If you have a doll age child, chances are you are a huge American Girl fan. With two doll age children at our house and an American Girl store just minutes away, the Seattle store has become our unofficial hangout, our reward system for a perfect chore chart, and our special mommy-and-me tea party paradise.
If you remember, we even did up a gift guide entirely of American Girl products for last season because we love the brand so much. So, you can imagine our excitement when “our” store gets new dolls in, especially one as pretty as this:
Meet Saige, the Girl of the Year for 2013. Saige is a 9 year old little girl from Albuquerque who has an amazing trained horse named Picasso, a Border collie, a hot air balloon {seriously!}, and loves art as much as our family does. Admit it, you’re excited, too.
Saige Copeland loves painting and horseback riding on her grandma’s ranch. But, when budget cuts force her school to stop offering art class and her favorite horse might be sold, Saige decides to do something about it and mobilize others to make a difference instead of just being sad. I really love this message as I truly believe one person can make a difference, and Saige's story is a great example of this for young girls.
If you can't tell, we're already huge fans of Saige and we've only just become acquainted. At the Seattle store this past weekend they were having a Saige event and we were lucky enough to catch most of it so we could finally see Saige in person. The kids made some adorable arts and crafts at different booths, got their pictures taken in a large hot air balloon, and learned all about the new doll and her horse. We got a personal demonstration of the new posable pony that moves his head and front foot to do tricks and the employee even got Saige doll down for a minute so my daughter could see her.
Since we enjoyed visiting Saige and her pony, Picasso, at the store so much, I’m excited to read the book Saige by Jessie Haas that arrived last month introducing the new doll. My daughter and I are starting the book together and she’s currently working on a perfect chore chart so she can earn some of Saige’s adorable accessories before they are retired at the end of the year.
Because Saige will only be around for a year, I’d advise you to shop early as she appears to be very popular and selling very well. Just during the 30 minutes we were visiting during the Saige event we saw quite a few little girls going home with a Saige doll or a Picasso Horse.
If you’re an American Girl fan, you already know that the dolls are only part of what makes them so awesome. To get the full experience, I highly recommend checking out the American Girl site where you can learn about each doll, their unique story, download free apps, and even print off some awesome Parent and Teacher Curriculum exercises that help start educational discussions with your little American Girl fans.
For all you Saige fans, you will be happy to know that there will even be a Saige movie released in 2013 and I will definitely post more about that as I get it. And, until April 1st you can even enter to win one of 10 Saige prize packages on the American Girl site that includes Saige and her hot air balloon.
But, something I’m even more excited about with the release of Saige is the Elevate the Arts with American Girl that will award $45,000 in School Art Grants to preserve arts programs in U.S. schools. Your school could win up to $10,000!
I received a press kit about Saige 2013 Girl of the Year but was not asked to post about it, I just wanted to share the details with you since I know so many of you are fans. As always, all opinions are 100% ours.
Wow, I haven’t paid attention to the new american girl dolls in a long while, my kids were the age when the first ones came out.
I absolutely loved reading this post about Saige! Her passion for art and horses really resonates with me. It’s great to see such a strong character representing creativity and adventure. Can’t wait to dive deeper into her story!