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doll suggestions
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I’m looking for some suggestions for dolls to buy for my dd who are 7 and 5. They have some baby dolls, but lately they’ve shown some interest in the American Girl type of dolls. Does anyone have suggestions about dolls that your dd love? Thanks,
Jean
No real suggestions – my daughter asked for this type doll as well when she was 7 – I got her the american girl looking doll from target. Then all her girl cousins wanted one too, and so they all had them – and none of them ever got played with! I guess they just didn’t spark their interest – maybe a real american girl doll with the books and all would be more fun? She did have an american girl baby doll – bitty baby – and it got a lot of play and was a very nice doll – the clothes were so well made.
My daughter loves dressing her teddy bear and making clothes for it – she is 10 now. And she has a renewed interest in barbie type dolls. I think when she was younger she lacked the motor skills and patience to dress those dolls. Now she plays with them a lot.
The “dolls” that my kids have played with the most are lil pet shops – those cute little animals. They spend hours fixing up homes for them and little villages for them to live in. They put the animals of different types together to make families, and have very complicated family trees for them. Somehow they can remember each individual one and see the tiny differences LOL.
Anyway, check out those target dolls – might save you some $$$.
My girls (now 13 and 10) each got an American Girl doll when they were 6. They each got a Bitty Baby the next year. They have played and played with them, the dolls have held up (and the clothes/accesories). I’m certain I will still have them when my granddaughters come to stay the night with Grandma and Grandpa.
*My girls have also LOVED the books (me too), and the first 2 movies (Samantha and Felicity…Molly and Kit not so much)!
HTH! What fun to buy dolls…time goes so fast
If you got to Etsy.com and look up Waldorf dolls. There are some beautiful homemade dolls there. Usually made out of 100% natural wool & cotton. There faces are neutral and are suppossed to encourage children’s imaginations.
I am considering getting the homemade dolls from doorposts (http://www.doorposts.com) for both of my girls this year (4 and 8). They are dolls that they can craft themselves and display Biblical virtues i.e. the Ruby doll from Proverbs 31.
The dolls at Vision Forum are lovely and they fit the American Girl clothes. They are German made. I got them for my Chinese daughter who turned out to be a son. Guess I’ll save them in case we have a greaddaughter some day.
Though I haven’t bought any, I second the Vision Forum dolls. They’re less than the AG dolls, and what I really like is that most of the costumes and all accompanying books are based on real historical G-dly heroines, not made up characers.http://www.visionforum.com/browse/productlist/?cid=495&viewall=1
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Rachel
I recommend Vision Forum dolls as well. My friends child has one and it is gorgeous. Wholesome, historical and in my humble opinion perfect if you want a doll like the American Girl doll with real historical stories and outfits – my daughters both had an American Girl doll and I wish these others from Vision Forum had been available then, because I would have chosen them – but all those years ago there was little choice. Beautiful dolls, less expensive than AG and very wholesome. My friends daughter loves hers to bits. Linda
My dd9 asked for an AG doll for 2 years before we bought one for Christmas last year. She likes it, but is more of a stuffed animals kind of girl so it stands on her dresser looking pretty. She has a Kathy Kruse? Waldorf doll that is lovely and she loves it, but doesn’t play with it. DD3 asked for an AG doll and that just wasn’t going to happen, but we found a Madame Alexander doll at Costco that is similar and that will be her Christmas gift. I, too, think the Vision Forum dolls are beautiful!
We’ve done several of the Our Generation dolls from Target (like American Girl), and a few of the Madame Alexander dolls from WalMart (again, like American Girl) for my two girls who are now almost 6 and 10. They love them and play with them often. They started out with one each, then they received one from someone in the family (us or grandparents) on birthdays and Christmas for a few years. We only bought ones with modest clothing and all the clothing is interchangeable.
Another option!!! Go online to Amazon.com and look for “American Girl Mini Doll”. They sell these small ones for $21.95 but usually on sale for around $15.00. They are the actual American Girl dolls in a miniature size (6 inches tall). My daughters each have their very favorite American Girl character in this size, and they get a lot of love and play too. If Amazon is out of your daughter’s favorite you can always go to the American Girl website and they are $22, but usually Amazon has them cheaper.
For Barbie type dolls I’ve seen the Only Hearts Club dolls (at Target?) that are all meant to be family oriented and modest little girls. We don’t do barbie types, so I’m not much help beyond that.
Hope those give you some ideas!
We got my 10yo daughter a bitty baby when she was 3. She hardly ever played w/ it and prefered her $5 drugstore baby. As she grew older, she played w/ the bitty baby more often and her sisters play w/ it quite a bit. She still looks in new condition after 7 years. My mom bought her an American Girl doll when she was around 7 and she plays and sleeps w/ it daily. It has held up well and worth every dollar my mom spent on it.
My mom also bought my younger daughters, 5 and 3 at the time, the toddler twins. These also get played and slept w/ daily. They are in great condition after about 2 years or so of daily abuse. 🙂
My gilrs don’t have a lot of dolls so this might be why they have worked for us.
I would love to have a little girl to buy an American Girl Doll for (I have all boys) – they are so precious. I would have loved one of these as a girl and know I would have cherished it & played with it for years. My boys laugh at me when I get excited about an AG Doll catalog in the mail
lol. Hopefully I’ll get to buy one for a grandaughter some day .We are trying to buy this type of doll for my dd for Christmas this year. She REALLY loved the Vision Forum dolls but they cost a HORRIBLE amount to be shipped to Canada. Canada sort of has their own version of the AG dolls but they look…weird, is the only word my dd had. We are trying to find a MadameAlexander doll that looks similar to the VF dolls but these seem hard to come by in Canada as well. Esspecially ones with more historical type clothing.
I, too would have loved one of these dolls as a girl. My girls and I love looking at all the different dolls online and oohing and aahing together. Hopefully we will be able to find the right one for her here in Canada. This will be the only thing we will be able to buy, $$ is short, but she would be soooo thrilled and surprised!
-Miranda
We bought my 9 yr old an american girl for Christmas 2 years ago and she is wearing it out. I would much rather have bought one of the vision forum dolls but did not know about them then. She also saved up for an only hearts club doll for her dollhouse since we dont do barbies and it is beautiful. They r super modest and wholesome. I wish we had not invested in the american girl stuff now because i feel it is extremely over priced and not as wholesome as some other choices like vision forum.
My older girls all have AG dolls that they will save to give to their children someday. The youngest, however, has a VF doll. She is beautiful, well crafted – much like the original AG dolls, and is easy to fit since she wears the same size as AG dolls (read: lots of patterns out there as well as handmade clothes in specialty shops/ etsy).
lol. Hopefully I’ll get to buy one for a grandaughter some day 
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