Breakfast with Santa at the American Girl Store 2015

Little girl, BIG dreams!

Last Sunday, as part of her Christmas gift from us, Ted and I surprised Katy with Breakfast with Santa at our local American Girl Store. Reservations for this event were limited and we made them well, well in advance (ie, back in JUNE!).

I sewed up this super cute cute Dolly and Me dress using the Made for Mermaids Brooklyn/Riley Dress PDF sewing patterns. Naturally, Lil' Miss just had to have a fun, new dress for the experience (and, so did Samantha!). This was also my first time purchasing and sewing up some custom knits...! Lots of fun! Because life has been kind of hectic lately, and because, well, it's the holidays... I was sewing these dresses up the night before the event. I hate being last minute but thankfully, I know this pattern by heart and was able to sew them in no time! #sewwinning

Made for Mermaids Brooklyn/Riley Dress

First, we all sat down in the bistro area of the store. We were had our choice of some delicious breakfast dishes- scrambled eggs, french toast, pancakes and more! Katy declared their bacon to be the crispiest, best bacon EVER! Ha!  Each girl (and doll, too!) were also served hot chocolate- with extra whipped cream, of course! (As a side note, both Ted and I agreed that the coffee was particularly strong and delicious! ;-)

Then, while everybody was eating, Santa made his grand entrance. Now, the best part of the whole experience (at least from a parents' perspective) was the fact that Katy just assumed that just going to the AG store and having breakfast was the treat. She didn't realize that she'd get to see Santa, too! When she realized that there was a special guest on top of everything else (breakfast, going to the AG store, etc.).... .well, let's just say that her smile could have lit up the moon...!! Santa made sure to stop at each table and have a little one-on-one time with each girl.

Breakfast with Santa! 

(It just so happened that Katy was chosen to take Zippy, the class pet, home the weekend that we went to Breakfast with Santa. So, naturally, Zippy needed to have a picture with Santa, too! ;-)

Breakfast with Santa occurred before store hours. That means that we (and the other guests) had the store all to ourselves for two whole hours. It was really nice to walk around the store leisurely and not be super crowded (especially around Christmas!). Katy had a blast looking at all of the set-ups and even inserting her own Samantha doll into some of the scenes.

We had lots of fun eating Breakfast with Santa! It truly was a memorable experience (for both Katy and us!).