Mckenna

Ok, before I get started on my rant, I should let you know: I am sharing my personal opinion. You do not have to agree with me, and I will not be mad at you if you disagree. I just felt like ranting a little. :)

Well, its 2012. And I guess that means its time for a new girl of the year doll.

I first found out about Mckenna from Alex and Haliee, when I went over to Haliee's house for a sleepover (which was totally awesome by the way! We made a super cute doll video that you have probably seen). Were were surfing youtube when a video announcing pictures of Mckenna appeared in the activity feed. Alex clicked on it eagerly. Unfortunetly, all our hopes for a fantastic girl of the year 2012 were smothered when we saw her face. She looked like Chrissa-the only difference between the dolls was the haircut! I never particularly liked the shape of Chrissa's face (I am pretty sure that my doll Nali has the same face mold, I think it looks much better on dolls with darker skin.), and I am surprised to see American Girl implenting this face shape in another girl of the year.

I do however feel that sales of dolls with light skin, blue eyes and blonde hair are very high, and American Girl probably wanted to use this to their advantage in the release of Mckenna. Also, because of the olympics, gymnastics fever is at its highest. 

Therefore, I am assuming that sales will be good for the 2012 girl of the year. It seems that she appeals to the masses, and there have already been many positive comments about Mckenna on youtube. I personally, however, do not find her to be a particularly unique doll, and I will not be purchasing her.

I think that Mckenna has a very cute accesory set. Gymnastics was a hobby of mine when I was younger, and reminds me of the good old days, when Jess and Mia were the girls of the year. I do not plan on purchasing it, however, because it is ridiculously priced.

$26 for a little satchel, small plastic waterbottle, mini book and necklace, plastic trail mix, journal, ID card, miniture money and some papers. It sounds like a whooping haul of doll sized goodies, but It is still not worth $26 to me. That was how much my doll bike cost. And for $5 more, you could get a doll couch just like mine. (when you put it into a perspective like that, it does seem a whole lot more expensive, doesn't it?)

I think Mckenna's dog is TO DIE FOR. I absolutley love it! In fact, I think it looks alot like my dog, and it makes me want it even more! But still it costs $24, and I don't know if I can bring myself to buy it for that much money. I already have coconut (purchased in 2002 for $12) and licorice the cat, who is missing and eye (purchased in 2005 for $12?) and Honey (purchased at costco, in a factory overfill bin. $11.95 ;)). I don't use them very often, so it would feel wasteful for me to buy Mckenna's dog.

I think Mckenna has some pretty horrendous outfits. The seprates are cute, but there is some really weird matching, and the designs dont really appeal to me. I guess I wont be buying and girl of the year clothes this year,

I think the crutches set is cute, but it looks alot like a set that AG used to sell. $30 for doll crutches actually kind of makes me laugh. Like, WOW. You could feed 10 people dinner in a homeless shelter or you could buy some plastic crutches for your doll.

The rain gear set is such a cute idea! I have been trying to hunt down a bright yellow or red doll sized umbrella for a year or two, and when I first saw that Mkenna had a set including one, I got really excited. I think that the pattern on the umbrella is kinda ugly though. And $34!? for a doll umbrella and a pair of rainboots!? I don't even know what to say about that, but it kind of makes me want to throw up. I just can not believe American Girl can even think to charge that much for an accesory.

Mkenna also has two big sets, both of which are shockingly overpriced. She has a gymnastics set, which is a cute idea. However, as a stopmotion maker, it looks really frustrating, because there is no obvious way for the doll to hold on to the bar or balance on the ramp. I seems like a better toy for a young child, because they can entertain themselves by flipping the doll around and hosting fun gymnastics competitions. Of course, it also costs a jaw dropping $85. I have seen simular sets for our generation dolls at target, priced much more reasonably at $30.

The other set, judging by the pictures on the website, it fantastic! I love all the details of Mkenna's loft-style bed, and it looks like it provides hours of fun with lots of cute accesories! It is not particularly my style, and I don't plan on purchasing it, but I think it is a great piece for a doll room. My only complaint is again the disqusting price. $225 is a huge amount of money.

In conclusion, I think almost everything in Mckenna's collection is horrendously overpriced. It may be because I have been collecting for 10 years that I have noticed the soar in prices so much. It really does frustrate me. (However, I wont be mad at you if you buy something from Mckenna's collection. It is not your fault that American girl charges so much!)

Mckenna is not my favorite.

What do you think of Mckenna? Leave a comment telling me how you feel about her!