American Girl Spa Day

I have very mixed feelings about American Girl dolls. We first encountered this high quality, super expensive doll in NY, when a catalog mysteriously arrived at our doorstep. I had never heard of this company and I confess the price tag immediately gave me a negative impression. Dori was fascinated and looked at the catalog until the papers thinned and finally tore. I put off buying one of these dolls for as long as I could, mainly because they are $100 each and out of principal (not sure which one--maybe many!) I felt that was just too much for a doll.

Dori eventually forgot about it and that was that. Then we moved to Rhode Island and several of her friends here had American Girl dolls. One sweet girl felt so badly that Dori didn't have one, that she saved up her own money to buy a "mini" American Girl doll ($20). So at Dori's 6th birthday, she received her first ever Mini American Girl doll, Kaya--and she was truly treasured.

Let me stop right here and say that these dolls are very well made, and have wonderful historical story lines. For example, there is Samantha, from the Victorian era; Molly, from World War II; Julie, from the 70's; and so on. Each doll has a series of fictional books that are interesting and share the history of the era with the reader. Dori has read many of the books, and they are wonderful!

Christmas of 2006, Papa Neal heard of the travesty that Dori had no American Girl Doll. He heard how that was what she *really* wanted for Christmas. I'm sure you can figure out what happened next! Papa Neal sent the $100 so Dori could pick out a doll--making her beyond excited. It took her almost 5 weeks to decide which doll she wanted (this is primarily because her crazy mama wanted her to be absolutely certain she just LOVED the doll she chose, since she most likely would not be getting another one). She settled on "Elizabeth"--a girl from 1774. The rest is history.

Most things American Girl are pricey. You can find outfits for the dolls at Target for $10 a piece, which is great, and sometimes the local craft stores will sell similar style accessories and furniture for a third of the price of "real" American Girl stuff. This helps the pocket book and I'm so glad I only have one girly girl. :)

This brings me to last Saturday. I had to take Dori to get a hair cut at the mall, and I noticed a poster about a FREE American Girl Doll Spa Day. Hmmm. I know of virtually nothing free that is American Girl! As soon as the poster caught Dori's eye she was hooked and I told her that we would bring Elizabeth and get her hair done and hey, possibly win "Addy"--the American Girl doll that is from the Civil War era.

Dori was ecstatic and had a great time. I had to drag all the boys along because Jason had a meeting, but they survived. Micah was even a little excited for his sister, since he knows how much she loves American Girl. It was a great adventure and best of all, FREE. We didn't win any of the give-aways, but had lots of fun none-the-less!

Elizabeth in the "salon chair"

This is what James was doing while Elizabeth got her hair done.

The boys looking at the water fountain. At least they weren't fighting.

This is Micah's mischievous look. I get it 987,830 times a day.

This picture was taken by the lady who sponsored the whole event. It will be featured in the Providence Performing Arts Center-Journal. One of the give-aways were 4 tickets to see the play "Addy." We didn't win.

This is the finished product!

This is during the drawings and all the girls who had their dolly spa day.