There has been much excitement in my house over the release of the new American Girl Maryellen. My daughter could not wait to see her in person when she attended a birthday party at the American Girl store last week. She ohhed and ahhed over each detail adding Maryellen this and Maryellen that to her Christmas wish list. Little did she know I had a surprise waiting for her.
When American Girl asked me if I would like to host a sock hop in honor of the Maryellen release, I didn’t hesitate. Any excuse to plan a fun day with my girls, right? Thanks to American Girl I turned a day off from school into a sock hop complete with cool clothes, decorations, hula hoops, rock and roll and, of course, American Girl.
That is my favorite thing about American Girl, sure the American Girl dolls are pretty dolls with great accessories, but as I have discussed with other moms — it is so much more than that. The stories and the history behind each BeForever American Girl gives girls the opportunity to learn about and explore what life was like in another time.
Now with the new BeForever American Girl Maryellen, my daughter has the opportunity to learn about the ’50s and what life was like when her grandparents were children. And the lesson started with a sock hop! Pandora made it was for me to stream ’50s rock and roll to our party so I could teach my daughters how to do The Twist and the Hand Jive!
She also came to me while reading to ask me what Polio was. Maryellen had Polio as a little girl, and luckily it is a disease K had never heard of. So we talked about what it did, about iron lungs and about the scars many children of that generation have on their arm from the vaccine. Who would have though you could learn all of that from a sock hop?
If you want to host your own sock hop, be sure to check out the American Girl Maryellen sock hop planning tips where you can find the printable decorations I used plus invitations, party games and more.
Do you by any chance happen to have one of these dresses for sale that fit big girls? My daughter is begging for one and they are sold out everywhere!