American Girl 50-70% Clearance and AG Frugal Resources

American Girls has a few amazing deals posted on their sale site this week. As I tried to order last night the items were already selling out. Run...Sprint...and maybe you can luck out to find outfits for the dolls at 50 to 70% off if you are lucky. I missed out on the Bitty outfit while I went to retrieve my purse.

Becca has been begging for this track outfit for her dolls ever since it came out and I did find it for $10.00 instead of $26.00. I managed to pick up 3 outfits and one accessory pack for the price I would have normally paid for one. With buying on sale and using a coupon code: $36.75 shipped!

Marissa started the American Girl Tradition over 16 years ago in our house when she bought her first Kirsten with her own money. When she would land a modeling job, the first $25.00 was hers to spend on something she really wanted. With a sick sister, 6 kids, a dad in college we were barely able to keep a roof over our heads and money for "wishes" was just not in the budget. She saved nearly a year to buy that doll. She prized her precious Kirsten and she had to be sent in to the Doll Hospital to be after the house fire and her hair matted because of sleeping with her cherished doll.

Over the years, other dolls would be purchased, but many very frugally and even finding them at garage sales. Marissa would buy Samantha, Josefina, Felecity. Becca got Molly because of they both have glasses. I contacted American Girl about having a wheelchair and they even called me to tell me that they were going to make one, and Becca was thrilled to be "just like her doll". So began our American Girl doll collection.

I sewed dresses for my girls, spending hours designing patterns on late night sew-ins before Christmas to fill their stockings with outfits. Marissa and Kirsten matched for Halloween when I found real Kirsten dress material at the Mill End store. That dress would be worn by each of my daughters and several of our friends daughters at Halloween. In time we were able to buy a few things, and their sale site became my favorite place to Birthday Shop or Christmas Shop. When we adopted Detamara her first doll was an African American Bitty Baby and when she turned eight, Santa brought her Girl of Today just like her.

The traditions continue, Becca and I go out treasure hunting and when we garage sale we have been thrilled to find a Addy with Accessories for $35.00, A Girl of Today with who looks like Becca for $50.00 in the box, a $5.00 Lindsay, a Samantha Trunk for a dollar, $1.00 Bitty Baby, and many outfits and accessories. We display the dolls on shelving over a wooden dollclothes cabinet my Grandfather built for me as a little girl.

The dolls are our tradition and bring back memories of my daughters childhoods. Little Girl visitors at my house sit and play with our finds for hours. Now that the girls are grown, I can shop for my nieces, my friend's daughters and begin a new tradition with my granddaughter. Becca has garnered the honor of betting to buy her niece Kasja her very first American Girl doll. She will buy Bitty Baby for this Christmas, and I have already started sewing the wardrobe. I told Kristy that on Kasja's fourth birthday (we have a long time to wait) we will venture to the American Girls Place to get her first 18" doll.

In the meantime, Becca and I have a date to head to Madison July 18 and 19... the American Girls Doll Benefit Sale for the Madison Children's Museum. I had long heard about the sale and now that we live in Wisconsin, we will finally get to go especially when you can land a doll for as little as $55.00. Check back in Spring and I will post more information as it becomes available.

Another of our favorite finds is the American Doll Outlet Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (they only have clothing and accessories including girls items, they do not sell the dolls).

**Thank you to my daughter-in-law Stacey for reminding me that My girls and I can actually eat at the American Girl Restaurant with our Celiac Disease, they offer a Gluten-Free Menu which is a must for our family.