Uggh - My Daughter Wants and American Girl Doll!!!

Get her a used one on ebay, or the cheaper Target version. Kids can learn to value pre-loved toys, and family budgets, even at the age of 5. She can earn it by going through her unused toys and selling them or donating them.

My girls have a few AG dolls and those are the only toys that never get played with. i mean like so frustrating. so if you can resist her begging just don't bother with it.

I had to tell my daughter no. I won't spend that much on toys. She would not even have a DS if it weren't for someone selling one used for 35 dollars.

My daughter received her first American Girl doll at the age of 5. Throughout the years she ended up with 2 more. She played with those dolls daily until her early teens. During her teenage years the dolls were dressed seasonally appropriate and displayed on top of the tv armoire in the game room. My daughter is now 23 years old, and she has kept those dolls immaculate. The only time we had an issue in all of these years was when she got a brush stuck in Samantha's hair and we had to send her to the American Girl Hospital, the hospital bill was a lot cheaper than I imagined. My 8-year-old niece has had one for 3 years, and she too still plays with that doll daily. Every holiday when my niece receives gifts she want American Girl clothes or accessories. My mother often had "sewing dates" with my daughter and has them with my niece to help them make clothes for the dolls. Any grandaughters that I have will get an American Girl doll or two from Mimi and Grandpa!

How old is your daughter? Would she be willing to chip in some money or do chores around the house to earn money toward an American Girl? I always found that the I wants fell away quickly once they had to do something toward making a financial contribution toward their I want.

My daughter is 7 yrs old she wanted an American Girl Doll for Christmas but I refused to spend the money so instead I got her the Our Generation Girl Doll from Target each girl has a story just like the American Girl Dolls the dolls also have a good selection of accessories. I think I paid about $30 for the doll (Robyn) she comes dressed in an Equestrian outfit super cute & I accessorized the doll w/a riding horse; my daughter loves her & for now has satisfied her need for an American Girl Doll (she really doesn't know the difference) :0) The quality of the doll is also very nice.

Go on eBay (or Craigslist, maybe) and look for a used one who needs a home and whom your daughter could adopt!

The AG dolls (and their wannabes) are the dolls my granddaughters have played with the longest.

Have a toy sale....tell your daughter to round up all the toys she no longer plays with and put them up for sale. I don't know how much the doll costs, but it would be a learning experience for your child regarding cash flow and earning your own way.

My dd has a My Twin doll that she got for Christmas a couple of years ago from my MIL. She LOVES it, and she knew that was to be her only gift from grandma that year. We don't spend very much for Yule with the kids, their grandparents do for Christmas (a few days later) though because they have the means. Because it was such a special gift, she takes very good care of it. If I had had the money for it, I would have bought it for her.
I like the idea of having her purge a lot of her toys and make a space for the doll. I also like the idea of only getting it for a special occasion or having her do chores to pay for it. Both of those things will make her appreciate it that much more. But don't feel you have to get it just because she's crying about it.

Repeat after me 'NO'.

Purge your unused toys. If you can afford it, I would let her have one for a special occasion, a birthday, Christmas, or something. They are very nice, and before you know it, the "doll years" will be over, and you'll miss that little girlness in her that loved dolls. If no special occasion is near, you can help come up with a plan for her to help earn one, extra chores, etc. Something she has to works towards for a period of time. Not just oh, hey, sure we'll go spend 100+ on a toy just because you want one today.

My daughter wanted one for Christmas...my parents bought it for her.

I sat her down and said "when you are not playing with her, she needs to be kept in her box, will all of her fancy things. If I find her out of the box, and you are not playing with her, I will take her away and not return her!"...

She plays with her, and puts her away. We talked about how this is not a regular doll, and she should be valued, respected, and taken care of. At 6 my daughter has finally listened and done very well...

All other toys or items she rec'd for Christmas are broken or discarded and forgotten...but not her doll.

Not sure if that helps! She also wanted a DS...which we said no to...but told her if she takes care of AG Doll then we would revisit the DS for her bday.

She's got til May to keep proving we made the right decision...she will of course have to keep it up after May~

How old is your daughter? If she is young enough, a knock off (e.g. Target Our Generation doll) might suffice. If she is really set on the American Girl doll, then the suggestions you've gotten below are good - have her sell some toys to help with the cost, save money by doing extra chores, or look on ebay/craigslist. My oldest (6) has never been that into dolls, but started asking for an American Girl doll last summer. We just got her one (she paid for some of it from tooth fairy money, Christmas money etc) and it is the first doll she has really enjoyed playing with. The dolls really are high quality so with any luck she can save the doll for her own child. Or if she really doesn't want to play with it a few months down the road, you can sell it on ebay/craigslist and recoup some of your money. Only you really know your daughter and can tell if she will play with it or if this is just the fad of the week. Good luck with whatever you decide.

How about buy a "knock" off AG doll and see how she treats it. I did this for my two girls who are dollie kind of girls and they played with the doll for a couple of hours and neither have looked at it since. Needless to say they do not have an AG doll and are living very content lives : )

My daughter got one for Christmas. She stays in her room, but she'll have her sit on her bed with her while she reads or watched TV. Sometimes she sleeps with her. I think it's not having a doll, but the American Girl Doll. IMHO, worth the money for the experience.

Ugh. My daughter got an American Girl doll for her 6th birthday (four months ago) and she barely plays with it. Before she got the doll, she begged and begged and begged for one.

Luckily for her, her grandmother got her one. Her aunt took her to the store in Chicago to pick out an outfit. She got a trundle bed and clothes for Christmas.

For all of the begging and pleading I heard, I'm surprised that my daughter hardly plays with it. She prefers to play with her Barbies. If you have no intention of buying her one, don't sweat it. Your daughter will get over it. And there will always be a new toy that she will get excited about. Just gently tell she cannot have the doll. If she wants to find a way to raise the funds for it, she can buy one for herself.

You obviously know your daughter best. I can only tell you my experience. My 10 1/2 year old daughter got her first AG doll a year ago. She's gotten a few more since then for her birthday and Christmas (one from Nana, one from Grandma, and one from me and Daddy) She LOVES these dolls. She has decorated her entire room to "accomodate" them. We haven't bought her many of the extremely expensive accessories, so she has been creative and has made beds for them out of the boxes that they came in. She even made a high school type locker for one of the dolls, using the box she came in. She's always been a creative kid, but I am amazed at the things she does with these dolls. She constantly changes her room around, adding new things that she's made or taking things away. It's very cute! But remember, she's 10, and takes extremely good care of these dolls. Each night she puts them all in the pj's and tucks them in bed. For me, I like watching her stay a "little girl" for as long as possible. I see a lot of her classmates and friends moving beyond AG, but I love that she still plays with them. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Depending on her age make her sell her unused toys at a garage sale or consignment store and have her contribute to the purchase price. If she is a tween I would even make her save and buy it whith her own money. Not because they are expensive... But because it will be a good lesson in delayed gratification and she may appreciate it more.

My daughter got an AG doll when she was 3 years old from Santa. She is currently 7 years old and still plays with her ALL THE TIME!! She loves that doll and it has held up tremendously well considering she really PLAYS with it... it doesn't just sit on a shelf. I would say of all her toys over the years, her AG doll is definitely in her top 3 all-time most played with and most loved toys :)

Well, like many of the other posters, my daughter asked for one but I wasn't sure she would play with it. So what we did was get the Target Our Generation doll (essentially the same but the hair isn't as good). She had played and played with it, and then for her birthday this last year my MIL got her a "real" AG doll. She LOVES it. Only you can decide if it is really worth the money to you, though. For the record, the AGD store will fix the Our Generation dolls hair, the clothes fit, etc. if you want to start that way.

we did the whole experience with my daughter for her 5th bday and its only been 2 months but still "Julie" is the most played with doll I find her everywhere.

You don't say how old she is, but if this is something that she wants as her "only gift", I would say go for it. They are really expensive, but they also last. At 25, my youngest sister still has her two out in her apartment.

I felt this way about Build-A-Bear. One day we were in the mall on a random week day that I had off and my son asked if he could make a bear. The answer to that question is always "no", but this once I said yes. We had a BLAST! It cost me $35 and I got off easy, but he has splept with it every night for the last year... "Ben" goes on all of our vacations with us and all long car rides for company.

You never know. Could be in the "discard" pile in 6 months or 20 years from now still on a dresser as a treasured memory.

My daughter never played w/toys AT ALL until she was 9 and got an AG doll for her birthday. She has 2 now and is 11 years old and ADORES them. She takes extremely good care of them and actually plays w/them. I hate that they are so expensive and so "commercial" but they have actually been a good thing in our house.
Purging the unused toys is a great idea. We did that a year ago and gave my 2 girls (then, 10 and 3) some rope, playsilks, clothespins, and left most of their books. They now make hideouts and dress-up costumes, etc and we don't have tons of toys that aren't played with. LESS IS MORE! I never would have believed it, but it's definitely true.

My daughter has 3, the oldest is about 2 yrs olds and to this day they are played with very frequently.
They are expensive though.