With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, American Girl is continuing one of our favorite annual traditions: its Girl of the Year, a special doll with an equally special story. This year's Girl of the Year has finally been unveiled: It's Lila Monetti, a 10-year-old who loves gymnastics and horses — and whose accessories and playsets are sure to be a hit this holiday season.
American Girl's press release dove into all the things that make Lila special:
Lila is from St. Paul, Minnesota, where she's a confident gymnast but a bit nervous about joining a competitive gymnastics gym without her best friend, Katie, who she's done gymnastics with her whole life.
But Lila is also trying out new hobbies — like going to horseback riding camp for the first time. There, she meets Hollyhock, a new horse who is struggling to fit in with the rest of the herd, just like Lila at her new gym, and the two form an immediate bond.
During her time at camp, Lila learns how her gymnastics skills make her strong enough to train Hollyhock — and how her new horseback riding skills can translate to the gymnastics gym when she gets home — as her new friendship with Hollyhock helps her build confidence.
To celebrate Lila and further American Girl's commitment to literacy, the brand is donating $25,000 worth of Girl of the Year books to Save the Children's U.S. Literacy Program.
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Lila 18-inch Doll & Journal (Girl of the Year 2024)
Lila's character comes to life as an 18-inch doll dressed in a glittery pink tank top and platform sandals. She also comes with cool hair accessories and jewelry. Every Lila doll comes with a copy of "My Journal by Lila Monetti," an illustrated paperback book that tells Lila’s story of gymnastics and horse camp.
Hollyhock Horse (Girl of the Year 2024)
For horseback riding fans, this year's Girl of the Year collection also comes with Lila's four-legged sidekick, Hollyhock! At horseback riding camp, Lila spends extra time grooming Hollyhock, styling her beautiful long mane and braiding her tail to match her own hairdo. You can do the same — Hollyhock comes with gem and hook stickers for decorating her mane, tail and saddle, plus flower hair clips, hair extensions, mini hair elastics, a blue comb and a horse hairstyle booklet with step-by-step instructions to style Hollyhock just like Lila would.
Lila's Accessories for 18-inch Dolls (Girl of the Year 2024)
Dress up your Lila doll even more with this accessory pack that includes Lila's cross-body bag, cellphone, orange sunglasses, extra hair accessories and more.
Honeycrisp Hill Horse Stable (Girl of the Year 2024)
Complete the scene for Lila and Hollyhock with the Honeycrisp Hill Horse Stable playset. Honeycrisp Hill is where Lila goes to horseback riding camp and meets Hollyhock. The playset comes with horseback riding and horse care accessories.
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Christina Marfice writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
