American Girl Place- a family tradition

American Girl Place, a young girl’s fantasy, has become our family tradition. Yes, as each granddaughter has reached their fifth birthday, they have had their special day at The American Girl Place. Zoe, the first, in Manhattan, followed by Sarah, here in Chicago, and this week-end, our last in a line of American Girls, Rebecca, also at Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue. As it was with the other girls, Rebecca’s day was a memory that she will have forever!

Part of “the experience” is the eye opening experience that a little girl feels as she enters this dream world designed just for them and their new “best friends”. While the experiences have been designed to be for girls at age 8, with another experience for those at three, we found that the magic number of five is just right. Rebecca selected for her new best friend, Emily (who does look a little like her) and part of the experience is having lunch (or breakfast or high tea) in their dining room. My family had lunch, with the first course being:

Cinnamon Rolls, pretzel bites with cheese, corn bread muffins and veggies.

The main course: options were burger mac ‘n cheese, chicken tenders and Quiche

with desert being cup cake or chocolate pudding cup. you can view the different menus at www.americangirl.com, where you can also make reservations for the meal and the shopping experience itself. Yes, there are personal shoppers available to make the experience even more special. Rebecca chose not to do that as she had her mother and grandmother and this was to be “their day”!

Part of the experience is visiting the salon so our little princess could have her little princess “done” with hair treatment, ear piercing and all of the beauty secrets that they will share together. This is, as we have found , a very special day for the little girl who shares the same with her parent or grandparent. Zoe and Sarah still have their “best friends’ (in fact, Sarah has two) and as you can see from the picture of Rebecca on the way home, a very happy memory for her and Emily.

While every little girl cannot have the in-store experience due to geography, they can bring this special treat to their little girl through the internet and catalog. There are many dolls available as well as books and clothing. The books are the stories of each of the “girls” available. many of these are historical in nature, making these little girls even more precious.

The staff at Water Tower Place is tremendous making the special day for these little girls even more special. If you are planning t have a special day like this for your little girl, check out www.americangirl.com or call 1-877-247-5223. Rebecca told me today that this was a very special day for her, her mom and her “Ma”!