Girl of The Year 2014 Isabelle arrives at the Seattle American Girl store

Like a small child counting down the days until Christmas, we were counting down the days until January 1st. Not because we’re huge into New Years’ celebrations, but because American Girl announced their Girl of the Year {GOTY}.

We look for any reason to party around here, especially when the party is for a doll as elegant as this one:

Meet Isabelle, the Girl of the Year for 2014. Isabelle Palmer loves ballet and everything fashion. Her story involves a new school, struggling to stand out in the shadow of her older sister, and figuring out how she can use her unique talents to shine. Since my daughter would like nothing more than to be a dancer, Isabelle's story really struck her and she's now smitten with this beautiful GOTY doll. 

We were at the Seattle store on the 1st so we could get one of the first peeks at Isabelle and I saw no less than 50 girls walk out of the store with her in their arms. You can quote me on the fact that Isabelle is going to be a huge success this year. I even saw one family buy THREE Isabelle dolls for all three little girls in their family as well as a huge shopping bag full of accessories.

The Seattle store was having an Isabelle event and we were lucky enough to catch most of it so we could see some little ballerinas perform, do some arts and crafts, get a little goodie bag with an Isabelle doll t-shirt, take pictures with Isabelle at the barre, and play with the new doll and all her accessories.

Reasons to love Isabelle:

1) She has ombre extensions in her hair, which no other GOTY has had before. Since my daughter also has a streak in her hair, this was a VERY big deal.

2) She is a dancer and she dreams big.

3) She is an artist who loves to design new fashions and bring them to life.

4) She has the cutest accessories – seriously, how adorable are these?

5) She has some fun activities that kids will love to get involved in. From designing your own clothing for your doll to choreographing dances, there's a lot you can do with your new Isabelle doll. You can also check out New Moves with Isabelle where you can complete online activities to create your own performance… and you can enter to win an Isabelle prize pack with a trip to New York!
If you’re an American Girl fan, you already know that the dolls are only part of what makes them so awesome. To get the full experience, I highly recommend checking out the American Girl site where you can learn about each doll, their unique story, and download free apps you can play with your little American Girl fans. Learn more about Isabelle's story here.

Isabelle will only be around for a year, so I’d advise you to shop early as she appears to be very popular and selling very well. 

It's not too late to get in on the Isabelle events if you live near {or are traveling near} an American Girl store in the next few weeks. We plan on going to at least one more event with some friends who will be purchasing Isabelle, and we can't wait. We have a list of a few Isabelle items we are going to purchase for future birthdays and holidays and want to get them before they are gone!

This post is not sponsored, I just wanted to share the details with you since I know so many of you are fans.  As always, all opinions are 100% ours.