Doll Find: Roller Blades and Roller Skates at W-M!

I mentioned that I recently had my daughter look through the American Girl catalog and list everything that she wanted. My plan is to make as much of it as possible and buy only what I can find for a reasonable price (if I think it's even worth the money or has enough play value).

One of the things she wanted was the Skates & Gear rollerblade set. I think $34 is an outrageous price for such little accessories, but this was one thing I couldn't think of how to make.

Then I remembered that Wal-Mart had carried a set of pink rollerblades earlier this year for $2. That I can handle! Sure enough, they had two pair. I'm going to get some plastic paint and paint Alex's a boy color because that's way too much pink for a boy! :)

After I had found those, the kids mentioned that they'd like roller skates for the dolls if I couldn't get the rollerblades. While I was food shopping yesterday, I took a quick look through the toy aisle to see what they were doing to that section (it had been ripped apart the last time I was in), and I found these fantastic roller skates for $2 each! (Compare AG's version, with an outfit, for $38.)

To be honest, I think the roller skates are cuter, much easier to roll, and look to be better made. But I got both to be safe. For about 95% off the AG price, I was able to get them both rollerblades and roller skates. They're going to be thrilled! My daughter went so far as to say that she only wants roller skates for Paige for her upcoming birthday. Now, thanks to Wal-Mart, I can do even better.

But wait! What about the helmet and knee/elbow pads? Never fear, I'm making the helmets already. I'll share them just as soon as I've finished them. I may even do the knee and elbow pads, although I'm thinking of skipping those since my kids have never seen anyone wearing them and wouldn't miss them anyway.

If you have 18" dolls in your house, you'll want to check out the new accessories that Wal-Mart is putting out for them. They had a whole shelf of new, inexpensive accessories like backpacks (that are very small, but still!), new boots and shoes, and headbands (some even had headphones attached, while others had earmuffs attached). They were all very cute and very reasonably priced. The most expensive accessories were the animal hats that were close to $5.

I got these hiking boots ($2) for Alex out of the new footwear accessories. They were just too cute!

I just remembered the one accessory that I wasn't impressed with: the canvas doll shoes. They looked cheap and very, very small. Most of them were already fraying and looked like they had been through a war. Other than that, though, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the selection.