American Girls Pastimes is the name given to the activity sets given to each Historical Character until the release of Kit Kittredge. Billed as "Activities from the Past for Girls of Today," each set consists of Cookbooks, Craft Books, Paper Dolls and Theater Kits.
Cookbooks[]
Cookbooks feature recipes from each era along with historical facts about food preparation and consumption in the era. Each cookbook has items associated with two "meals" and favorite foods.
These were given a small revival as Cooking Studios for selected characters.
Craft Books[]
Craft Books feature different crafts of varying skill from simple to advanced. Several crafts are for toys and playthings of the era, home decoration, or clothing accessories, as well as interspersed facts of the items crafted and casual time.
Craft Kits were made available as well, which included the craft book and several supplies to make three items from each craft book; related Craft Starter Kits only included the supplies.
Paper Dolls[]
Paper Dolls are paper dolls of the characters. These initially included just the character and outfits for her, but was later expanded to include friends and/or family with small sets of outfits.
These were later available in the form of Play Scenes and Paper Dolls, including later released characters.
Theater Kits[]
Theater Kits are sets for putting on a quick 20-minute play based on one of the books in the character's Central Series: included are four script books and a director's book that has acting tips, costume and prop ideas, and instructions for presentation; each play is written for a cast of four to six actors.
As a Set: Pastimes[]
In sets, the books came in a card stock slip case with the four activity sets, and were marketed as "Historical Character's Name Pastimes." Purchasing the books this way was at a slight discount to buying them individually.
There was also an offer through American Girl that included the four books and craft starter kits, as well as a carrying case and bow, for $29.95.
A gift wrap kit was given away free for a select time with the purchase of any Central Series book or Pastime book; it contained gift wrap, ribbon, and a blank gift card.