Merry Christmas! + The Big Surprise Reveal

MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!!!

I cannot believe it’s been another year already! Where did the time go?

Okay, okay, enough of that. I know that you all want me to hurry up and reveal The Big Surprise already, so . . . here you go.

I STARTED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, I MADE A CHRISTMAS STOPMOTION!!!

I have been working for HOURSSSSSS on this project and it’s FINALLY complete. Here’s a link so you can go check it out rightnow.

I know it’s not the best AGSM you guys have ever seen, but PLEASE WATCH IT IN HD TO GET THE BEST EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE!

Oh yeah, and subscribe while you’re over there. 🙂

Sorry about the caps lock. I’m really, really excited.

Anyway, I hope you guys have an AMAZING Christmas and a very, very happy new year!

P.S. – I made the channel specifically for my stopmotion video, so don’t expect many more videos to follow. I may make some, I may not. 🙂 My blog is, and will continue to be, my main focus. 🙂

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

 

 

Christmas Shopping According to Crystal (With The Unwelcome Input of Grace)

Disclaimer: This post is written satirically and Crystal’s advice should most definitely NOT be taken – that is, when it comes to Christmas shopping. 

Crystal: Why hello, people of the universe! It is I, Crystal, here to grace your presence-

Grace: Did you say Grace and presents?

Crystal: No, Grace! Now, go away! I’m doing a blog post here!

Grace: *sighs* Fine.

Crystal: Now, where was I? Oh yes, today I’m here to give you a few tips on Christmas shopping. As we all know, the holidays are all about shopping – I mean, what else would they be about? If you’re not planning on spending all your money on yourself at Bath and Body Works-

Grace: *cough* Crystal *cough cough*

Crystal: GRACE!

Grace: Sorry!

Crystal: *sighs* As I was saying, if you’re not going to spend all of your money on yourself, Christmas shopping for others is such a fun thing to do. And when you have eight sisters, they all want presents, for some weird reason.

For your best and most favorite sister – that would be Tessa, in my case – some nice jewelry or a fancy scarf should do the trick. If you have any doubts, follow this helpful tip:

Tip #1: When in doubt, buy the most expensive pair on the rack. 

Expensive clothes always impress girls, whether you’re a guy shopping for you girlfriend or a girl shopping for her sister. Expensive=meaningful!

Grace: That would explain your Tiffany addiction.

Crystal: ARGH, GRACE! GET OUT OF HERE – RIGHT NOW!

Anyway, let’s move on.

When you’re shopping for your least favorite sister – that would be Lindsey, due to some unfortunate shoe-burning – don’t be afraid to give her ketchup packets or pencil stubs.

Tip #2: When in doubt, wrap anything you find lying around your room.

Next up – shopping for your parents/person who writes blog posts about you. Put some thought into this gift – after all, this is the person who spends hours photographing you, writing up cute posts, and then gaining a ton of followers because she did a nice job on your hair – oh yeah, and because AG bloggers are super nice people.

Tip #3: It’s totally okay to copy present ideas! The original person won’t mind, usually.

And, last but not least, shopping for that special someone.

Basically, there’s only one piece of advice I can give you –

Tip #4: Boys are impossible to shop for. Just go to your nearest Safeway and grab any old hoodie off the rack. Since boys don’t care about clothes, it doesn’t matter what it looks like. Hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?

And that’s all the time we have for today! I hope this post was helpful and inspiring. May you all have long lives and wear fashionable clothes!

By the way, don’t you just loveeeeee my hair? AGsinAlaska did it, with the assistance of some sparkly twinkle lights! #ThisIsHowISparkle

Grace: Is there no end to your vanity, Crystal?

Crystal: GRACEEEEE!!!!!!!!

TTFN!

The Most Awesome Christmas Post Ever

Hey guys. Before you begin another yawn-inducing week at school (or incredibly thrilling, if that’s how you feel), please take the time to read this post!

For my big Christmas post this year, I decided to do something a little bit different and very time-consuming. So if you don’t notice many posts from me in your Reader, that’s why.

However, this does NOT mean I’m going on hiatus.

*Again*

Instead, I will be posting maybe once every couple of weeks until my big Christmas spectacular, since I will need lots of time for that.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. I’ll see you all in my Thanksgiving post, if not before that.

To make it up to you, please admire this adorable picture of my Chihuahua.

Have a great week!

P.S. If you have not been reading my posts on my website, please take a minute to hop on over there right now. I made a couple changes to suit the fall season.

The Christmas Tag

Hi, guys. I hope you are recovering from Christmas yesterday, whether that involves coming out of a food coma, cleaning up wrapping paper, or lounging on the couch in your pajamas. 🙂

Jewel tagged me for The Christmas Tag, which I promised I would do yesterday, but I wound up being kind of busy and it sort of slipped my mind. Sorry about that, Jewel.

Here are the rules for the tag:

– thank the person that nominated you with a link to their blog
– add the picture in your blog (the red one above)
– copy these rules into your post
– add a link to the original post (https://foreveramericangir.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/christmas-tag/)
– answer the ten questions (you can add extra Christmas-related questions if you want)
– tag at least three other bloggers with links to their blogs
– have fun!

These are the ten questions!

What is your favorite thing about Christmas??

I love picking out presents for everyone, wrapping them, and placing them under the tree. Also, I love the spirit of the season and how everyone seems really happy. Plus, there are Christmas parties to go to!

-What is your favorite Christmas memory??

Hmm. Let me think about that . . . okay, this isn’t my favorite memory, but looking back on it is kind of funny. In 2012, I had really wanted McKenna’s loft bed. I was looking through my mom’s email for something (I really wasn’t snooping, I was actually looking for a specific email that pertained to me, I just can’t remember what it was), and I came across an email to our neighbor. Well, since I was much younger at the time and had no self-control whatsoever, I read the email, and as it turned out, my neighbor was keeping McKenna’s bed at her house until Christmas.

Although now that I think about it, that was for Hanukkah.

-Do you have any Christmas traditions?? 

Yep! We always get pajamas on Christmas Eve, and then wear them while we drive around at look at Christmas lights! It’s really fun!

-What is your Christmas wish??

Well, I really wanted to get a tripod for Christmas, which I did!!!!!!! *squeals* 

-What is your favorite Christmas dish??

I make a really yummy pie called a Double Musky pie, plus my dad makes prime rib, which is really good too.

– What is your favorite Christmas decoration??

This year my mom hung garlands above our window and strung lights through them. I looks really pretty. (But of course the tree is lovely too.) 🙂

 

-Whats your favorite Christmas song?

I love O Holy Night and Hallelujah.

-Where do you usually celebrate Christmas?

In our living room. 😉

-What does the Christmas spirit mean to you?

I think it means to set aside your differences to come together as a big family. Amidst all the hubbub, I think we’re trying to slow down all the hubbub and remember the important things in life.

-Out of anyone in the world would you want to spend Christmas with?

I honestly have no answer to this question. 🙂

Okay, that’s all for the tag. Since Christmas is over, I will tag anyone who wants to do this. Sorry I didn’t get to this yesterday!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #12: Surprise! (A Photostory) + Giveaway Winner

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!

It’s Christmas! Finally! December 25th, 2017.

I hope you all are having a very merry Christmas. Please, chat away in the comments. Tell me what you got, what you’re having for dinner, how your family celebrated, traditions, etc.

And now, onto the epic Christmas photostory I promised you! (Apologies in advance for any blurry/dark pictures!)

“Can we open presents now?” Lindsey begs.

 

“Why not?” Crystal replies. “It is Christmas, after all.”

“I think this one is for you, Lindsey,” Molly says, handing Lindsey a bright red bag.

Lindsey unwraps the present.

“The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict!” she squeals. “Thank you thank you thank you!!!”

“This one is yours, Grace,” Morgan says sweetly, holding up a brown box tied with a bright red bow.

Grace opens the box. “Earrings!”

“This one is for you, Morgan,” Emily tells her sister softly.

“Aw, a chew toy for Chocolate Chip! He’ll love it – thank you!” Morgan exclaims.

“Now, here’s your present, Em,” Morgan says, handing Emily a Santa Claus bag.

Emily pulls out the wrapping paper.

“Oh, a music book!”

“Thank you, everybody.”

“Hey, Crystal, here’s yours,” Molly tells Crystal, holding up her present.

“Oh, for me?” Crystal asks. “Thank you.”

“Eek! A fairy costume! Hold on, let me go put it on!” Crystal shrieks.

She returns a few minutes later wearing the glitzy costume.

“McKenna, this one is yours,” Lindsey says.

McKenna opens the box excitedly. “A FITBIT!!!!”

“It fits perfectly!” McKenna exclaims. “You guys are da best!”

“Here, Molly,” Grace says, holding up an owl bag. “I think this one is yours.”

Molly pulls out the tissue paper, practically smothering herself.

“SAT Secrets! It’s just what I wanted!” Molly exclaims. “Thank you so much!”

Lindsey snorts ungracefully.

Emily elbows her. “Lindsey.”

All of a sudden, the doorbell rings.

“Hey, who’s going to get that?” McKenna asks. “We’re all in our pajamas.”

“I’ll get it,” Crystal answers. “I’m the only one not in my PJs.”

“Um, Crystal, maybe you shouldn’t-”

Crystal ingores her and jets up the stairs in her fairy costume.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“Oh, my apologies,” Crystal says, sliding her fairy mask on top of her head.

“Is this the American Girls in Alaska family?” the girl asks in a Southern accent.

Crystal nods. “Yes, it is. I’m Crystal.”

“Hey, who’s this?” Grace asks, bounding up the stairs.

“I have no idea,” Crystal replies.

“I’m Tessa,” the girl says in a Southern accent.

“Hey, I’m Grace,” Grace introduces herself.

Molly suddenly appears out of nowhere. “Hello. I’m Molly. Sorry we’re all in our pajamas.”

“It’s fine,” Tessa says. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hey, who’re you?” Lindsey asks rudely.

“Lindsey, be nice,” Morgan chides, appearing behind Lindsey. “Hi, I’m Morgan, and this is Lindsey.”

“Are you our new sister?” McKenna asks. “Hi, I’m McKenna.”

“And this is Emily,” Morgan says, prodding Emily forward.

“Why don’t you come downstairs?” Crystal asks Tessa.

“Alright,” Tessa agrees.

Back downstairs, Morgan says, “We’re so sorry, Tessa. We don’t have a present for you.”

“Yes, you do,” Tessa tells her. “You’re my new family. And that’s the best thing I could ask for.”

WELCOME TESSA!

-End of Photostory-

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I GOT A NEW DOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tessa Elizabeth is a customized Truly Me #24 doll who I bought off of Ebay. I purchased a wig from Beautifully Custom, the Cocoa Caramel Swirl wig. Isn’t it gorgeous????

Anyway, I love Tessa sooooo much, and I hope you’ll all welcome her into the American Girls in Alaska family.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for . . .

The giveaway winner!

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Kaylyn!

Congratulations, Kaylyn!

I will be contacting you shortly to get your shipping address.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!

If you would like to enter another giveaway of mine, never fear, because I will be doing one shortly. I am thinking about doing one for my 100th post, which is very soon.

A big thank you to AG Doll Dreams for her amazing Fitbit tutorial and to Micah @ Mixiepixie7 on YouTube for her mini book tutorial. Go check out AG Doll Dreams blog here and, if you’re allowed to, check out Micah’s channel on YouTube.

Okay, everyone! That is all for now! I will be back later today with The Christmas Tag, which I was nominated for. But until then . . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #11: Christmas is . . . Caroling

Okay, everybody! This is it! The last TDOC post before Day #12 – Christmas!!!!! Can you believe it’s just one day away???

ONE. DAY.

I can’t believe it, either. In the meantime, here’s a very, very short photostory!

There’s a knock on the door. I rush over to answer it.

It’s carolers! (Sorry this picture is so dark.)

“Hi,” I squeak nervously. I’ve never been very good around people.

(Also, now you can see how amazing Em’s hair looks!)

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la la la la, la la la la!” they sing merrily.

“Troll the ancient yuletide carol, fa la la la la, la la la la.”

“Thank you so much!” I cry. “Merry Christmas!”

Okay, that was it. This post is super short because I HAVE to get to work on my Christmas photostory. It’s going to take a long time to do, so I’ve gotta go!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Countdown to Christmas: One day!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #10: Christmas is . . . Holiday Hairstyles

Day #10???? Say what now????? 

Yep! It’s Day #10 of TDOC here on American Girls in Alaska. Today I will be doing my first ever hair tutorial! I will be showing you two cute holiday hairstyles, as modeled by Grace and Emily!

Style #1: Flipped Braid Bun

Step 1: Braid your doll’s hair.

Step 2: Grab the braid by the end and pull it up. (My mom is holding it here, Grace’s hair is not floating.) 🙂

Step 3: Tuck the elastic part under the braid.

Step 4: Bobby pin the braid so that it stucks to the doll’s head.

Ta-da! Simple and chic!

Hairstyle #2: French Twist Braid

Step 1: Seperate a small section of hair from the doll’s head.

Step 2: Seperate that section in two.

Step 3: Cross the left section over the right section.

Step 4: This is a bit hard to explain, but you’re going to take hair from the rest of the doll’s head and add it to the the section on the left (the one that is hanging down).

Step 5: (Sorry, this one is a little blurry.) Pull the left section over the right one. (Like you’re twisting it, which is technically what you are doing.)

Step 6: Continue to grab hair and add it to the section hanging down before twisting that section over. If you know how to French braid, this should be very simple.

Sadly, my picture of the side of her hair would not upload, but it looked really cool! 😦

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you try these styles, send pictures to americangirlsak@gmail.com!

Just a friendly reminder, tomorrow is the last day to enter my giveaway. 🙂

Countdown to Christmas: Two days!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #9: Christmas is . . . Ice Skating

Day #9 already!?!? Can you believe it?!?! I can’t wait for Christmas!!!

And, in the spirit of the season, I did an ice skating photoshoot of Molly! If you like this photoshoot, check out AG Doll Adventure’s ice skating photoshoot here. Coincidentally, we did ours on the same day!

The poem, Frozen Floor, is one I wrote myself. I hope you enjoy it!

A mirror

With no reflection

Step, glide

Wind in face

Thrilling

Exhilarating

Slice of blade

On frozen floor

Swish, swish

Free

Flying

Not wobbling

Soaring

Skating

Arms, legs

Flying free

Twirl, spin

Can’t fall down

Cold air

Can’t breathe

Graceful

On the frozen floor

Did you like it? I wrote the poem about a month ago, but I never realized how well it would fit with this photoshoot.

Quick story, when I was skating, there was this boy there who was like, “Mom, there’s this girl taking pictures of her doll.” Why is it that people don’t think that dolls are for bigger girls, too??? Amiright???

See you all tomorrow!

Countdown to Christmas: Three days!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #8: Christmas is . . . Charity

Okay, everyone! It’s time for Day #8 of TDOC! I can’t wait for this one!

“Hey, everyone, it’s Emily. I’m breaking out of my shell today to lead TDOC Day #8. Why? This post is about a topic that is very important to me!”

“Some of you may know about Operation Christmas Child (I’ll call it OCC for short). OCC is a great organization led by Samaritan’s Purse that gets shoeboxes full of little presents to children in foreign countries. Some of these children are very poor, and the shoebox you pack and send to them may be the only present they get on Christmas. Today, I will be showing you how to pack your shoebox.”

“You can pick up your OCC shoebox at places like your church. At this time of year, it is too late to do an OCC shoebox, but this may be helpful for next Christmas.”

“When you pack your shoebox, make sure to include a “wow” item. My “wow” item is this cute flower purse. Then, you can pack the rest of the box with personal care items, or smaller toys. I am including a box, a pencil, some hair accessories, and a comfy pillow.”

“However, do not pack candy; toothpaste; gum; used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives, or military figures; chocolate or food; seeds; fruit rolls or other fruit snacks; drink mixes (powdered or liquid); liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans. This information has been taken from the Samaritan’s Purse website.”

“Now, pack your shoebox!”

“My box is all packed!”

“Once your box is packed, take it to an official drop-off location. You can find the locations here.”

“Remember, this shoebox may be the only present a child in a foreign country gets for Christmas. Do you part and help make a child’s Christmas special!”

“Alright, that’s all for now. My sister will be back tomorrow with a super-cute photoshoot!”

Hey, everyone, it’s AGs in Alaska. I just wanted to let everyone know that I did not mean to offend anyone with my giveaway rules post. I hope no one thought I sounded too harsh, I promise I was just trying to make sure everyone who wanted to enter could get the chance to. I am super excited for the giveaway, and I want as many people as possible to enter! So I’m very sorry if I offended you. 😦

See you all tomorrow!

Countdown to Christmas: Four days!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #7: Christmas is . . . Building Snowmen

Hello, people of the earth! Greetings! ‘Tis I, AGs in Alaska . . . with TDOC, Day #7! Today, Lindsey is building a snowman.

Quick question – do you guys have any ideas for other TDOC posts? I need two or three more ideas. TIA!

P.S. All of the lyrics are from the movie Frozen, and the song is written by Kristen Bell and Katie Lopez. 

Do you want to build a snowman?
Come on lets go and play

I never see you anymore
Come out the door

It’s like you’ve gone away…
We used to be best buddies

And now we’re not
I wish you would tell me why!

Do you want to build a snowman?
It doesn’t have to be a snowman

Go away
Okay, bye…

Do you want to build a snowman?

Is that snowman not the cutest thing ever?!?!?! And isn’t Lindsey adorable in her little outfit?!?!?!

I can’t believe we’re so close to Christmas. Remember to enter my giveaway, guys! I am choosing the winner in just a few days. 🙂

See ya later!

Countdown to Christmas: Five days!