Help me nourish my American Girl Doll loving spouse's inner child
December 18, 2023 6:30 PM Subscribe
What do you get the American Girl Doll fan who has everything? My spouse always wanted an American Girl Doll growing up but could never afford one, now it's no problem for us. I want to surprise her with some kind of American Girl Doll gift for Christmas, but 1) I don' t know the first thing about American Girl Doll culture and 2) I don't want to make the mistake of getting something for someone's hobby/passion that's just completely off-base (like a beginner fishing rod for an experienced fly fisher).
Lately she's been pretty obsessed, doing a lot of research on particular dolls and buying some here and there. I don't think it makes sense to get her a doll, but I'd like to get her something American Girl Doll adjacent.
Lately she's been pretty obsessed, doing a lot of research on particular dolls and buying some here and there. I don't think it makes sense to get her a doll, but I'd like to get her something American Girl Doll adjacent.
Please consider the recent book Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl!
posted by arco at 6:41 PM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by arco at 6:41 PM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Now that I searched it I honestly want it myself but Stoney Clover did a collab on make up bags with the iconic prints of the “original” American girl dolls. It looks like only Addy’s and Josephina’s are still available through the official shop. If you know which one is/was her favorite, you may be able to find another on eBay.
You may have similar luck on Etsy for things that are “adjacent” if you know her favorite character
posted by raccoon409 at 6:48 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
You may have similar luck on Etsy for things that are “adjacent” if you know her favorite character
posted by raccoon409 at 6:48 PM on December 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ok I know entirely too much about this.
If you're not going to do a doll or accessories, one option is the Dolls of Our Lives book.
Another option is, assuming that she is a Millennial and has a Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, Kit, or Molly: get her a tumbler or notebook.
If she does have one of the above, or another retired historical, or a historical that's had a significant redesign post BeForever branding (Caroline, Cecile, Rebecca, etc.) there's probably some outfit that she really, really wanted that you can only get on the collectors market, and is stupid expensive. These are especially true for stuff that wasn't out long or had a smaller market (I collect Felicity and older Rebecca stuff. Pre redesign Rebecca stuff is a lot more expensive because it wasn't made for as long, and not as many people bought a Jewish doll!) Your spouse maybe has one of those on her "I love it list" but hasn't gotten it because paying $150-200 for a doll dress is A Bit Much.
If you know what dolls she has, and want to get an outfit, you can try to snoop on the Wiki. Find her doll, like here, scroll to the Extra outfits, Limited Edition, and Short Story sections (avoid anything under the BeForever section), and take a look at the links and poke around eBay or Mercari. Otherwise, and probably less expensive, would be any of the core outfits (Meet dress, School outfit, Christmas, Summer). Medium expensive would be accessories to go with any of those- maybe she has the Meet Dress, but not the accessories.
posted by damayanti at 6:52 PM on December 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
If you're not going to do a doll or accessories, one option is the Dolls of Our Lives book.
Another option is, assuming that she is a Millennial and has a Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, Kit, or Molly: get her a tumbler or notebook.
If she does have one of the above, or another retired historical, or a historical that's had a significant redesign post BeForever branding (Caroline, Cecile, Rebecca, etc.) there's probably some outfit that she really, really wanted that you can only get on the collectors market, and is stupid expensive. These are especially true for stuff that wasn't out long or had a smaller market (I collect Felicity and older Rebecca stuff. Pre redesign Rebecca stuff is a lot more expensive because it wasn't made for as long, and not as many people bought a Jewish doll!) Your spouse maybe has one of those on her "I love it list" but hasn't gotten it because paying $150-200 for a doll dress is A Bit Much.
If you know what dolls she has, and want to get an outfit, you can try to snoop on the Wiki. Find her doll, like here, scroll to the Extra outfits, Limited Edition, and Short Story sections (avoid anything under the BeForever section), and take a look at the links and poke around eBay or Mercari. Otherwise, and probably less expensive, would be any of the core outfits (Meet dress, School outfit, Christmas, Summer). Medium expensive would be accessories to go with any of those- maybe she has the Meet Dress, but not the accessories.
posted by damayanti at 6:52 PM on December 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
This is the sweetest thing. I have more questions than answers!
I hope you post an update.
posted by meemzi at 8:10 PM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
- What's your budget?
- Are accessories out?
- Could you snoop in a way that wouldn't be an invasion? (Maybe you bring her a cup of tea while she's browsing and sit with her and make conversation about what she clicks on. I'm not going to recommend you scour her browsing history.)
- Does she play or display? Or dress them up?
- Does she like the historical dolls or the personalized dolls?
I hope you post an update.
posted by meemzi at 8:10 PM on December 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
If she's purchased a doll or two, I think getting a furniture item for that doll would be delightful, assuming you have the storage space for it. I had Samantha and got her bed and nightstand for Christmas one year -- they're really well made, or at least they were in the '90s, and it definitely felt more special than an outfit. I don't know if that stuff costs a bazillion dollars now, though.
Another fun option might be ordering a custom doll outfit -- like, a doll t-shirt for her favorite band, or a sweater that matches one of hers. That way you don't have to worry about whether or not she already has it. You can 1000% find Etsy sellers who do this, and there's a good chance that your local hobby shop or craft market will know someone who does.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 8:20 PM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Another fun option might be ordering a custom doll outfit -- like, a doll t-shirt for her favorite band, or a sweater that matches one of hers. That way you don't have to worry about whether or not she already has it. You can 1000% find Etsy sellers who do this, and there's a good chance that your local hobby shop or craft market will know someone who does.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 8:20 PM on December 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Do you know roughly what year she would have been into them as a kid? One thing I bought myself was a catalog from the early 90s. Very nostalgic to look back at. I would expect to pay about $20 on eBay.
posted by wsquared at 9:58 PM on December 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by wsquared at 9:58 PM on December 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
If she doesn't already have it I can heartily recommend this book
It's the American Girl: Ultimate Visual Guide: A Celebration of the American Girl® Story
It's a DK hardback and features the most gorgeous pictures of every doll (and every accessory minus the tie in novels ) the Pleasant Company / Mattel company produced up to 2016.
The DK books Character Encyclopedia is also great - and covers dolls up to 2020 (I think) - but it's not as extensive and the layout / character info is more aimed at child collectors - so it's more of a high end catalogue.
posted by Faintdreams at 5:35 AM on December 19, 2023
It's the American Girl: Ultimate Visual Guide: A Celebration of the American Girl® Story
It's a DK hardback and features the most gorgeous pictures of every doll (and every accessory minus the tie in novels ) the Pleasant Company / Mattel company produced up to 2016.
The DK books Character Encyclopedia is also great - and covers dolls up to 2020 (I think) - but it's not as extensive and the layout / character info is more aimed at child collectors - so it's more of a high end catalogue.
posted by Faintdreams at 5:35 AM on December 19, 2023
If spouse doesn't already own the bicycle, please; it's so adorable! (also now retired, I see.)
Upon reviewing, my link doesn't work See it on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325794729499?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&srsltid=AfmBOor1J3co-cwr4Auv5rh9VL3unKfh-nwOfXNI6H-sbcjdMmjjJwEvUjQ&com_cvv=d30042528f072ba8a22b19c81250437cd47a2f30330f0ed03551c4efdaf3409e
posted by BostonTerrier at 6:56 AM on December 19, 2023
Upon reviewing, my link doesn't work See it on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325794729499?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&srsltid=AfmBOor1J3co-cwr4Auv5rh9VL3unKfh-nwOfXNI6H-sbcjdMmjjJwEvUjQ&com_cvv=d30042528f072ba8a22b19c81250437cd47a2f30330f0ed03551c4efdaf3409e
posted by BostonTerrier at 6:56 AM on December 19, 2023
You can make one that looks like you in the store. Lots of the accessories are freaking huge - I don't recommend those unless you literally live in a mcmansion with 20X20 bedrooms or have a dedicated playroom to store the things. I'm talking the biggest ones are like 3-5 sq ft.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on December 19, 2023
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on December 19, 2023
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posted by true at 6:41 PM on December 18, 2023 [10 favorites]