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Dukes and Duchesses

Dallas Fort Worth Creative Lifestyle Blogger

creative projects parties::birthday Silhouette · Written by Randi Dukes

A DIY American Girl Party at American Girl Place

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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}.

a diy american girl 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}.

american girl party invitation

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!}

american girl place

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!}

matching outfits

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.}

scavenger hunt

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}.

finished scavenger hunt

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}.

american girl

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

bistro at american girl place

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}!

party hats for dolls

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

party girls

They chose their appetizers and lunch items from the menu …

bistro

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

lunch

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

sundae

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.

goody bags for girls and dolls

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

goody bags for girls

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

doll goody bags

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.


13 Comments

About Randi Dukes

I’m Randi, a Dallas-based mom of five kids, ranging from third grade to college and including a set of twins. I love strong coffee, craft and DIY projects, my planner, and my big ol’ family. When I’m not creating something for my blog, I can be found in the car, running kids from one place to another. I’m the one knitting at the red light. Connect with me on google+ | twitter | facebook

« A Birthday Shirt for the Shooting Range
A Scavenger Hunt at American Girl Place {with a Printable} »

Comments

  1. Emily says

    March 12, 2014 at 8:01 am

    WOW! I haven’t ever been to a AG store, it looks amazing!! What a fun way to celebrate and enjoy a special birthday! A few of us just finished an AG giveaway, so this is super fun! Pinning! Emily

    Reply
  2. Betsy Mitchell says

    March 14, 2014 at 11:51 am

    Love this! You can tell how much fun she is having by her facial expressions. I’ve been wanting to take my nieces in to American GIrl for a while, I’ll have to go soon!

    Reply
  3. Staci says

    March 14, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Wow! I know that my girls would FLIP over a party at the American Girl Place. Everything looks amazing!

    Reply
  4. Debra @ A Frugal Friend says

    March 14, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    Such a great idea! We love American Girl and had the opportunity to check out the one in Chicago – so fun! Pinning this away for my little girl!

    Reply
  5. Jana says

    March 14, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    What a fun birthday party!! I’ll have to keep this in mind for when Emily gets older.

    Reply
  6. Digital Mom Blog says

    March 14, 2014 at 10:41 pm

    I so love this birthday idea! So smart!

    Reply
  7. Arena says

    March 14, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    This looks like so much fun! The American Girl store is so awesome!

    Reply
  8. Holly Lefevre says

    March 17, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    This makes me giddy…I love american girl dolls. We will be celebrating Jules b’day there this year too!

    Reply
  9. Laura Scott says

    April 3, 2014 at 1:34 pm

    This is such a lovely party for sweet little girls! Each detail from the invitation, the lunch, scavenger hunt, doll party hat, tiny favor bag for AG doll with shoes and shirt, and the take home journal with pretty pencils made this special event one to remember celebrating! I loved this post with details and photos! : )

    Reply
  10. Jill says

    January 24, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    So cute! Where did you find the little shirts and shoes? I am having the hardest time finding just a simple shirt that the girls can decorate for their dolls at my daughter’s party.

    Reply
    • Randi Dukes says

      January 26, 2015 at 6:02 am

      I ordered them through Home Sew: http://www.homesew.com/. They carry a lot of doll-sized items.

      Reply
  11. Beth Davis says

    September 19, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    Where do you get the vinyl stars? Those stars are hard to find!

    Reply
    • Randi Dukes says

      September 20, 2016 at 5:33 am

      I made them with my cutting machine. You could also use paper to make them and just glue them on.

      Reply

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Welcome to Dukes & Duchesses!

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I’m Randi, a mom of five living in Dallas. I love strong coffee, long lists, bright colors, thrift stores, repurposed junk, and power tools.

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