers!) Because Emily is a collector and her grandmother attempts to buy her affection... we would have every AG accessory on the planet if Emily just said the word. (Seriously, you would be appalled at the Thomas the Tank Engine collection we have...)
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