It was the day dreaded by parents everywhere; my little Sweet Pea was turning ten, her first “double-digit” birthday. And boy oh boy, was she excited! To celebrate this momentous occasion she wanted to celebrate by having an American Girl Birthday Celebration. For those of you who don’t know what this is (like me), at some American Girl Doll store locations they will host a birthday party for you. They provide food, cake and clean up. You pay per person at the time of the party which is great if someone has to cancel at the last minute.
Although our nearest American Girl Doll store was almost two hours away we decided to go ahead and do it; after all, you only turn ten once.
Having never been to an American Girl Doll store, I was quite amazed at how big the place was. I could write a whole review just on the store alone! I did not realize how many dolls and accessories there are. The dolls are cute but the accessories are what drew my attention. They have TV’s, sequin hooded sweatshirts, wheelchairs, hair salon sets, dresses, night gowns, swimsuits, bath tubs, beds, glasses, boots, dressers, stereos, tables, kayaks, pets and so, so much more. But I digress…
Inside the American Girl store is a small bistro(who knew?) where they host the parties. This is where we were seated along with several other families having their own birthday celebrations. The tables were already set and waiting and looked very pretty.
If you bring your own doll they will provide a booster/high chair seat that fits on the side of the end of the table and your doll can eat at the table right next to you. If you do not have or doll or did not bring yours, they will loan you one! The neat thing about that was every party had their own dolls sitting with them at the table. Each doll gets their own cup and saucer so they can enjoy the party as well- which you then get to keep after the party ends.
I even brought my own doll with me; a stuffed Wicket the Ewok toy I got at Disney World years ago. It was fun putting him in his chair next to my daughter’s American Girl doll and pretending they were having tea and gossiping about the other dolls.
The birthday girl also got a paper tiara as did her doll. Wicket chose not to wear the tiara, he is a fierce warrior and was being rather stubborn.
On the table they had small cards with conversation and ice breaker games, which I thought was a nice touch. The napkins had pink bow holders that you could also take home when the party was over and use in your own hair.
Each party goer receives a drink, appetizer and entree. The menu had quite a large and diverse selection and all the food was quite delicious.
The employees were all smiles, very friendly and really put their hearts into it. They never rushed us or hurried us along and let us enjoy ourselves at our own pace.
After we finished eating they brought out a cake with candles and we all sang Happy Birthday to my daughter. Then they cut the cake up for us and delivered it with a small cup of ice cream; both of which were yummy.
The whole experience was very fun and entertaining, so much more so than I expected it to be. I honestly didn’t know what the party would be like. I kind of figured we would have lunch and cake with a few American Girl touches but it was much more than that. The staff made it feel like a party and my whole family had a blast playing with the dolls, playing the ice breaker games and generally just enjoying the spirit of the event.
If someone you knows wants to have an American Girl Birthday Celebration or you get invited to one: go. It will be super fun and you will truly enjoy it!
Oh, one more thing; another fun item I discovered at the store; in the bathroom stalls they have a doll holder on the wall so you can put your doll there while you’re in there. A nice little touch.
**UPDATE**
I contacted the American Girl company and told them about this post, I thought they might enjoy it. Here is the response I got back:
Thank you for sharing your blog information with us. We are delighted
your little Sweet Pea enjoyed her double digit birthday celebration at
our Houston store. We especially loved the photo of your beautiful
daughter with her tiara. Wicket would have looked adorable with the
tiara, but we can certainly understand his concerns.We hope you and your daughter have a wonderful summer. Thanks again for
sharing your American Girl experience with us.
I really dig the Wicket line.
It was so much fun! Great write up!!
aw so sweet. priceless memories for lil’ Ari 🙂
it is such a special place for girls❤️Glad she got to experience her bday there! In couple years, she may be out of the doll stage completely! It’s wonderful to enjoy each of these moments, daughters are a gift from God
It really was a fun time! I kept joking that I may have my birthday party there!!
Thank you sweetie!
Thank you! My little monkey is growing up fast!
The write up is awesome. I just relived the entire event. Yes, the party was fantastic and yes, it’s really sad that OUR little “Princess” is growing up way toooooo fast.
Thank you! This blog will be a good way to document all the fun events