How We Play // American Girl Dolls

Hello there!
I am very excited to share with all of you our very precious little friends, Samantha Parkington, Molly McIntire, and Kirsten Larson. We have played with these beautiful companions ever since I was four, and up until I turned thirteen. Our dolls have been on more adventures than most dolls ever will, I think (moving across the country being one); and through the years of growing up, they have never ceased to keep their charm and romance that first caught our bright, little eyes. I have to be honest, I am really looking forward to seeing which of you have cherished the same dolls we have, as well as those of you who claim the friendship of the other American Girl dolls! But before that, let's take a peep into the past and reminisce over our fond memories.


Jessica Remembers: "Whenever I think of my sweet doll, the memory that comes to mind is of the day that I first met her. As I said above, I was about four years old when this friendship began, and it all started with dear old Grandpa & Grandma Boyer. It was not often that they would come to visit, since they lived a few states away, but the second time they came to see us, they brought Brigi and I (Charlotte was a tiny baby) a surprise. Of course you can probably guess it was our dolls, and you would be right! It was around evening time when they came walking through the front door with a big box. I don't remember taking Samantha out or holding her much, but I do know that there was a feeling that Samantha, not Molly, or Kirsten, was my own. These dolls were Grandma Boyer's. I have no idea how she got them, but I do know that they are some of the very first American Girl Dolls to be manufactured, making them very old. I didn't know this until later; and as the years went on, I, in a way, grew up with Sam's stories and adventures tucked away in all my imaginings. There were so many times that I wished I could go back in time with her and live in the Edwardian era, and wear all of the pretty dresses that she wore. I must have been such a romantic, although I had no idea what that even was at the time. Ha ha!

"I also recall a goal that I had made later on (and it wasn't a bad one either) of keeping Sam's hair in pristine condition. (We all know the dreaded ratty doll hair from too much love and roughhousing! I swore to myself Sam would never have that problem, and she didn't.) For instance: if Brigi and Charlotte were dressing their dolls for a party, I would be tediously brushing through the tangles of Samantha's hair, and whenever we would have to hurry up with our play to run on an errand with Mom, the last thing you would see me doing was giving her locks another going over. You all know how much I love to do hair now, and that is probably because I learned to love fixing up our dolls'. Funny how those things never leave us. :) Sadly, because of all of that brushing I did, Samantha's hair has been severely thinned out. But. There is not one tangle to show for all my hard work. ;)"

Charlotte Remembers: "Growing up, I was never very partial to Kirsten. I would browse through the latest and greatest American Girl catalog, longing for the modern, up-to-date dolls; and sadly looked at my dear Kirsten with scorn and discontentment. She was old, old-fashioned, and, well... old. I didn't know to appreciate at the time how very precious, and priceless, she really was. One of my most poignant memories with my Kirsten was whenever I was spinning, swinging her around by the arms. As it happened, her limbs and whatever holds them together inside, were not the strongest; so it was no surprise that one of her arms snapped off. I was bewildered, scared, and very upset! Thankfully, American Girl has such a fabulous (in the literal sense of the term) way of mending any dolls that might have been broken by their owners; that is: The American Girl Doll Hospital. I had viewed that place in such a fantasy-like manner, and expected that only in my wildest dreams I would actually have the privilege to send my doll(s) to such a place! Well, the time had come. We contacted American Girl, got the pricing worked out; and I (embarrassingly; yes I had a real sense of modesty back then too) carried my naked, one-armed doll + loose doll ligament with Mom into the post-office to ship her out. It was several weeks later that I got her back in a doll-sized hospital gown, and "Get Well Soon" balloon. Her hair was braided to perfection, which plaits I was not allowed to undo. At the time, I couldn't and wouldn't understand; all I wanted was to stroke and brush my wonderful (since going to the "Modern" American Girl Doll Hospital, I had dubbed her worthy of unbiased affection. Ah, the workings of a child's mind...) Kirsten's hair. I eventually got permission to undo the tight, even braids; though now I regret my childish antics in doing so."

Brigid Remembers: "The main thing that I remember about Molly is losing a hat. We girls had a beret for dress-up that had originally been Dad's from his days when he was in Germany in the Army. I had claimed it as mine since it was exactly the same as the one Molly, my doll, wore. Well, one day we went to the Grocery store, and I brought Molly and my beret with me. I think Mom made me leave Molly in the car, but I did wear my beret into the store. At some point in that errand I took off my beret and left it on an empty shelf in the store and forgot about it. We didn't realize I had lost it until we got home and I discovered my beloved beret (and Dad's souvenir from Germany) was gone forever. I'm not sure if I still have Molly's beret. I may have lost that too at some point throughout the years. I never was very good at keeping track of my doll's belongings when I was young. :) I sometimes wonder if that lost beret got picked up by some child or store clerk... what happened to it after I lost it...? I suppose I'll never know. I do think that it's ironic that Molly is from the era that later became my favorite era of fashion: the 1940's. I never appreciated her outfit until my love for historical fashion was aroused. Her sweater and dicky always seemed funny and old fashioned to me, but now I appreciate greatly the historical accuracy that Pleasant Company (the original owner of American Girl, before they sold to Mattel) put into Molly's outfit."

Thanks girls!

Wow! What did you think of that? I personally am so glad we are going through our play things again, for the sake of keeping these precious memories close to our hearts. Now we only gave you snippets of our past time with these darlings, so if you have any questions, or if you have stories to share with us, please tell us so down below! We would love to hear them!

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Fondly,

Jessica

The eldest sister & singer