Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Nov. 23, 2012	Dec. 27, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	Dec. 27, 2012 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 23, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Entity Registrant Name	AMERICAN GREETINGS CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000005133
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-28
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		28,780,998	2,856,813