Do you have a little girl? Do you know about American Girl dolls? I wasn’t familiar with them, but Mimi got the Ladybug one several years ago. We didn’t think much about it at first, it was just another toy. Then Mr. Fix-It and I went Christmas shopping together and saw Fishnet Stockings Barbie (Ok, that wasn’t her name, but that was what she was wearing.) and we knew we had to find a better way.

The Tysons store IS in the mall–but it also has an exterior entrance. (I wish they made that clear on the website!!)

We think American Girl is a good alternative to things like Barbie, and even more, things like Bratz, and Monster High. (Honestly, I’m not even putting links in because it turns my stomach that we consider these childhood toys.) It’s not the whole answer, but we think it’s a good company. Their mission statement says “At American Girl, we celebrate girls and all that they can be. That’s why we develop products and experiences that help girls grow up in a wholesome way, while encouraging them to enjoy girlhood through fun and enchanting play.”

And the whole company started local to us, here in Williamsburg, with historically based characters and stories. We started encouraging her to play with her American Girl doll, named Julia. We’ve encouraged her to get and read the books, we’ve made her doll clothes and a doll bed to play with, and when I found out that several of her friends from church also had dolls, we’ve encouraged her to take Julia (when appropriate) and play too.

The Ladybug really enjoys playing with Julia. It’s creative and imaginative, and sparks wonderful, important discussions on modesty, hobbies, friends, and finances.

Having said all that good stuff about them {BTW, American Girl doesn’t know me and this is not a sponsored post. This is just our experience as the conscientious parents of a little girl.} I would also like to point out that we live in a society of rampant consumerism and all good things can be overdone–which is kinda how I felt after visiting the store. (And supposedly, the Tysons Corner store that we visited is the smallest one!)

But the girls really enjoyed it. Here’s a few tips if you’re planning a trip for your little girl! (Especially if you’re little girl is a country girl and only knows American Girl through the catalog! {grin})

1. Don’t rush. The stores seem to stay open very late (ours was open until 9:30 pm!) so you have plenty of time to shop, take a break, and shop some more. We even went back to the hotel for a while and then came back.

We walked the mall a bit and the girls saw SO MANY other little girls with their American Girl dolls too. It was really fun.

2. Bring your doll. They’re welcome, of course, but it will also keep her hands to full to touch and reach for every. beautiful. thing. And all the other little girls have their dolls, so it’s a great conversation starter!

3. Plan ahead. The Stores schedule all kinds of free activities for visitors. We did a Kaya belt pouch craft. There was also a historic character scavenger hunt scheduled (we missed that), and some Stores do hair braiding classes or movie viewings.

The historic characters are all about context and lifestyle. The Just-Like-Me dolls are all about self-esteem and personal growth.

4. It’s not all about buying. (Or at least, it doesn’t have to be!) The doll accessories and historic character stories are very detailed. Don’t miss the opportunity to see and learn. It’s set up almost like a museum with little vignettes in each of the cases. You can see how Kaya’s teepee is constructed. You can see Kit’s flour-sack dress. You can see Addy’s handmade quilt. The Ladybug was quite taken with seeing the character’s rag dolls.

Which goes hand-in-hand with #5…

5. Make a list. We didn’t do this, but I saw one Momma and little girl who was so smart! She had a list of everything she wanted to see and/or buy while she was there and they were either crossing it off, or circling it.

6. Skip the food. It wasn’t that good. It was expensive. It was a strange mix of little-girl theme There’s plenty of other options.

The Bistro meal was a strange mix of adult food and little-girl atmosphere with a lot of screaming over birthday cakes in the background. I think they could do a little better. And the server could have smiled more. Or at least once.

7. Consider dessert only. That would have been more fun, and less expensive.

8. Make appointment’s first. If you’re getting the doll’s ears pierced or hair done (yes, they have a doll salon!) make the appointment’s first thing and plan your visit around that. They don’t have a loud-speaker, and you pay when you make the appointment, so if you miss them calling your name, you’ll end up at the end of the line and waiting.

We learned that you really, really should buy the American Girl brush–others break the hair. (Well, we knew that part, we just didn’t know the solution.) We also learned that after you brush it, you can brush over it with a firm toothbrush to make it smooth.

9. Plan to buy something. I know, I know, I said it’s not all about buying. But you’d be crazy to expect her to go in there and keep her little wanter under that much control. Budget for a purchase. (We let the family know we were taking the trip so they could send her birthday money early so she could spent it there if she wanted.)

10. Set a budget. This isn’t the time to start trying to teach your daughter about money management–she’s going to be too excited to take it seriously! But if you’ve already laid a good foundation, then make sure you go over the budget with her before you go in. Then look at everything first, maybe take a break away from the Store to think, and help her decide. I was very happy that we didn’t have any tantrums or melt downs with any of our girls–even though no one got the $350 car. {grin}

I wouldn’t introduce money management to her in the middle of the Store–but if you’ve already started that training, now would be a great time to illustrate financial discipline and help her stick to the budget! (You too!)

The whole store just doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to the branding and image and marketing. It was both wonderful and overwhelming.

Honestly, I think you can lose perspective with these things easily. Our adventure was the whole girl’s weekend, not just the Store. And I think the Ladybug saw it that way too.