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!

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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!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #6: Christmas is . . . Sledding

And . . . we’re back, with TDOC Day #6!!!!!

CHRISTMAS IS IN SIX DAYS PEOPLE!!!!!

In the meantime, here’s a cute photoshoot of Grace and McKenna!

“Ahh!”

“Erm, Grace? I’m still here!”

What is up with her hair???

See you guys tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed the photoshoot!

Countdown to Christmas: Six days!

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #4: Christmas is . . . Baking

Hi, everyone! It’s Grace here! Today, we’re going to be making some delicious Christmas cookies!

Bonus: this recipe can actually be followed and used to make real-life cookies! However, American Girls in Alaska is not responsible for any injury, damage, or death that will not occur while making these cookies, but she has to say that just in case anyone does anything stupid.

The supplies you will need for this recipe are: 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs, and sprinkes.

But before you mix anything, preheat the over to 375° degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 1: In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well and set aside.

Okay, I’ve got it!

Step 2: In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or a firm wooden spoon, mix the butter until it’s creamy and lighter in color.

Step 3: Mix in the brown and white sugars.

Step 4: Add the vanilla and eggs. Sorry the eggs weren’t showing in the ingredients picture!

Step 5: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture.

Ta-da!

Step 6:  Make little cookie balls that are the size of the rounded part of the spoon.

Like these here!

Step 7: This is my favorite part! Flatten the cookies slightly and shake holiday sprinkles on top.

Step 8: Place them onto ungreased baking sheets and bake them for 8-12 minutes!

This is how the cookies turned out!

Sorry some of these images are weird, the camera wasn’t focusing right. It was going in and out and in and out really fast.

Anyway, a bonus picture to show you the giant mess these made!

AGs in Alaska had to wipe her hands on tissue paper for wrapping presents before taking pictures.

Anyway, hope you guys liked this post! If you make these, shoot us a picture or two at americangirlsak@gmail.com, or through our Contact Page. 🙂

This recipe is from The First Book of Baking by Jeanne Besser, and the recipe credits go to her. 🙂

Alright, see y’all tomorrow! Au revoir!

Countdown to Christmas: Eight days!

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #2: Christmas is . . . Time for Tags

Hello, fantastic blogging elves! It’s time for Day 2 of TDOC! Remember when I did that huge tag post last week? Well, do you recall . . . the most famous reindeer of all . . . sorry, nope. Do you remember me saying that I couldn’t do one of the tags until I had my decorations up? Well, if you don’t, shame on you, because I did! MWAH HA HA!!!

Sorry. Anyway, I was tagged for the Holiday Tag by the Blogging Doll Sisters. Thank you guys so much! Here are the rules for the tag:

• Answer all questions honestly
• Take at least 5 pictures of your doll or doll-sized decorations for the holiday (Thanksgiving or Christmas)
• Tag at least 2 other bloggers with doll blogs
• If you have more than one blog, then DON’T TAG YOURSELF
• You need to ask at least 5 questions

Here are the questions they are asking me!

1. How many dolls do you have?
2. Which holiday do you like better: Thanksgiving or Christmas?
3. Would you rather have Christmas before Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving before Christmas?
4. Do you like pumpkin pie with or without whipped cream?
5. Do you like gravy on mashed potatoes?
6. Do you open some presents on Christmas Eve, or all of them on Christmas?
7. What do you think you’re getting for Christmas?

Here are my answers:

1. I have seven dolls.
2. Christmas! Thanksgiving has a lot of food . . . but then again, so does Christmas. I love the holiday spirit and cheer. It’s just a great time of year.
3. I like having Thanksgiving before Christmas, because no offense Thanksgiving, but Christmas is a bigger deal. I like having Thanksgiving because the start to the holiday season, with Christmas at the tail end. (New Year’s: You’re forgetting about me!)
4. With whipped cream, of course!
5. Definitely! I had some really good gravy this year.
6. I open a couple of presents on Christmas Eve.
7. Well, I know for sure that I’m getting an iPod Shuffle. I won’t tell you how I know this, but I promise it has nothing to do with me. 🙂 I am hoping to get some doll clothes, too.

Those were super fun questions, guys! Now, onto the pictures!

I took a few extra pictures of the doll tree for this purpose.

I really love this one!

Hang a shining star up on the highest bow . . .

Or zip-tie it. 🙂

Okay, okay, it’s not really a zip-tie, it’s one of those green metal ornament hangers that I unbent and used it to attach the star on.

Human view!

Excuse me, Crystal, why are you not facing the camera?!

Crystal: Hey , I was distracted. Lindsey was making faces at me. 😦

A close-up of the tree decorating.

I hope you guys liked those extra bonus pictures!

For this tag, I am tagging:

AAG @ designsbymaelyn

Laura @ addyl0ver

If either of you girls can’t do the tag, please let me know so I can tag someone else!

Here are your questions:

1. Do you stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve?
2. Are you traveling anywhere for the holidays?
3. If you could travel anywhere for the holidays, where would it be?
4. What is your favorite holiday food of all time?
5. Does your family have any holiday traditions?
6. What do you want for Christmas?
7. What is your favorite Christmas song/carol?

Okay, that is it for the tag! Thanks again to the Blogging Doll Sisters!

Countdown to Christmas: Ten days!

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Day #1: Christmas is . . . Decorating

Okay, merry reindeer! This is the moment you have all been waiting for!

CHRISTMAS POSTS!

I’m sure you have all been thinking, “When is AGs in Alaska going to post Christmas stuff?” Well, never fear, that day has finally arrived!

For Christmas 2017, I am doing The Twelve Days of Christmas. Two things: one, I am not copying anyone else who does The Twelve Days of Christmas (TDOC, because typing the whole thing out takes, like, three extra seconds), I have actually been planning to do TDOC for a while now. Two, I am aware that the actual TDOC are actually after Christmas, but I don’t want to do twelve Chrismtas posts after Christmas.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, we’re going to get started with TDOC Post #1!

Presenting . . .

Our Christmas Tree!

This is the bare tree, before we decorated it! It went from an ordinary tree from the forest (okay, Michael’s), to a lovely decorated tree in thirty minutes!

I don’t know why this picture is blurry. #c’estlaphotovie

Anyway, Crystal is stringing lights up on the tree. She used mini twinkle lights and they are soooo pretty when it lit up!

Also, some of these pictures are super dark and some of them aren’t. It’s weird. 😦

I swear the lights were on in my the girls’ room when they did this!

 

Time to start putting on the ornaments! Michael’s has a great selection of mini Christmas decorations. Or at least they did when I the girls bought their supplies. At this time of December, they’re probably all out.

Here, Morgan and Molly are placing the little balls on the tree. (Again, the lights were on, my curtains were pulled back, and I had a lamp for extra light! Grrrrr. At least you can see how pretty the lights are!

WHY IS IT SO BLURRY????

Crystal: AGs in Alaska, stop taking over! We get it that you don’t like the bluriness!

AGs in Alaska: Don’t you sass me, young lady!

Crystal: (dramatic sigh) Fine!

And this is Crystal putting the topper on the tree! Isn’t it beautiful? Notice how it’s more like zip-tied and less of “put on” the tree. That’s because Crystal bought a topper that was was too heavy for the tree!

Crystal: Hey, all girls make mistakes.

Time for presents!

And this is what the finished tree looks like! For our first-ever tree, we think it turned out pretty great. What about you guys?

AGs in Alaska: Okay, I’m taking over now.

Crystal: Noooooooooooooooo!

Okay, everybody, that’s it for our first TDOC post. We will have one every day until December 25th, when I will do our epic Christmas photostory. And trust me, it will be epic.

Toodles for now!

Countdown to Christmas: Eleven days!

How I Customized My Blog For The Holidays

Hi, everybody! Oh my gosh, Christmas is in TWO WEEKS!!!!! Eek! Who’s excited????

You may have noticed something different about my blog, or at least I hope you did. If you didn’t, then you’re a very bad child and should be put on Santa’s naughty list. 🙂 XD

Okay, if you haven’t already noticed, I redid my blog in honor of the Christmas season. It literally only took me three minutes, but I couldn’t figure out what to post today, so this is what you get.

First, I went to my WordPress dashboard and clicked Customize. Don’t click Themes, which is right next to it, or it will just take you to your different theme options.

Next, go to Colors and Backgrounds. I clicked on Palettes for my green color, but instead of having white on the side of my blog, I went to Manual and chose the red color that they had displayed. Then I clicked on “Pick Your Own Color” and changed the dark red they had to a brighter shade of red.

I then slected the little photo button up at the top to choose my header image. I found a picture of Molly with a present and cropped that to fit. Guys, if you have the same theme as me, you probably understand how hard it is to find a picture that will look nice in that tiny little space AND not make the words unreadable, especially since you can’t change the font color. Unless you can and I haven’t figured it out yet.

Lastly, I clicked “Publish” and went back to my dashboard. Then, I clicked Settings. In General, there will be a button that will make it snow. You change that to ON and then your blog will have snow! It’s really super easy, I was expecting it to be a lot harder to do that. But nope!

I hope this tutorial helped in case you were wondering how to do any of these things, which you probably weren’t, but if you wanted to make it snow and couldn’t figure out how, then maybe this helped you!

Alright, that’s all for now! CHRISTMAS POSTS START ON THURSDAY!!!!

Also, real quick, Emmie is hosting an awards “show” called the Emmie Awards! Please check it out here, and if you think I am worthy of any such nominations, please nominate me! https://pheonixamericangirlworld.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/introducing-the-emmie-awards/

Do you like my new holiday sign-off? I did it on Canva in three minutes. 🙂

While I Was Away . . .

Prepare yourselves, people. This is going to be one big blog post.

Remember how I had all of my posts scheduled for the month of November? Because of that, I was unable to do tags or awards. Now that’s it’s December, I can do the SIX awards and tags I’ve been nominated for!!!!!

That’s right! SIX!!!

Like I said, long blog post.

However, there is one tag I will not be doing until later on this month. It is The Holiday Tag, and I was nominated for it by the Blogging Doll Sisters. The reason I am not doing it today is because it involves having holiday decorations up and mine will not be revealed for another week or so.

Because I have five entire tags/awards to do, I may not be able to nominate/tag the specified number of people for each one. Sorry about that. I’m aiming to select two-three people for each.

Without further ado, let’s get started with the Blogger Recognition Award!

Here are the rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Write a post to show your award.
Give a brief story of how your blog started.
Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
Select (up to 15) other bloggers for this award.
Comment on each blog to let them know you nominated them and provide a link to the post you created.

I wwas nominated for this award by Bella. Bella is a super-sweet blogger, and I love to read her posts! If you haven’t already checked her blog out, it’s definitely worth your time. 🙂

I started American Girls in Alaska right after I finished my previous blog. I really wanted to have a blog, so I got my mom’s permission and started thinking about what kind of blog I wanted it to be about. I was trying to decide between a pet blog or a doll blog when Loren from Happy House of AG inspired me to start a doll blog! I realized how fun it would be to do one.

My two pieces of advice are  . . .

DON’T let blogging take up all of your time. You can easily get sucked into your WordPress reader and notifications bar, replying to comments and whatnot. Get all of your schoolwork/chores done FIRST.

DON’T let other blogger’s blogging styles make you feel like you should change your own. Don’t compare your pictures, writing styles, etc. to yours. You are a unique blogger – don’t change!

The bloggers I choose to nominate are . . .

The Blog Dolly!

and . . .

Twintastic AG!

Congrats, girls!

My next one is a tag. It’s called the Fall Themed Tag, and I was nominated for it by The Blog Dolly. Thank you so much, Jenna! Jenna has an awesome blog that just got a new customization, so definitely go check it out. 🙂

Here are the rules:

These are the questions Jenna is asking me:

Q: What is your favorite fall drink?

A: Vanilla Chai tea. I drink this year round, but it seems to fit best for fall.

Q: Apple cider or pumpkin spice?

A: Pumpkin spice!

Q: Pumpkin pie or apple pie?

A: Apple apple apple!

Q: Red, orange, and yellow or yellow, white, and orange?

A: Yellow, white, and orange.

Q: Scary costumes or cute costumes?

A: Definitely cute.

Q: Your favorite part about fall is…

A: The chill in the air, promising that snow is just around the corner.

Q: A football game or football shaped cookies?

A: Since football is less interesting than watching paint dry, I’m going with cookies.

Q: Favorite fall outfit?

A: A cozy sweater and my favorite pair of jeans, with some fuzzy socks.

Q: Do you love the colors or the scents of fall?

A: The scents.

Q: Pre-made fall crafts or DIY ones?

A: I’m not super crafty, but I’m going with DIY.

Q: What is your AG dolls favorite fall outfit?

A: The one Emily is wearing here.

Okay, that’s alll for the questions!

I have decided to tag The Blogging Sisters and AG Doll Adventures and Lizzy!

Have fun, you guys! Your questions are . . .

1. What is your favorite color of leaf – red, orange, yellow, green, or brown?
2. Have you ever done a fall photoshoot?
3. What is your favorite doll sweater?
4. What is your favorite part about Thanksgiving? That is, assuming, you live in the US.
5. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, or pecan pie?
6. Did you know that there was no pumpkin pie until the second Thanksgiving?
7. Do you like Halloween or Thanksgiving better?
8. What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?
9. Did you go anywhere for Thankgiving?
10. Did anyone visit you for Thanksgiving?
11. Was there snow on the ground where you live for Thanksgiving?

Okay, that’s all for the Fall Themed Tag!

And now, we’re moving onto the New Blogger Tag!

I was nominated for this by AG Doll Dreams. Thank you so, so much! The rules are:

1. Thank the blogger that nominated you and link their blog

2. Answer the questions they gave you

3. Nominate at least 3 new bloggers

4. Ask at least 5 or more questions for them to answer

Her questions are:

1. What do you like most about AG dolls?

Their hair and facial features, as well as their unique personalities.

2. Why did you decide to start a blog?

I have blogged before, and I love connecting with my followers!

3. Do you shop on Etsy?

No, I never have. But I have checked it out before.

4. Do you follow any non-AG blogs?

Yes.

5. What’s your favorite jungle animal?

Cheetah!

6. Indoors or outdoors?

In the summer, outdoors. In the winter, indoors.

7. Do you like being tagged?

Of course!

I am tagging:

Kaitlyn

Dazzling Dollies

The AG Homeschooler

My questions for you three are . . .

How do you come up with ideas for posts?

What is your favorite type of post?

Who/what inspired you to start blogging?

Is it difficult to manage school, family stuff, chores, and blogging?

Why is blogging important to you?

Have fun, girls!

Now, onto the Blue Sky Tag! I was nominated by The AG Homeschooler – thank you so much! The rules are:

Thank the person who nominated you.
Answer the 11 questions.
Tag 11 new people.
Give them 11 new question to answer.

Q: Do you like Lab Rats? If so, what’s your favorite episode?

A: No, I have never seen it.

Q: What are you wearing right now?

A: My PJ’s.

Q: Would you rather have the power to rewind time or pause time?

A: Rewind! Definitely rewind! I would go back and fix embarrassing mistakes and relive happy moments from my childhood.

Q: What job would you be absolutely terrible at?

A: Politician/President of the United States. I am really not very commanding and I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings.

Q: If you ruled your own country, who would you get to write the national anthem?

A: I would probably write it myself, since I’m a writer.

Q: Would you rather have a unicorn horn or a squirrel tail?

A: Oh, geez. A squirrel’s tail, because I could probably hide it.

Q: What one thing can you not live without? (Besides the necessities)

A: Books! BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!

Q: Would you rather be an adult your whole life or a kid your whole life?

A: Wow, this is a really hard one. I’m going to have to say a kid, because you have less responsibilities.

Q: Would you rather be locked in an amusement park or a library?

A: I think this was pretty much covered in the one thing you cannot live without question. XD 🙂

Q: What’s the grossest food combination you can think of?

A: Froot loops, milk, and ketchup.

Q: If you were challenged to a duel, what weapons would you use?

A: A sword, and probably a long-handled broom.

Okay! Those were really fun to answer! I have decided to tag:

Sam

Clara

You get the following questions to answer:

What is your favorite thing to drink?

Hors d’oeuvres or a five-course meal?

Have you ever flown first class?

What was the scariest thing you have ever experienced?

Do you blog on a computer, phone, or tablet?

What is your favorite part about your blog? (Comments, design, post types, etc.)

How many followers would you like to have by the end of the year?

What is your favorite type of shoe? (Heel, sneaker, flat, pointe shoes, flip-flops, etc.)

What is your favorite sport?

What is your favorite holiday, and why?

Do you think it’s okay for older teens/adults to like dolls?

Have fun with the questions, everybody!

Lastly, I was nominated by Jenna, The Blog Dolly, for the Versatile Blogger Award! (VBA for short.) Thank you so, so, so much!

The rules are as follows:

Thank the person who gave you this award.
Include a link to their blog.
Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
Nominate those 15 bloggers for the VBA.
Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

Okay, I cannot nominated fifteen people, so I’m going to do as many as possible, and then anyone else who wants to do it is welcome to.

Madi Grace

Stuffie Adventures

Emmie

Samantha

Jewel

Olivia

AG Doll Dreams

Bella

Okay, everyone! That is it for now. Wow, this post took a long time, and if you read it all the way through, A HUGE CONGRATS! And if any of you are unable to do any of the tags, my feelings will not be hurt. If any of you who weren’t tagged/nominated want to participate, go right ahead. 🙂

I’ll be back on Monday! See you guys soon!

-AGs in Alaska-

Name That Doll #3 Results

Hey, everybody! Can you believe it’s December?

And on that note, I’d better explain that y’all should forget I even HAVE a posting schedule this month. With Christmas right around the corner, I’ll be making some adjustments with my posting. More on that later.

Anyway, the real reason you’re here is to see what name was most voted for our lovely doll here, TrulyMe #49. Unless you already read the comments and counted what name was most voted for already. In that case, I don’t blame you. I would have done the exact same thing. 🙂

(The picture is from the AG website.)

The names to choose from were:

• Amari
• Rachel
• Marielle
• Victoria
• Alexandria

The winning name was . . .

A tie between Alexandria and Amari! They both had four votes. Victoria received two votes, as did Rachel. Poor Marielle got one vote (although, if I could vote in this, I would have voted for Marielle).

Thank you so much, eveybody, for participating in Name That Doll #3. Would you like to see more of these in the future? Let me know in the comments!

Have a fantabulastic week!

-AGs in Alaska-