The "American Girl" phenom...

I thought I would post a little more about our experience at the American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Atlanta. We had a great time, as you can figure out from the slide show in the below post. Here's how it all came about:

Megan had been talking about wanting an American Girl doll for several months. Actually we saw the special on Oprah right before Christmas, and it peaked both of our interests. I really had not heard a lot about the American Girl dolls, and to be quite honest, never thought Megan would have an interest. Of all the baby dolls she's ever had, she's never played with them a whole lot. She's had several different ones, she's had all the accessories: bed, changing table, bath station, high chair, potty chair, stroller, and lots of bottles and bibs and clothes to play with...but she still didn't play with her dolls quite as much as I thought she would. I remember dolls being a big part of my play time as a kid. I had all kinds, baby dolls, cabbage patch kids, adoption dolls, flower kids, etc. I had names for each of them, and I actually still have them...I passed them on to Megan and they currently sit in her room;rarely played with. So when she saw the special on Oprah and expressed a slight interest, I didn't think much about it. It did, however, peak my interest greatly, and I began researching the dolls on the web. Megan caught me one day and found all the different accessories for the dolls interesting and "cute" as she said. An interest was there, but not enough for her to even ask for a doll for Christmas. So, I let it go. After all, the dolls' were only a minimum of $90 each, and why pay that much for a doll that she wouldn't even care about. Or so I thought.

Fast forward to January when school is back in session. The teacher invites the kids in her class to bring a toy to school for show and tell every Friday during the month. 2 of her very best girlfriends in her class brought their American Girl Dolls. So guess what happened. Megan came home telling me that her two friends had dolls, and she's ready for one too! I have to admit, my heart leaped. As a mother who loved dolls as a child, this is the kind of thing that would be right up my alley! But again, as a mother who doesn't have a whole lot of money sitting around, I wasn't about to spend $90plus on a doll that she might not really have an interest in. My strategy was simple. I showed her the dolls online, looked through the site explaining what the dolls were all about, etc. Then I let it go. I didn't bring it up again. But Megan did. Quite often. And each time she did, we would go to the site. I drilled it in her head that this doll is very expensive, and if she were to get one, I better not find it lying in the floor of her room where she just threw it down! It had to be taken care of! BIG TIME! Like it was a member of our family. The only thing she has ever loved that much is her pooh bear she got when she was 11 months old at Disney World. She has slept with that bear every night of her life, carried it on every vacation, to all the "show and tell" days at school, and treated him like a member of the family. I told her that her American Girl doll had to be treated that special. "Oh, I will Mama! I promise! She'll be just like my SISTER!". After talking to Jon, and forewarning him of the cost, etc, I explained my plan. I wanted to take her to the store and restaurant in Atlanta for her birthday present. Pretty steep, maybe. But, I justified it this way: We had actually returned one of her big Christmas presents back (a computer game that crashed my computer every time she used it) and gotten the money for it, which was about $60. She was upset at first, until I told her that we'd get something else. Combine that with a birthday present, and save up a little cash, and we could do it. I expected some resistance...but to my suprise, Jonathan was great about it! He was actually all for it! We booked a hotel right across the street from the North Point Mall in Alpharetta, and headed to our weekend getaway on Friday, March 21st. After arriving, Megan had her doll picked out in no time at all. We paid for it, and got her out of the box so Megan could carry her around. We had made reservations for the Bistro, and when it was our turn to go, I was really blown away at how they really "catered" to the doll!!!

"May I have your name please?" asked the hostess

"Barrett, reservations for 2" I respond.

"And how many dolls will be dining with you?" She asked.

I have to admit, I was somewhat taken aback by this! I knew Megan would bring her doll in with her to the bistro, but Ididn't expect to see what was coming next.

"One" I replied.

The hostess then get's 2 Menu's out of the box in front of us, then reaches under her table to get a mini menu FOR THE DOLL!!! It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud! Then she walks over to a shelf, and gets a HIGH CHAIR FOR THE DOLL so it can sit next to Megan at our table.
"OH HOW CUTE" I am thinking! I am eating this up! Reliving my childhood at that very moment and loving every minute of it!

The hostess has Megan place her doll in the chair and when the doll's shirt and skirt get pulled up slightly I am amazed at the fuss that the hostess makes over the doll.

"Oh let me help you!", and she begins smoothing the dolls clothes down again. Again, it's all I can do to keep from cracking up laughing in front of her! She attatches the doll to the table right next to Megan and then places our menu's in front of us. And yes-the doll got it's menu standing up in front of her too!

The food was OK. I wasn't overly impressed, but I'm paying more for the experience, not the taste of the food. We watched several girls celebrate their birthday's there, and Megan was so excited when if finally came her turn to have "Happy Birthday" sung to her.

Overall, it was a great day. I got to make a really wonderful memory with Megan, and relive some of my love of my childhood all at the same time. Megan is taking really good care of her doll, whom she named Miley. (Yep, she's a Hannah Montana fan for sure!). Right now, she is obsessed with wanting to buy other stuff for her doll. More clothes. Furniture. She wants the doll to have the pet cat named Licorice. She wants her doll to like soccer, so she is asking for a soccer uniform for her. She also thinks her doll would like to be an ice skater like Mia, the current doll of the year, so she is asking for all her furniture. (Again, it takes all I can to not laugh in front of Megan, but we are taking this soooo slowly.) I find myself getting all wrapped into this too! I would like to get her a set of PJ's that she and her doll can wear and match. I've also seen a Brownie uniform for her doll, and part of me really wants to get her that! We'll see. Whatever the case, she loves all things American Girl...right now. I am waiting to see if this interest is a fad, or if it will last. She is already planning a sleep over with her friends, and wants them to bring their American Girl dolls with them. If it does last, it's a phase I can get on board with!

So everyone out there that has a daughter-I say it's worth the investment. The dolls are a little pricey, but hold their value and are very durable dolls. If you teach your child how to take care of it, they will treasure the doll for a long time. I say it's a MUST to take your daughter to the store and restaurant. One day, I want to go to the one in Chicago and let her go to the theatre there. We'll see...