A positive thought on the Friend Dolls

[rachie421]

No, I'm not doing this just to even out my negative review from a few minutes earlier, I just wanted to post something on the friends dolls that I thought of as I looked at the new stuff.

First of all, I'm just as disappointed as the rest of you that it could be almost 6 years before we see a new, REAL historical. Espcially since Im dying to see a 1920s girl. BUT, I really do think the friends dolls are a neat idea. At first I wasnt so sure and hoped they only did it for the ones that would have a movie. But then I though of something. AGTs are fun for little girls to play with because its easy to mix them all up together, they are all from today. So playing with other dolls is really not that much differant from playing with Barbie and all of her clothes and accessories. Of course, I think AG is certainly better for a young girls pysche [img]wink.gif[/img]

What I'm getting at, is that with the historicals, it can be kind of hard to play with them. Especially if a child happens to like their time period and their stuff and thats why they got the doll in the first place. By adding a friends doll to each Historical, I think you up the play factor when it comes to the dolls. Instead of having Lissie all by her lonesome in her little colonial collection, you can add Elizabeth. Even as a person who collects for display only, I much prefer having Felicity stand next to her friend to set up a fun display, over Felicity standing there next to her table doing her best Vana White saying, "Here is my colonial collection."

So in conclusion, while there are somethings AG has done recently that I dont like, I think the friends idea overall is a good one. Because lets be honest, history is a subject many people, especially young girls, hate. So if it gets more girls interested, then I can deal with it because that is part of AG's original intention.

[luanne]

Well said.

[FelinaDoon]

Quietly Clapping in the background - Well said - I am hoping for Ruthie Next Year So that I Can get her for My Youngest DD

[rachie421]

Thanks guys [img]smile.gif[/img] I also am really looking forward to Ruthie next year. I have yet to finish all of Kit's books, but I really love them so far. With the addition of AGT26, I can see them giving the same type of hair to Ruthie and Im really excited...I might just have to get them both next fall!

Who else is excited over (hopefully) eventually seeing Addy's friend Sarah? I would love to see another AA face mold and I always thought that character was really sweet and cute. Not to mention I just love Addy and her collection [img]wink.gif[/img]

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ September 06, 2005 04:46 PM: Message edited by: *shortie* ]</font>

[Miss_Nellie_OMalley]

Bravo! I agree... that is something I LOVE about Samantha and Nellie. When I get out their furniture and display them it is so much nicer to have two dolls from the same time period sipping lemonade than having Samantha making a toast all by herself.

I have been debating about getting Elizabeth... and I've decide I'm going to get her once I have the money! (maybe before christmas) I have always wanted felicity's table and chairs but felt funny about just putting Lissy there all by herself. Now I can get all this stuff and the sets look complete more filled and whimsical.

As for young girls its a fantastic idea, as friends can choose the same time period without having to pick the same doll!

[MissMooMoo]

Personally, I loved history, and I think it was partly due to the American Girls collection.

Ever since discovering Kirsten, Molly, and Samantha, I've loved learning stories from the past.

[ksami]

Yay! I agree completely. I think friend dolls are a fantastic idea, and AG's really hit a gold mine with them. I know when I was growing up, I, like most of my friends, had only one AG doll. I only had Sam and her collection. No historicals, and none of the AGTs when they came out. So, mostly it was my stuffed animals that Sam interacted with when I wasn't playing with my friends. What I really would have loved was a friend doll that stayed true to the Victorian time period.

For some odd reason, when Nellie debuted last year, I was a little resisitant to the idea. But I've really warmed up to her this summer, so much so that she's finally come to live with me and Sam! I think it's great. Plus friend dolls are nice from the financial side, too. Nellie doesn't have a bed or a table set or a trunk to collect; she shares that all with Samantha, thus greatly cutting down the cost for those who like to get complete collections (like me!). However, based on Elizabeth's new bed collection, it seems that the popularity of the friend dolls has convinced AG to come out with more and more stuff for them. I wonder just how much stuff the next friend doll is going to get?? [img]confused.gif[/img]

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ September 06, 2005 05:39 PM: Message edited by: ksami ]</font>

[amandajg]

That was a very well written post. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the friends dolls, as like others I'd rather see brand new historical line(s) instead, but you are very, very correct in saying that the friends dolls help get girls excited about history. And that's the idea that AG was founded upon, after all! Of course - they don't ONLY help get girls interested in history, I think they also help girls be interested in reading, writing, and learning in general. I am fairly certain that I can attribute a large part of my love and interest for history, writing, and reading to playing with AG when I was little. and, thinking about it now, I think it would have been fun if a friend and I who used to always play with our historical dolls had the friends dolls to play with. we always had a dilemma when I'd play with my Kirsten and she'd play with her Samantha, because we were very aware of the fact that they were from two different time periods!

[zap_sea]

I agree wholeheartedly. I don't know how many times I longed for a Singing Bird doll for Kirsten to play with when I was younger. And try as I might my sister's Molly just didn't cut it. We have to remember, American Girl is for girls (of the small and young variety.)

[judiaci]

I wasn't crazy about Nellie when she first came out. I got her because I really liked the darling actress in the movie.

Now, there is just something about Nellie sitting on Samantha's bed with Sam and Jip that just makes me smile. I see Nellie and Sam sitting together having lemonade and petit fours at the pretty wicker table and it just seems so sweet. I know these AGs are just dolls, but it just seems like our Sam is so much happier now that Nellie came to live with us. Having a friend doll definitely adds to the playability of the doll.