GOTY 2017 Announcement

The 2017 Girl of the Year, Gabriela will be announced tomorrow from 7-9 a.m. on Good Morning America.

American Girl has also been posting youtube videos with clues about Gabriela. So far we have:

Rebecca?

I was on americangirl.com the other day and I noticed that several items in Rebecca's collection are 60% off. 

The sets on sale include Rebecca's Costume Set, Rebecca's Director Set, Rebecca's Phonograph Set, and Rebecca's Teatime Traditions.

Lea Adventure Mini Doll Sold Online

I was on the AG website when I noticed that the Lea Adventure Mini Doll is now sold online!

This item was released in a mid-year release, however it was only available in stores. This mini doll retails for $34 online.

American Girl Truly Me in Toys R Us Milwaukee

Select Toys R Us stores had their grand opening of American Girl merchandise on October 29, 2016. Only certain stores stocked American Girl, so you might want to check on this website to see if the store nearest to you has it before you go. The store nearest to us did not stock the Truly Me items, so we drove up to Milwaukee the day after the release. The prices are all the same as they would be if bought directly from American Girl.

The American Girl section was right in front, and it was very well stocked, considering the fact that it was the day after the grand opening.

American Girl at Kohl's

I had seen on another blog that American Girl would be selling GOTY and Wellie Wishers products at Kohl's, but I took a trip to Kohl's yesterday and finally got to see it for myself!

American Girl Sold at Toys R Us?!

A tweet posted by Toys R Us alerted us to the fact that American Girl is now partnering with Toys R Us.

Some further research confirmed this, and gave us some more details. The partnership means you will soon be seeing "store in stores" inside many Toys R Us stores. The Wellie Wishers will be available for purchase for $60 and Truly Me dolls will also be sold for $115.

New Release: BeForever

At the same time as the Melody release, a few other BeForever outfits and accessories were released. Most of them are part of Maryellen's collection, but there are some for Julie, Josefina and Rebecca as well.

New Release: Truly Me

Melody's release date has been known for awhile now, but a bunch of items for the Truly Me line have also been released on the same day as Melody.

The Gourmet Kitchen Set is a wooden kitchen with an oven, fridge, cabinets and drawers.

New Release: Melody's Collection

American Girl had a new release this morning! As of today, Melody's collection is now available for purchase online and in stores. In this post, we are going to show what is in Melody's collection.

Back to School Sale

American Girl has a new back to school sale going on until August 15. There are items from the Truly Me and BeForever lines as well girl-sized clothing, crafts, and books. Unfortunately, no Lea items are discounted. The sale averages out to be about 20% off of each item.

Melody's AG Rewards Collection

A special collection of Melody's items are available for AG Rewards members to purchase until August 8, 2016. This is exciting news, since that is almost one month before her collection is released in stores.

A screenshot of the email sent to AG Rewards members.

Melody's Release Date

We finally have information on Melody's release date! For any readers who do not know, Melody Ellison is the new doll that is being introduced to the BeForever line. She is from the civil rights era, in the year 1964.

An email from AG Rewards alerted us to the release date of  Melody.

Melody Ellison will be released on August 25, 2016. Will you be bringing her home?

BSH: Joyful Jewels Outfit

Benefit Sale Haul

Joyful Jewels Outfit

The last portion of our Benefit Sale Haul is the Joyful Jewels Outfit! I always liked this dress, but I never got it because I always found something else I wanted more. At the Benefit Sale, I had no excuse to not get it. The price was right at $8.

BSH: School Stripes Dress

Benefit Sale Haul

School Stripes Dress

When I first saw the price list for the Benefit Sale, I was not sure that I would buy it. After looking at pictures of it and seeing it in person at the sale, I liked it, but still was unsure whether to get it or not. I was going to buy the Lilac Dress and get a Truly Me doll that was wearing the True Spirit Outfit, but since the only one with pierced ears was already in the Lilac Dress, a space was freed up for the School Stripes Dress. Now that I have it, I absolutely love it and am wondering why I ever questioned getting it in the first place. I got this set for $9.

BSH: Double Bow Dress

Benefit Sale Haul

Double Bow Dress

The Double Bow Dress was retired not too long ago, and I was not able to get it while it was in stores. I am so happy that this outfit was available at the sale. It may even be my favorite outfit that I picked up there. I had been looking forward to owning this set since I saw it on the price list. I was so happy that this was there the second day. I got this outfit for only $10, which is a great deal, since it sold for $30 when it was still available in stores.

BSH: Addy's BeForever Meet Outfit

Benefit Sale Haul

Addy's BeForever Meet Outfit

This item was not on the price list released for the sale, so we were surprised to see it there. I had my eye on it for awhile, but hadn't gotten it because I do not have Addy. I decided that for $10, I had to have it.

Addy's Meet Outfit in box.

BSH: Ivy's Accessories

Benefit Sale Haul

Ivy's Accessories

When I first saw the Benefit Sale price list, I was so happy that Ivy's Accessories were going to be there. I love Ivy, but I don't have the doll because when we went to the American Girl Store in 2014 before she retired, she was already sold out. I still love her and wish I had her, so I am happy that I was able to get her accessories. On Sunday, this item was reduced to only $2, with a limit of 10 per person.

This set comes with a raspberry color beret, a denim purse, and a Chinese coin. When it was sold in stores it also included a pair of earrings, but the ones at the Benefit Sale didn't have them.

BSH: Samantha's Holiday Set

Benefit Sale Haul

Samantha's Holiday Set

Samantha's Holiday Set was a set limited edition set last year, and I passed it up then, but I am so glad I got another chance to purchase this set! It was sold in stores for $64, but I bought it on the second day of the benefit sale for $21.

 The outfit in the set includes a red plaid dress with a white lace collar and cuffs, a black velvet sash, and black ribbon trim, a lace bow that is tied onto a hair tie, black tights, and black velvet boots with a bow on the toe.

BSH: Truly Me doll #59

Benefit Sale Haul

Truly Me doll #59

I had always seen Truly Me #59 in the American Girl catalogs, and always thought that she was so cute. I loved her hair! I typically focus on the Girl of the Year and BeForever dolls or Truly Me outfits when flipping through catalogs, but she always stood out to me. When we went into the Benefit Sale, I went straight for her after picking out a Grace doll and my outfits. I was so happy to see that she was still left. All Truly Me dolls left on the second day were only $35.

BSH: Caroline Doll

Benefit Sale Haul

Caroline Doll

When we were planning our trip to the Benefit Sale, I wasn't planning on getting Caroline. I loved her so much, but our younger sister has her, so I wasn't sure whether to get her or not. I was planning on buying Truly Me #21, but she was sold out. I was looking at the Caroline dolls just out of curiosity, and was almost positive I was not going to get one because of the condition all of their hair was in. All the dolls on the table at that time had very messy, frizzy hair. My twin sister (and co-author) spotted a Caroline doll on the stack behind the tables that still had a hairnet on. That was what sold it for me! A brand new Caroline at such a good price was too good to pass up. I found a volunteer and asked her to get her for me, which she was happy to do. I paid $75 for her.

Caroline in her BeForever box.

BSH: Grace Doll

Benefit Sale Haul

Grace Doll

The first thing that I picked up at the benefit sale was last year's GOTY, Grace. I didn't get her from American Girl last year, so she was the main thing I was looking for at the sale this year.

Grace in her purple GOTY box

2016 Benefit Sale - Sunday

We went to the Madison Children's Museum American Girl Benefit Sale on Sunday, the second day of the sale. We expected a lot of items on the price list to be sold out, but we were pleasantly surprised by the large selection of both dolls and clothing. We originally were in line to receive free tickets for the 9 o'clock time slot, but once we got our tickets, two different people had an extra ticket for the 8:15 time slot that they were giving away. This allowed both of us to get into the sale ahead of time and be the second group in the sale on Sunday. This post includes pictures we took to show what was still available for purchase when we went in at 8:15.

Right when you walk in the door of the warehouse, they had Grace and Isabelle. There were still TONS of both of them left the second day. They had 4 pallets of Grace, each containing 144 dolls. Both of these were $75 on the second day, with a limit of 3 Grace and 3 Isabelle per person. A few of the Grace dolls had their ears pierced with the red heart earrings specific to Grace. Almost all of them had their original braid in, we only saw one that did not.

2016 Benefit Sale - Sunday Price List

The price list for the second day of the 2016 American Girl Benefit Sale came out a few minutes ago.

Benefit Sale Wish List

We know that the chances are slim that everything will still be available at the Benefit Sale on the second day, but there are several items that we will be looking for at the Benefit Sale this year.

Starting with dolls: we already own one Isabelle doll, so we will pass on her for now, but we are hoping a Grace doll makes it to the second day of the sale.

2016 American Girl Benefit Sale Price List

The price list for the 2016 American Girl Benefit Sale was released on Saturday!

Here is the link to the whole document