Making An American Girl Doll More Affordable

WalletPop has an article on the expense of American Girl dolls and all their many accessories.

It can tally around $600 if you get all the doll bling, apparently, and given how much bling there is to buy?  That's not shocking.

Then we checked out the latest accessories. If I was inclined, I could have bought our dolls a new polo pony, guitar, wheelchair, glasses, beauty salon, snowboard, camping gear and snorkeling equipment.

The girls selected one of 30 possible styles and watched as “stylists” turned their dolls into super models. The girl behind the counter said they do up to 300 of these hairstyles per day. Scared that more than 2,000 people every week decide they have $20 extra to spend on a hairstyle for a doll, and comforted that I wasn’t the only parent who had $20 extra to spend on a hairstyle for a doll.

Since Christmas season is just around the corner, I want to share some of what we've done with The Peanut's American Girl doll, Natalie, to make it (at least a little) more affordable.  We got her a "Just Like Me" doll last year for Christmas, and so this is all pretty recent -- and The Peanut regularly plays with her as a 7 year old, so we have many years of fun to go.

1.  The American Girl website has some fantastic sales, you just have to look for them.  Especially this time of year, they do a spotlight sale which rotates items weekly, plus sales on items that go with the historical dolls that have occurred the last two Octobers that I've been watching.  They also have a clearance area that, while somewhat scanty at the moment, can be full of lovely things at seriously slashed prices during the summer (which is when I pick up bits and pieces for The Peanut's doll and store them away for Christmas).

2.  Craft stores like A.C. Moore, Michaels, and others sell a lower quality American Girl knock-off doll from the "Springfield Collection" which is perfect if you have a child that (a) doesn't care about the branding/a particular historical doll or (b) you aren't certain they will like the doll so you want a cheaper one for a test run.

Or, in our case, if your child wants her doll to have a friend and you don't want to fork over another $95 for a second doll.  (I haven't decided yet on the "friend" purchase.  Apparently, Barbies just don't cut it for really good pals when you tower over them like a giant -- it makes Natalie a little self-conscious, I'm told, and she'd like a doll her own size as a pal instead.  I think The Peanut may just be good at angling and momma may be soft.  LOL)

Also, Target sells a line called "Our Generation," and my local Wal-Mart just started carrying one from Lillian Vernon called "Friend's Boutique." (although I couldn't find anything on their website, it might be a local store thing for our area?)

3.  The best thing about the American Girl doll knock-off lines?  They have clothes and accessories that you can purchase separately for far less than the ones from American Girl.

However -- and this is a big one if your child loves to play with her doll -- the quality of the knock-off clothing is not even close to the quality of the American Girl products.  If your child plays with her doll a lot, and likes to change outfits quite a bit, that could be something to consider.   A frayed dress after three changes is not so much of a value if that is going to be a big deal for your child.

For us, though?  Having lots of clothes options is great and I've managed to snag various outfits on sale on the American Girl website, or from knock-off brands, and I honestly don't think my child can tell the difference because it is the play time with the doll that is important to her, not the status of her outfits.  In fact, The Peanut's current favorite outfit is a party dress from a knock off line that features hot pink satin and a sparkly crystal applique on the sash.  It looks a little like a drag queen's take on the Miss America pageant to me, but she adores it.

We've found eyeglasses, hats, purses, outfits, shoes, and even a small teddy bear for Natalie's bedtime at far cheaper prices by buying from knock-off lines.

Plus, I've used this with The Peanut to talk about getting value for your money, figuring out how to save up for something bigger, and determining what she really wants to splurge on versus what she can live with at a lower price point, as well as talking about marketing and advertising strategies that lure you into spending more when you don't need to do so.  We've tried to make this educational for her where we can, and still managed to amass some fun outfits.

4.  The knock-off lines also have some great furniture and other accessory items for much, much cheaper than the American Girl prices.  I wanted a storage trunk for doll clothes for The Peanut, but I could not justify spending over $100 with shipping for one from American Girl's website (we don't live anywhere near a store, so we would have had to order online).  I found a lovely substitute at Target from their Our Generation line that has worked wonderfully well for us, and it came with a little dressing table pull out, too.    Same with a stylist's chair for doing hair.

The key for us has been to shop around a bit, and not just leap on something cute that turns up at the American Girl website or in their catalog.  If you wait just a little while, the knock-off lines usually come up with something similar -- and then you can compare quality and price, and see which suits your particular needs best.

5.  Instead of buying doll accessory storage that was really expensive, I put together a hair kit with a plastic craft tote and a trip to the local Sally beauty for perm rollers and hair papers as well as buying various little girl hair bling clips, bands and barettes.  Instead of paying $30 for a kit that had very little in it, I put ours together for about $12 and it is chock full of fun hair doo-dads.

6.  I did the same with a carrying tote for clothing.  I just got a large make-up travel bag that zipped at the side, and put clothes in it, using the two inner plastic pouches for shoes and accessories.  I found a really colorful one in multi-colored polka dots, and The Peanut drags it everywhere around the house and on trips.  I may have paid $6 for it.  Boo yah!

If I think of more things we've done with this, I'll add to the post or do another.  But I thought I'd throw this out there for parents who are trying to make their child happy for the holidays but don't want to lose their shorts in the process.

(Photo via yuan2003.)