A Day at the American Girl Store

I admit it. I was just as excited as my girls (if not more so) to head up to the American Girl store in Washington DC two Saturdays ago. A lot of readers from my Facebook page wanted to know how it went, so today I'll take you on a little tour of our American Girl store. I never had an American Girl doll, which is probably why I was so excited when my girls both received dolls for Christmas. It worked out nicely that as part of Michaela Byrd's January birthday, my mom and I decided to take the girls up to check it all out.

(Photos from my point and shoot, so forgive the quality)

American Girl has no idea who I am, so this is not in any way a sponsored post. Just a real look at two real "American Girls" enjoying their first time in the store.

Side note: If you aren't familiar with American Girl dolls, the company offers a line of dolls and books from different historical periods. They also carry dolls, books, and accessories geared towards modern day girls. The neat part is that they really stress good character, creativity, and good self-esteem.

The Washington DC store is actually about an hour from our house, in the Tyson's Corner mall, which is a complete nightmare to get to if you are not a fan of high traffic roadways. Luckily, my mom grew up in the area, so she navigated!

We parked in the first parking spot we could find and trekked through the mall to the store. Luckily, Michaela Byrd's "Bitty Twins" came with their own roller cart, and Natalie promised that she could carry Kit without losing her in a Nordstrom rack somewhere:

The shop is every little girl's dream come true. Lots of light, bright colors, happy faces everywhere. Wide open space with pretty stuff everywhere you look!

It was busy, but nearly so bad as the NYC store at Christmastime. There was plenty of room to walk around and gaze at the displays, and the wait for check-out wasn't bad at all. The girls were overwhelmed by the doll salon, t-shirt shop, and real bistro where you can dine with your dolly friends.

It was so much fun to see the excitement on my girls' faces as they hopped from one display to the next. The AG people are so clever with their displays. They set things up so that girls want to rip stuff right off and play right there in the store. Good thing most sets are in cases. Michaela Byrd couldn't stop exclaiming, "Oo, I want 'dat one! I want 'dat one too!"

There is nothing like a gigantic toy store to bring out the kid in you. I oohed and aahed over all the goodies as much as the kids did!

Natalie chose a violin set for Kit, and Michaela Byrd picked out a snack set for her Bitty Twins...apparently they were hungry after a long morning of shopping. We also picked up a copy of the Kit Kittredge DVD, which they have viewed approximately 56 times this month.

The girls loved the photo opp on the way out with the new doll of the year.

My only complaint was that it doesn't seem like they planned well for the size of the bistro. It books up weeks in advance...we couldn't even go in for a snack or drink. We'll plan ahead next time, but we managed to lure the girls out of the store with a promise of lunch at Panera.

Then it was time to hop on I-95 South and brave the traffic home, thinking the whole time about when we could go up again! If you're planning on visiting a city with an American Girl store, and you have your kids with you, I highly suggest making a stop. It was an all-around enjoyable day, and I hope my girls hold special memories of our fun for years to come. Can't wait to head back up!

Do you still remember a special outing that you went on as a child?