Document and Entity Information (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Nov. 25, 2011	Aug. 27, 2010	Dec. 30, 2011 Common shares - Class A [Member]	Dec. 30, 2011 Common shares - Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	AMERICAN GREETINGS CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000005133
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Nov. 25, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-29
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 729,061,401
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			35,538,325	2,778,384