Need help deciding What to buy for Jess

[kbrzez]

I am collecting the American Girl dolls to one day give my twins (who are just three and love bitty baby and the bitty twins). I have Marisol and Kailey and missed out on most of their accessories because I hesitated and did not buy. Now they go for high prices on ebay. I am going to buy Jess real soon and need advice. Should I buy the whole collection for $265 and get everything?? Is there any item in the set you would not buy? Do you feel it is worth the money for the set? My daughters and I do get the dolls out and have fun with them all the time (they are just in my room and they are supervised until they are older). So, I plan to take them out of the boxes and have fun!! Any advice is welcome!

[Ashley1972]

We have the whole set and it all has a lot of play value. I don't really like that the kayak is a blow up toy but on the plus side it stores well. The tree makes sounds of the jungle and little DD loves it. We love all of her outfits, too. I wish she had more things that were in the book, like digging tools and the parrot. Oops! Forgot to mention we don't have the scooter and probably won't buy it as there is no reference to it in the books and it's very expensive. Little DD wants it, though, so it may be in our future.

[MaryCarly]

I am jealous. I would love to have little ones again to play with and twins must be twice as fun. [img]smile.gif[/img]

For playing, I think the that Jess's collection is wonderful. I like it now and I would have loved it as a child. I think it is wonderful the way it offers adventures which I think is even more fun than dressing the dolls up.

If you love Jess and can afford it, I would get one Jess whole world and then buy an extra Jess, extra PJs, and extra accessories. If you decide later that you don't want some of it, you can easily get your money back. Just be sure to carefully check all of the items before you store them so that you can get any replacements you may need before AG runs out.

Of course you might want to just order one complete collection. Then when you have all of Jess's items in front of you, you might be better able to decide what you would want duplicates of.

Have fun!!!!

[MaryCarly]

You might also want to purchase Kit's beach chairs, Molly's camping gear, and the Tropical Breezes outfit for your Jess. Besides being on sale right now, I think they would go very well with Jess and her story. A tent would also be a lot of fun, but I would wait until you were ready to give them the AG dolls and then get a tent that is big enough for them and their dolls.

[MaryCarly]

A card table with a sheet or tablecloth over it makes a wonderful tent too! [img]smile.gif[/img]

I also really like the AG party table with cushions. I think it is well made and very versatile. It might be a bit fancy for camping, but maybe not. Since kids like to play on the floor, I think it is the most playable and possibly also the most durable table they offer. I just thought I would mention it since it has been out for a while and we all know AG's record for retiring things without notice.

[kbrzez]

Thanks for all the advice so far! I did order the Tropical Breeze outfit and Molly's outfit and camping gear this past week. I thought the cabana would be a great additonal to Jess's collection and hope one day to get that too. I plan to just buy one of Jess and her items since I will have other sets too for them to play with. I am selling a ton on ebay right now so I can afford to buy her set. With the coupon code it makes it $260 with shipping, which is nice.

[agmama]

I just got Jess and her collection from my family for my bday in June. It's the collection for $150 that includes her kayak, accessories, and outfits. I'm so happy with everything especially that kayak. It's so darn cute and all the girls have played in it. I also have the tree swing but haven't set it up yet because I'm waiting for some shelves to display it on. I love all her outfits. The bathing suits look cute on all our dolls. It's a really fun collection to play with your children. My dd and I tooks pics of the dolls having a bbq and swimming in our backyard. I'll make an album and post it soon. Good luck with your decision. I say go for it and if for some reason you're not happy with certain pieces you can always sell them here or on ebay!

[katherinecusick]

I am doing the same thing for my daughter who is 3 1/2 in terms of buying ahead and collecting. I got the Jess starter collection in April and I am not disappointed by one item yet. I too missed out on all of Marisol but the doll & accessories and I've vowed that won't happen again with future LE dolls. I would advise getting an extra accessories set with the monkey etc. as these pieces are very fun, the water bottle is really cute, but could get lost along the way. It is so nice to know I'm not the only one collecting for a daughter who is still so young!