New Releases From American Girl

Late last night, American Girl released several new items.  While most of these are not in my budget at this time, it was fun to see the new things. :)  I won't put up photos of all of the new stuff, but I'll just touch on a few of my favorites.

First off, they finally changed the My AG Meet Outfit! :D  

Here is the new outfit.  I have to admit, I like the boots, but I don't think I would have chosen them to go with this outfit.  They would make great separates, though. :)  The shirt and skirt are separates, allowing for lots of mix and match options.  And yes, you are right...that happens to be the newest My AG doll modeling the outfit:  My AG #58! :)

She has an adorable Addy mold and sweet, soft ringlets.  I hope she's a good seller for them.  She certainly deserves it. :)

I also liked the My AG accessory set.  I would be tempted to buy this just for the hat, although it's a little spendy for that. ;)

There were several new outfits for the My AG line, as well as for the Bitty Babies.  I didn't include any photos of the BB stuff, but here are a few of my favorite My AG additions:

This is the Butterfly Garden PJ set.  I love the colors on this one.

I loved this new Volleyball set!  I used to play volleyball in junior high, and then I was the volleyball scorekeeper for our high school team, so this sport is close to my heart. :)

I liked this one too.  It's called the "Weekend Fun Outfit".  I love the colors in the top.

There were two new additions to the American Girl pet family:

An adorable bulldog named...Meatloaf.  Love the dog, not so fond of the name. ;)

The other addition was a revamped Licorice the cat.  Some of my online doll friends really didn't care for her new look, but I think she's pretty cute. 

One of the coolest yet waaaayyy expensive historical releases was Julie's Car Wash set.  Look at that perfect VW Bug!  Too bad it's $350. (choke, gasp)  That's over half of a month's school tuition for my girls. :} 

The 2012 girl of the year, McKenna, also got some new goodies:

Here's her "Performance Set"...

...and her "Team Gear".  I liked both additions, and I think they'll be especially fun for little girls with the Olympics right on the horizon. :)

One other thing that really impressed me about American Girl's new releases was their attempt to reach out to girls outside of what we think of as the typical demographic.  

You can now have a hearing aid added to your doll.  She goes to the doll hospital for a special fitting (they have to put a hole behind her ear to help it stay on), but the hearing aid is still removable.

The other new addition is the option of purchasing a wigless doll.  Now, little girls suffering from the effects of cancer can have a doll that looks just like them.  I applaud American Girl for this decision.

By comparison, this allergy-free lunch seems a little unimpressive.  But perhaps this will be an easy way for little girls with allergies, or their mothers, to explain to their friends why they have to be careful about the foods they eat.  For many girls, this is a day to day reality.  Why not give their dolls allergy-free food, too? 

I didn't include the picture, but there is also a service dog set for the AG pets, which goes along the same lines.  

I think American Girl's effort to include those with physical handicaps or health issues in their products is absolutely wonderful.  Growing up is hard enough when you blend in with everyone else.  It's even harder when you have a condition that others may not understand or want to talk about.  I think that these products would be a great way to start conversations and promote awareness of hearing loss, cancer, allergy problems, and blindness, a way to give our girls compassion and understanding for others.  No matter what our differences, we're all human beings, created and loved by God.  We don't have to be afraid just because someone is different.  

The only thing that would make it better would be if a portion of the proceeds from the sales of these special items went towards research in each coordinating category.  How cool would that be?

So that's a taste of most of the new items.  If you want to see all of them, you can visit Americangirl.com.  HERE is a link to most of the new MyAG stuff, and HERE you'll find McKenna's new things.  HERE'S a link to Julie's new things, and click HERE for more information about the doll hearing aids and wigless dolls (you can click on the tabs towards the bottom of the page). :)  

Which new releases are your favorites?  I'd have to say my favorites are Meatloaf, the new My AG, and the new My AG meet outfit and accessories.  How about you? :)