The American Girl catalog arrived last week. I pondered throwing it away, as I often have in the past to simply bypass the begging. Then I decided to let Teresa have her fun. They don't make JCPenney catalogs anymore, so when does a girl have a chance to dream? She was so very excited to find the catalog on the counter after school, but not so much when she started asking me about prices. (Seriously, these dolls wear more expensive clothes than I do.)
A few days later we came across adorable hand-made doll clothes at the Faulkton Arts and Crafts Fair. I let each of them choose an outfit for their treat for the day. $11 versus $40? Yes, I can do that. It was then I realized (or maybe remembered) that although my daughters have several baby dolls, neither has an 18" doll to dress.
**Big moment right here!** Out of nowhere, it hit me. I was going to buy my girls American Girl dolls for Christmas. A splurge, yes. But, Santa could make it happen.
Before jumping in too deep, I did a little non-scientific survey and asked what the difference was between the American Girl dolls and their less expensive friends. What I learned was many are very happy with their non-AG dolls. The big difference was in the quality of the doll's hair.
I decided I wanted good hair. Who doesn't?
Good hair comes with a price. Who's doesn't?
I turned to eBay to help me find a bargain.
I used to read the American Girl book series when I was growing up, and those characters are among the first dolls. American Girl has many, many more dolls and their pets and, like I said, more expensive wardrobes than my own. Dolls may also be ordered with customized features, including skin, hair, and eye color, as well as freckles and earrings. If you do this, you can give your doll her own personality.
*Evidently, you cannot do this if you buy a doll who already has a name and personality of her own. It's strict Doll Code.*
I decided that THIS is what I was going to do. It would be neat, since I'm going through the process of this anyway, to find dolls that have similar features as my girls. (Personalities would be up to them. I have enough personalities in this house to deal with already. . . .)
I haven't made any purchases, but Teresa's features have been no problem to find.
Then I hit a little snag.
Red heads with blue eyes and freckles are the among the rarest red heads.
The same is true for American Girl dolls. There was one with long, curly hair, but it wasn't quite right.
Back to eBay I went to try to find a deal.
As it turns out, with a little clicking and searching, I learned that Nellie is the girl I'm looking for! Light red shoulder-length hair, blue eyes and freckles! Perfect!
Guess what? It's the same Nellie that has been retired for several years.
Of course she was! And some, OK many, sellers are asking for a lot more pennies than I am willing to spend.
Thankfully, I did find several others on eBay and finally placed a bid on a slightly-loved-in-excellent-shape Nellie. We will see if she is "the one" or not in 1 day and 22 hours.
I just hope she has a pleasant personality.
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