My SD 9 wants to go to the American Girl Doll store in Chicago. I looked online and saw that a meal is about $20 per person (give or take depending on which meal you choose), and then there are the neat stuff to shop for but American Girl Doll stuff is expensive!
I know we can't do a meal or a tea, but how much money should we plan on her bringing? Should we wait for a very special occasion when we can afford to do the tea or meal? Is it worth saving up all that money for that?
Is the doll spa fun? It looked neat and she can get her doll's ears pierced.
This would definitely be an experience, I just want to get the most out of it. Money is tight so I want to make sure we can have fun without going broke!
Definitely a birthday trip, not just a trip with a tea. Could you take a cousin or is there another little girl in the family? Two little girls together are awesome when it comes to dolls and teas.
I have taken my girls for there birthdays and got a doll w/pet whicg is $100.00/ extra outfit for $15.00 (they always have one outfit special with purchase for this amount) and lunch with them and there doll.
Its a really cute experience (even for me) and you get enough to eat. It is actually a 4 course meal.
For me this cost the same or less then a party and I don't have to deal with 15 other kids.
The ear piercing you actually just drop your doll off and come back in 15 minutes you don't stand there and watch.
I have taken my girls out of school on there Birthdays as the place can be packed if you go on a weekend or non school day.
Hope this helps! Have a great time!
Wait for a special occasion - it's worth it. We did the meal and the show - I'm not sure if they still have the show option, but it was terrific!
We shopped the sale section and got out relatively unscathed.
YMMV
LBC
This doesn't answer your question but just as an FYI...we were at Sears the other day and stumbled on these "Dolli and Me" sets. (I think that's what they are called) Anyway, they are super cheap (vs. AG store) and SUPER cute - way cuter than the authentic AG clothes if you ask me. Definitely something worth checking out. We only go to the actual AG Place once a year for my daughter's bdays which are in the same month. For XMas or another occassion, I'm definitely heading to Sears!! Oh, they have jewelry sets too which are also adorable.
Perhaps that could be her birthday or Christmas gift?
I took my 6 and 3 year old daughter and we spent $70. They both were allowed to pick out an outfit or accessory for their doll (which they already had) and we got my older daughter's doll's hair done at the salon. It was $20 to do her hair but the doll was Josephina and she has really long hair. I think some of the other doll hair styles are $15. We made an appt at the salon right when we got there because they were booked for about 2 hours. We actually made the appt, ate lunch in the mall and then went back to the AG store. My oldest got an outfit for Josephina which was about $24. My youngest got the Bitty Baby dr. kit for about $22. They had a good time but it was VERY crowded. We went on a Saturday. As far as buying a doll, my oldest has gotten one for Christmas or her birthday the last couple of years.
We took our daughter there for their birthdays (which are a week apart). However, they got money from their grandma for a new doll for their birthday. We let each one of them get their other dolls' ears pierced and a pet for their dolls. They loved it! As for eatting there- it is very expensive and my kids are younger(7 & 4) so wouldn't really appreciate it, so we got cookies at the little bake shop there. They were completely happy with the whole expierence without it being TOTALLY outrageous on our pocketbook. Have fun!
Every July Madison Children's Museum has a sale where you can buy all sorts of American Girl stuff for at least 1/2 price. Maybe the big doll is $50 to give you an idea. From the dolls, to the babies, to the twins as well as clothing and accessories and books and clothes for children. If you register online for the sale you will get an email when they start selling tickets.
If you buy the doll this way than maybe you can take the doll down for lunch or tea.
It's usually miserably hot the day of the sale and it's in a non-air-conditioned warehouse so be prepared for that. I wouldn't recommend taking small children but your daughter is old enough.
I just went to the website and they actually have a sale Nov 4th on a smaller scale. They only have the look like me dolls which are $40. Tickets to get in are $5. They also have accessories. Here's a link to the website:
http://www.madisonchildrensmuseum.org/events-rentals/annu...
It is expensive and it should be set aside as a special occasion. I took my two daughters there who were 6 and 3 at the time and I have to say that the lunch is well worth the experience. For a kids place the adults were very happy with the food as were the kids. the servers are great there. it was definitely worth it.
I spent about $200. I we didn't go crazy. The place is expensive.
There are so many good restaurants within the surrounding blocks that I recommend taking your SD to lunch somewhere other than the store after shopping. If you're looking to have tea, you would be better off having high tea at the Penninsula or the Drake and probably be about the same price (or less) and it would be special for the BOTH of you. :)
We took our daughter for her birthday. It was a huge hit! We want to go back. Totally worth it. If doing the salon make sure you sign in as soon as you get there, their schedule is very busy. We made that mistake and had to leave before it was our turn. She used her bday money, I think she spent probably $60 on stuff for her doll. The salon was around $25 I think. It is very hard to resist buying in that store. We will go back, it was worth every penny. Have fun!
