Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Amelia & I visit the American Girl doll store!

Yesterday I got to take my 8-year-old niece, Amelia, to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Alpharetta. There she selected her Christmas gift, a new American Girl doll named Julie, and also got to enjoy tea!

I think that in a perfect world Amelia would have liked one of each, but the first doll she really oohed and aahed over was Julie, which surprised me since Julie is a doll whose story is set in the 1970s. Although *I* was drawn to Caroline and the other frilly-dressed dolls, I had told myself this was *Amelia's* doll and I was not going to impose my preference on her. (Although I did point out that Marie-Grace had a hoop skirt, sigh, but I let it go at that.) After about three full runs through the entire store, no small feat, it was back to Julie, and yes, she was the one Amelia wanted. "This is the best day of my life!" she said, which of course made me laugh!

As soon as we left the store Amelia wanted to take her doll out of the box, so we stopped for more photos. Amelia thinks people were simply smiling at her doll all day. I'm pretty sure they were smiling at her, too, since my sister, Rhonda, had dressed her in a cute red velvet and white fur Christmas dress, accessorized by sparkly silver shoes and jingle bells in her hair!

The store itself was much, much more than I had imagined, and I learned afterward that both Amelia and I had envisioned just a big square room with shelves of dolls. Instead, we found an amazing array of bright, colorful rooms displaying vignettes of all sorts of beautiful American Girl dolls and accessories. The sales staff was on-the-spot when needed, in the background when not needed, and tremendously helpful. Amelia wanted to take her actual doll out of the box to touch the hair before committing to her (the hair is obviously big with Amelia), and a nice saleswoman told us sure, she'd be glad to let us do that. I don't know if the American Girl doll store has high hiring standards for their employees or what, but every single person we encountered was cheerful and helpful. It was such a striking difference from what I usually see that it really made an impression on me!

We had a few hours to spend at the mall while waiting for teatime, which begins at 2 p.m., so we had a snack at Chick-fil-A, and then Amelia and Julie rode the merry go round. Also, you won't be surprised to hear that I found out online I could sign up for Northpoint Mall e-mails and then get a free $10 gift card from the mall office if I came by showing more than $75 in receipts for the day (easy to do at Christmas), so of course we took advantage of that. I let Amelia use the gift card to buy some accessories for Julie.

Soon, it was time for tea, and Amelia was very, very happy to learn they provided a special seat at the table for Julie, who even got her own little cup and saucer!

Here's Amelia expertly pouring water for her tea. And tomorrow I'll show you the unique (and fun) menu we enjoyed!


15 comments:

  1. Thanks Angela, for sharing your American Girl adventure with us. My daughter and I were to take my granddaughter a few years ago but she got sick and we had to cancel, but my daughter ordered her the doll that you could choose and have it look like you. I always liked Samatha myself.

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  2. My sister and I took our niece to the American Girl doll store in NYC - amazing experience. When we got off the train, and headed in the direction, someone looked at us and said, guess you're going to the American Girl doll store. We enjoyed a very special tea, too. Such fun... wonderful experience and memories for young and old!
    http://therosemaryhouse.blogspot.com/2008/01/tea-around-world-new-york.html

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  3. You are making precious memories together. I am so thankful I have memories of special times with my aunts!

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  4. Oh, wow! I didn't know they had a store in Alpharetta now. I have my daughter's American Girl doll to give to my granddaughter, and I can see us visiting this store for tea in a couple of years. What fun!

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  5. Your niece is beautiful, by the way. And her dress is adorable. What wonderful memories you made.

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  6. Shared memories for you both to treasure for a lifetime!

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  7. We visited the store in New York City with my niece several years ago. I don't know who enjoyed it more but I do know like your day, mine is a cherished memory!

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  8. Angela, I loved this post! I guess the little girl in me came out, doll repressed, never had a nice doll when I was growing up and no close little girls in my life, just sons and grandsons. They are wonderful all the same but little girls are different. You have inspired me, I just told hubby I want to go to a store and he looked it up, now to pick, LA or San Francisco?

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  9. Amelia is beautiful. What a special day for you both. It has been at least 13 years since I lived in the Atlanta area. I loved watching the merry go round at that mall. The little tea cup for the doll is such a sweet touch. I really enjoyed your day. Blessings

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  10. I really want to do this with my niece! But the stores are far away, so we settle with our own teas. I think you made memories for a lifetime!

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  11. What a wonderful Auntie you are, Angela! And Amelia is a beautiful little girl. I'm sure she enjoyed her outing to the American Girl store with you and will be talking about it for days. It's a memory she'll never forget. How special!

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  12. Looks like you had a great day together. I like Amelia's pretty Christmas dress - it suits her. Wish there was still a tea room open in my area to take my eldest granddaughter to.

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