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Okay, now that I've admitted my new found addiction...what to do? I would love to hear opinions on what are the "must-haves" when just getting started. I guess the dolls would be an intelligent start, but I wonder what type of items really helped you get going or are the most fun...furniture, accessories, clothes, etc.!!!??? Christmas is coming and I want to get my list ideas (I mean, my daughters' of course) together now! Thanks for any input!
Addy's my favorite, but everyone is going to say something different and in the end it's not going to be right for you.
Maybe just look at the website and see if you particularly like one of the dolls or the time periods?
Well, welcome to the board of doll enablers... [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
What a great addiction, too, I must add!
I think the first thing you should do is figure out which doll you just can't do without right now--I mean, which one do you think you will just absolutely adore--and get her immediately! Trust me, all the clothes and accessories will come soon... [img]wink.gif[/img]
Deborah [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
Welcome!! We started out with a doll and then two and so on. My girls like to have food for the dolls, so I believe some of our first purchases were lunches,Kit's and Josephina were our first lunches we bought.
Clothes are nice too.
A bed is fun to have, as is a school desk.
We just bought Molly's Theatre seats and those are great as well.
Oh, how could I forget the school sets are wonderful, we have Kit's and Kirsten's. They have little books and report cards, etc. Lot's of fun to play with.
Well, Kirsten will be our first historical doll, expected this Christmas and we will also be expecting a bitty baby. I am also drawn to the school supplies and bed idea. Anything with either of those that you especially recommend?
mom24,
Welcome! I myself am pretty new here and wondered the same thing! To be honest, I still wonder about good starter items (I haven't really begun my collection yet). So far I have the Just Like You/American Girl of Today (JLY/AGot) doll #23. I loved the books when I was younger, but I'm not into any of the dolls besides AGoT (Historic, Girl of the Year, Limited Edition). I suppose I would've liked Lindsey had I been into the AG craze when she was around (she has the same background that I do).
From what I've seen, everyone here is into really different things! If I were you, I'd look through a catalogue (or go to one of the AG Place stores if you're lucky enough to live close to one -- NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago), and have a look around. See what inspires you. [img]wink.gif[/img]
Erin
For me, it's dolls and clothes--I don't get accessory sets or furniture; partly because of the expense and space considerations (those furniture pieces can be HUGE), but also because I have no daughters who would play with them. I'd rather spend the money on clothes my dolls can wear than on accessories that would just be stored away.
After dolls and clothes, you'll soon find that you need STORAGE for said clothes and shoes, etc.
I keep my dolls on display on top of the bookcase in my room, and here's an album of how I made cheap doll closets to hold their clothes--
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2105872345
This is just what works for ME--lots of other people on the board like to get just one or two dolls and complete those dolls' whole collections; some just buy the things they like, and some just get historicals, some just like the Today dolls, etc.
There are almost as many ways to collect as there are board members--it's all a matter of your own personal preference.
But almost EVERYONE gets (1)dolls, (2)clothes, and needs (3)storage! [img]smile.gif[/img]
I hope this was helpful!
Welcome Mom24!
My first question is do you have any dolls already? If you do, then choosing priorities instantly becomes far easier IMHO because you can choose to focus on your doll's items from her collection.
For example, once I got our (my DD and I are sharing the dolls right now since she's almost 4) adorable Kit in Feb., I just knew that acquiring her outfits was a top priority. Once I've gotten them all, I'll be moving on to the furniture etc. and my Dad has helped a bit in the accessories department which is nice.
For our modern girls, I've focused on clothes more than anything else. The clothes are so much fun and I want to get historical furniture for them when the time comes so it is easy to just enjoy the outfits for now.
I hope this helps and I look forward to hearing about your collection and/or what you decide to get!
[img]smile.gif[/img] Katie
I would buy outfits and accessories that can multi task.
I bought Kirstens Lunch, food for any doll and the container is a cute table decoration as is the napkin.
Outfits that can mix and match, the old Coconuts Best Friend outfit had a really cute pair of khaki capris that went with everything. And in someones album tonight I saw Molly Roller skating blouse with Kits Reds Khaki shorts, really cute.
But most of all have fun. [img]wink.gif[/img]
Forgot to mention--if you have daughters, be sure to get the historical girls' books from the library for them--if they don't read yet, you might read them to your daughters at bedtime--I'd start with Meet Kirsten, if you haven't already! [img]smile.gif[/img]