Dolled Up: Some American Girl Ideas

'Tis the season to spend huge amounts of money on American Girl doll accessories and outfits.  Or not, if you are crafty enough to make a few things or smart enough to shop around a little bit.

It can take some work, but you can, indeed, find some doll bargains even this close to Christmas that will wow your wee girlie.

One thing we have learned: the quality of the American Girl doll itself isn't really matched by the poorer quality of any of the knock-off dolls we've played with or seen.  When it comes to the doll itself?  I recommend spending the money on an American Girl doll.

If you aren't wedded to an 18-inch doll, there are some lovely dolls from Hearts 4 Hearts girls that are a lovely quality, too -- but your options for knock-off clothing will be limited because they are a smaller size.  But they are also significantly cheaper, and I wanted to mention them in case someone might be interested in a cheaper starter doll.  The nice thing about these dolls is that part of the purchase price goes to support charitable food and education programs for kids, and there is a booklet with each doll talking about things that can be done in communities around the world to help the less fortunate.

The Peanut has Consuelo from Mexico and loves her -- she really is a beautiful doll -- but none of the clothing we have for her American Girl doll fits, so beware that these are not interchangeable doll sizes.


When it comes to clothing, American Girl doll clothes are generally wonderful in terms of quality -- but you pay a steep price for all that extra stitching.  Here's what we have done:  buy a few, really nice outfits from American Girl and get any others from knock-off lines that you can find at craft stores or other big box stores.

I've found lovely dresses, purses, coats, and all sorts of assorted accessories and extras at Target with their Our Generation line.  They've added a new line this year for other 18-inch dolls that is more fashion forward called Play Wonder, but we haven't bought any of the outfits as yet, so I can't personally attest to the quality.  We've been very happy with the Our Generation outfits, though -- they aren't quite American Girl quality, but my eight year old isn't picky enough to worry about it and she plays with all of them just the same.

We've also had a lot of fun with outfits we've picked up at A.C. Moore and Michaels from the Springfield Collection line.  These are fairly cheap, both in terms of price and quality, but they are a fun way to add some bling to a doll outfit without emptying your wallet.  We have found some adorable sunglasses and purses there, for example, that The Peanut loves.  Same for a couple of outfits I ordered from Hobby Lobby's Make Me Your Friend line.

A while back, I did a post on ways to make an American Girl doll a little more affordable.  One of those ways was to seriously consider knock off furniture instead of the higher priced American Girl line.

And here is why:

We have gotten The Peanut an adorable bunk bed with attached closet and a free-standing wardrobe with mirror and bench, both at significantly reduced prices when compared to similar items at American Girl.  Granted, we bought them the last two years, but they can still be found:

-- Badger Basket doll bunk bed for $36.99
-- Our Generation wooden doll armoire for $120 or
-- Badger Basket wooden doll armoire for $52.99

All of these are lovely options and much cheaper than what you'd pay for similar furniture at the American Girl website. We have purchased items from both Badger Basket and Our Generation, and have been pleased with the quality.

Do check out reviews and other information before you buy, though -- we purchased a little doll chair last year from the Springfield Collection line sold at a lot of craft stores, and it is horrible and not worth even the low price I paid for it on sale.  Worst doll purchase we've made, I am sad to say.

So YMMV with knock-off lines, but we've been very pleased with the wooden furniture we have purchased from Badger Basket and Our Generation.

A word of warning about doll clothes hangers, though:buy the hangers from American Girl. The cheaper metal and plastic hangers you can find in craft stores do not hold up the doll clothes and you'll end up with a mess.  In this case, buying hangers from American Girl really is worth the extra little bit of price tag.

In terms of crafty ideas for the doll, there are a lot of fun things you can make or purchase to make with your child, either for clothing, hats or even food for a tea party.  I've put up some ideas over the last year that are worth re-visiting:

-- Making hats for your doll
-- Making conversation hearts tea cakes
-- Putting together a doll shirt craft kit present
-- Tea party fun

Hopefully, these ideas are helpful for parents who are entering the doll shopping fray this year.

(Photo by Christy Hardin Smith.)