Claire gave her friend, Julie, a Julie’s Seventies Party at the American Girl Store for her birthday. We like to give experiences as gifts instead of things. Neither girl had been to the store before so I was looking forward to the day. It was at the DC store and we drove up the day before. First tip, don’t forget to bring the doll with you. I realized half way up that I had forgotten it. We got there in time to do a Siage Scavenger Hunt and a craft. It was nice but I think the girls had the most fun just looking around the store and shopping. Claire had some money leftover from the Alaska trip and she picked out Caroline. She decided Caroline looked like her and she now wants all the accessories that go with her. We went and grabbed dinner and then to the hotel. The girls swam in the pool and we were surprised to see a lifeguard at the hotel pool, that was a first.
The next morning we went back for the party. It was a small group of only four tables in a small private room. We had an appetizer, main dish and a dessert. They were very good about modifying the menu to give me gluten free options. The food was good not great but displayed in a fun way. The appetizer was pretzel rolls with dipping sauce, we got several choices for main dish and then dessert was chocolate fondue. They asked some trivia questions about the book which was okay. The gift bag was more than I expected with 2 books and a poster. I thought it was a good value for what we paid. I think next time we would just eat in restaurant though. Claire now wants to have her birthday party there which I have tried to get her to do before. We had a great time. The only bad part was the traffic on 95 on the way home was terrible.
