A DIY American Girl Party at American Girl Place

I’m so excited to share our fun DIY American Girl party with you today.  We celebrated Lila’s eighth birthday at American Girl Place in Dallas but added lots of our own DIY touches to make it memorable {and fulfill my love for a DIY theme party}.

Lila chose to just invite two friends to her party this year and going to American Girl Place seemed like a great idea for our small crowd.  We mailed handmade invitations a couple of weeks before the party, simple invitations with an American Girl-style star on the front {I cut the star out of the white card then glued the pink paper inside the card so it would show through and topped it with the middle white star}.

On the day of the party, we picked up the girls and their dolls and drove to American Girl Place, arriving about an hour before our lunch reservation.  {A note: make reservations well in advance, especially if you’re planning to celebrate during spring break or the holiday season … the tables fill up very quickly!}

Lila brought her new Isabelle doll and wore a matching outfit that she received for her birthday.  {And we got photobombed by American Girl Caroline!}

The girls looked around the store for a few minutes {Lila had her heart set on spending some of her birthday money on Isabelle’s kitten} and then I sent the girls on a scavenger hunt.  {Check out all the scavenger hunt details plus a free printable for your next visit to American Girl Place.}

The girls spent about thirty minutes walking around the store, finding all the items on the list.  The scavenger hunt was such a fun activity and really allowed us to see everything in the store {and the girls loved that}.

American Girl Place is so full of fun girly details and our little party soaked them all in {I loved the details as much as the girls did}.

When the scavenger hunt was finished, we went upstairs to the Bistro where our table was waiting.

We all sat down and our waiter helped the dolls get settled in their seats and set out miniature cups and plates in front of them.  I brought little party hats for all of the dolls {made using this template} and our sweet waiter even helped the dolls get their hats on!  Lila was given a special sticker to set her apart as the birthday girl {and her doll got one too}!

Lila’s friends had never been to the Bistro and all three girls were really excited about having lunch like little ladies.

They chose their appetizers and lunch items from the menu …

… and were so excited about all the fun details and special touches.

The girls ended their meal by sharing a huge brownie sundae but first, Lila got to blow out eight candles!

Lila opened gifts at the table and then we gave goody bags to the girls and their dolls.  I used tiny white bags for the dolls and larger, matching white bags for the girls and added vinyl stars to both.

The girls were given American Girl Crafts sketchbooks and colored pencils {found at Michaels} …

… and the dolls went home with new shirts and sneakers.

We had such a fun time at our American Girl party and the simple DIY details added such fun and created great memories for the girls.