Popular American Girl Fashions On a Budget

Some little girl's best friend is their American Girl doll (18 inches) because they are fun, pretty, have an interesting life story, and have beautiful hair for your little girl to fix and primp. All kinds of clothes, DVD's, books, beds, and other accecssories are available through AmericanGirl.com. If you have all of the money in the world to spend on your little girl and her doll, then you will find their site a one stop shop to happiness for your little girl that provides hours of fun pretend play.

If you are on a budget, Target's website sells Our Generation dolls, which are also 18" tall. They can fit in the same things that American Girls can fit in and are a good alternative if your little girl just has to have a doll where she can fix her hair, but with a lot lower prices. These dolls generally cost under $30. You can find clothes and other accessories for them as well.

If your little girl just has to have the real thing, then indulge her, but save on the clothes and accessories. She doesn't have to have just American girl brand clothes for her doll. There are many places that sell alternatives to these expensive clothes for a fraction of the cost. You can find doll clothes for $2-$25 that are just as beautiful as the ones at the A.G. Store.

For example, Little Adventures sells a line of princess costumes for little girls that have exact match doll dresses. Cinderella doll dresses and Sleeping Beauty doll clothes are the most popular. But, many of the other doll dresses come with fun and interesting accessories. The princess Snow White doll dress comes with a matching sequin cape and a red bow for her hair and the Medieval princess doll dress in deep purple comes with a matching cone hat that is really cute! Their dresses are only $16 and often go on sale during the holidays or in off-seasons. If the price wasn't enough, these 18 inch doll clothes are machine washable, so if your little girl has a tea party or birthday with her doll and gets tea, punch, or birthday cake on her doll dress, mom can throw it in the wash and it will be as good as new! The princess doll clothes from Little Adventures are also designed to fit plush animals such as Build a Bear.

Hang up her clothes with doll hangers you can find on eBay for about 50 cents. You can find doll clothes armoires for clothes storage.

After she's dressed, your little girl will want to fix her doll's hair. You will find that the American Girl brand brushes are the best ones to use to protect their hair. Did you know that if your doll's hair gets cut or ruined that you can send in the head to A.G. and get it replaced with a new one! They have amazing customer service and your little girls can use their own hair accessories in their doll's hair or buy new ones at the store for them to wear in their hair.

Fashion is important for girls and she will go to every effort to dress her own doll just how she would like to look, so splurge on the doll and conserve with the clothes and you will find a happy compromise between mom and daughter and you will find her pretending for hours with her fun new doll!

Baby Shower Centerpieces Ideas

New mother? Here you will learn how to make and where to purchase your baby shower centerpieces. As the centerpiece is the focal point of the baby shower, it is very important for you to design or purchase the right one.

You need to place them above eye level at the table to keep from blocking the view of the and the guest of honor from seeing each other at the table. There are many different types of baby shower centerpieces to choose from. One very popular type of centerpiece which doubles as your baby shower gift is a baby diaper cake.

Once you have picked your theme you need to keep it featured around that theme. If making your own baby shower centerpiece, many of the supplies needed will be available locally. However, going online will add to the variety of baby shower centerpieces you have to choose from.

Many baby shower centerpieces will be made with candles surrounding them. Such as floral centerpieces, using fresh or artificial flowers. Fresh flowers will be more economical if you choose flowers that are in season. When choosing artificial flowers, you can go with silk, chocolate flowers such as roses, plastic flowers, or light-up roses.

• Use a wicker basket and fill it with baby items. You could put a cloth diaper, diaper pins, baby bottles, bibs, baby socks, pacifiers and other small baby items. Surround the basket with small candles or put a couple of helium balloons tied to the handle.
• If using a beach theme, use a beach bucket and place a flower arrangement inside, with candles around the outside. Or put small tools for the beach inside the bucket.
• Fill a small goldfish bowl with water and fill it with floating candles and flower buds. Or you might even add a goldfish to the water.
• Use votive holders and candles that match your theme. They will provide a soft type of illumination to the event.
• Go to a craft section or a craft store and purchase small pink and blue gemstones. You could place these in votive holders, or small glass vases of different sizes. Add shredded tissue to the mix and you will have another lovely baby shower centerpiece.
• You could get different glass figurines of a stork, swan, castle, teddy bear, or whatever would fit with the theme. Put them in a box filled with colored shredded paper and put the figurine on top. Any of these would be a great addition to your baby shower.
• Hang an umbrella from the ceiling filled with stuffed animals. Or you could put flowers inside and add balloons, dolls and/or ribbons.
• Fill a bucket, bowl, or basket with candy, small stuffed animals, or flowers, say rose.
• If the baby shower is in the fall or winter. Use small pumpkins, headstones, or leaves of different colors. Pumpkins could be made of tissue, or small figures of pumpkins.
• Tropical Themes could use many different items to make your baby shower center piece. Pineapples, tiki lights, small palm trees, hula dancer center piece, or a flamingo.
• Nautical themes could use small boats, ships, sailboats, anchors, or a treasure chest.
• Spring themes could include items such as hearts, leprechauns, or bunnies.
• Western themes could use straw, cowboy hats, cowboy boots, western badges and rope.

These are just some ideas to choose from. Think about them, mix and match, or add your own ideas to make baby shower centerpieces that perfectly match your theme. You and your guests and guest of honor will have a fun day. They will be getting away from reality for a short time to rest and enjoy themselves.

Toddler and Pets - Animals

Whether or not you have a pet at home, toddlers should be pet-proofed as early on as possible. Teach your toddler the following rules for safety's sake:

Let sleeping (and eating) dogs (and cats) lie. Don't touch or go near them when they're napping or dining. And never touch their food: curious fingers can easily be perceived as a threat - retaliation is likely even in a mellow animal.

Never poke an animal's eyes, pull his tail, or tug in its ears. Always pet gently under the chin rather than on top of the head - which implies domination (Show you toddler how to do this).

Don't tease an animal. Don't offer a bone and then withdraw it, block its way to the water bowl, pretend you are going to hit it, and so on.

Stay away from dogs, cats, squirrels, raccoons, or other animals you don't know.

Stay away from animals that are sick or behaving strangely. This will have to be your call for now. The signs of rabies in an animal include one or more of the following: limping or staggering (because of paralysis of the hind legs); frothing or foaming at the mouth (due to paralysis of the throat and stiffness of the jaw); aggressive behaviors (attacking people, other animals, even objects); behavior changes (a nocturnal animal may come out during the day, a diurnal one at night); dis-orientation and lack inhibition. Some infected animals, however, may not have any noticeable symptoms.

Stay away from dogs or cats when they're fighting.

Stay way from a new mother dog or cat who is with her babies: she will fight to protect her offspring.

Never go near any animal without a grown-up around.

Always move slowly when approaching an animal. Don't run toward or ride a riding toy up to an animal: don't make sudden movement or jump around in front of it. (Cats are likely to run from a young child at play, but because toddlers can't necessarily differentiate between dogs and cats - and just to be on the safe side - this rule should apply to both species).

If a dog growls or is angry, don't run away (the dog might give chase): instead, roll up into a little ball on the ground and cover your face with your arms.

Never put your face near a dog's face. (Because toddlers are small, they are most likely to be bitten in danger areas - face, head, neck) the same goes for cats. (Since a feline's claws can do a lot of harm to tender young skin, too).