PBA, yes my grandchildren share their dolls, especially the “twins”. In addition the American Girl Doll is not a new phenomenon, it has been around for at least two generations. I was surprised to find that out because my daughter didn’t know about it when she was a kid and neither did I, but I have recently found out that today’s young mothers have brought their dolls out of storage and have given them to their daughters!
So a doll that lasts for decades is worth the money you pay for it. In addition, the hair does NOT go bad, it can be redone and brought back to life so that the doll looks brand new over and over again. These dolls become a friend for life, that is the life of the children in your home and can then be handed down to the grandchildren. And YOU don’t have to buy more than one if you don’t choose to, but you can buy the accessories, story books, etc which keeps the kids interested in this doll for a very long time.
The store is a magnificent place to visit and it is a trip onto itself. My “girls”, daughter and daughters-in-law and their friends stopped buying junk for the kids birthday gifts at birthday parties and instead they collect money amongst themselves so that the “girls” choose something from the store if they wish to add to their collection. The kids learn the value of money, they learn that they can’t just get whatever they want or whine to their parents that they want something, they look in the magazine and think about what they would love to have in the future and when they “earn” money through gifts, chanukah, purim, etc. they spend their money on what they are “wanting”. My granddaughter (5) needed glasses but didn’t like wearing them, so one of their doctor friends picked up a pair of glasses for her doll too!
My husband and I took our “girls” daughter, 2 daughters-in-law, 7 granddaughters, one grandson and one son (who was enthralled) for our Chanuka trip. My husband was the sport, one doll each (except for the baby), and the “girls” bought one outfit for one other family to share as a chanuka present, and they bought one thing for their own kids. We also watched them at the “salon” as they redid old doll’s hair and made them look new again. First they washed the faces and the hands to make them clean and then they made the hair look like new again. They also have a “hospital” for broken dolls to do repairs.
As for our grandchildren, two of them chose the Jewish doll Rebecca, and the others chose dolls that looked like “them”. With American Girl, you don’t try to look like the doll, you choose one that looks like you! These dolls are much better than Barbie because THESE dolls are KIDS, babies, toddlers and little girls, who dress like babies, toddlers and little kids, so our children play like children and not like little adults.