Innocent-looking it may be, but parents everywhere would never again underestimate the pulling power of a pair of pudgy stuffed arms and too-closely set eyes. Never again would they spend the weeks before Christmas waking up in a cold sweat because they couldn't - for love nor money - find a toy store that had any in stock. What am I talking about? The year of 1983, that's what, and the Cabbage Patch Kids craze (or curse, as parents might refer to it).
The Cabbage Patch Kids - not to be confused with the poor imitation Flower Patch Kids, which didn't even have separate fingers - didn't hit the big time straightaway, though. In the beginning, they had been the subjects of an art exhibition created by scuptor, Xavier Roberts. He used German fabric sculpting and quilting methods to produce his (originally termed) 'Little People', which he'd sell at various arts and crafts fairs to substitute his art school fees. Roberts later opened up an area of Babyland General Hospital as a 'birthing' and rehoming department for his Cabbage Patch Kids. Here, people would come to buy their own doll, and even today tourists flock to the site in Georgia, US.
As the popularity of the dolls grew, in 1982 Roberts partnered up with toy manufacturer Coleco to meet demand from the masses (this had been given an unexpected boost with an appearance on reality TV show Real People in the US).
By modern standards, these dolls were rather ugly, with pudgy, round faces, stumpy arms and small, close-set eyes. What seemed to draw kids to them, however, was their uniqueness - a point that was cleverly marketed and made the dolls stand out. Each doll came with its own birth certificate for its new owner to keep in pride of place, so each Cabbage Patch Doll also had its own unique name. Once the adoptive parents (the doll's new owners) filled out the included paperwork and sent this off to the manufacturer, they would then receive a first birthday card in the post! And as if they weren't unique enough, the computer-controlled manufacturing process randomly made small changes to each doll so that no two dolls were the same.
Despite rioting in the aisles as parents fought to get the last Cabbage Patch Doll in the run up to Christmas, the dolls were discontinued in 1989. Hasbro took over production from this point, adding a number of gimmicks, such as ones wit kazoos they could play. Unsurprisingly, this didn't take off, so in 1994 Mattel took over the Cabbage Patch Kid license. The most revolutionary change Mattel made to the dolls was making some available in vinyl - making for much more durable playmates. In 1996, there was also a range of Olympiakids released to cash in on the Olympics that year.
The Talking Cabbage Patch Kid was a side line launch that was perhaps a bit ahead of its time (something Furbys would later get spot on). The price tag for owning a doll that was able to detect the presence of another doll and converse with it without any human interaction was pretty steep back then, plus there was the added price for many of the nightmares that would come from owning such a 'toy'.
In 2003 Toys R Us had its chance to make a mark on Cabbage Patch Kids. It decided to produce 20-inch kids (compared to the usual 14 inches) - in celebration of 20 years of Cabbage Patch Kids.
But enough of the facts. What everyone wants to know is: were they worth the bruises, Mum? Of course they were.
Do You Remember Cabbage Patch Dolls?
Do You Remember Cabbage Patch Dolls?
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mlhart
on
I've had my dolls for about 20 years. I made cloths for my nieces doll-still have my pattern. I have been collecting the small figurenes for over 22 years. I wold love to know the history of the figurenes, and how many were made.
MLH 18,Oct.2007
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jadedoz
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I had heaps of Cabbage Patches growing up. I still have them in the shed. The first one I got was a red haired one named Joy Melda, I got her for christmas of 1985, I was 4 years old.
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Linake
on
I think they are adorable! I can't remember when I got mine, but it is a bald baby with a white one-piece suit. There are little flaps on the suit so it's hands can be exposed or covered to keep warm, and underneath she is wearing a little cloth diaper. That doll has a very distinct sweet smell that is quite comforting to me *^_^*
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Anonymous
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I had 4 dolls. The first 1 i got was called Paxton Ollie a boy, a girl doll called Joyce Sue and another girl 1 that was a Cabbage patch "Premie" slightly smaller than the others and was called Pauline Allisa. i had the pet aswell Kooshis or something similar. And loads of the small hard plastic figures. I seem to recall they had their arses signed???
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Anonymous
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When I was 3(which was 12 years ago) My mom bought me a cpk baby that went potty. I thought she was so cool. I loved her. Now that I am older i didn't like it that much because she was all plastic. Then my best friend Courtney's mom went to Georgia and the went to the hospital. For courtney her mom got her a preemie that was completely hand made. She was so cute and i went back into the love for them. later on I bought one of the modern babies that was dirty blonde named ashlyn marie and I loved her but my favorite was the blessed day my aunt gave me her 1985 brunette kid and blonde baby. I thought they were wonderful. My aunt couldn't find the birth certificates so courtney and i renamed them hannah rose for the blonde, and cali michelle for the brunette. Right now they are next to me and ashlyn is with her aunt courtney and her baby logan pheobe for next week we are going to georgia and going there. We are so excited and want to leave to go now but we can't drive.:(
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Anonymous
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I was about 7. And I wanted a cabbage patch doll to bad, We were really poor, my grandmother made me a deal that i read with her so many books to her and she will buy one for me. every day we would read and she would put points on the point chart. It seemed like it took forever to read enough books to receive it. I finally got it and still have my wonderful cabbage patch doll. i am 30 years old. that was the first thing I work for. For someone else it may just be a doll. but I treasure it so.
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Anonymous
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I always wanted one but never got one as we were really poor in those days!! I still crave one now.Anyone got a spare one mail me salmaa_uk@hotmail.com that I can have for free please!! I love them.
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Anonymous
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I was quit small when the dolls came out. My mom said that she couldn't buy me the origial ones that came out cause stores were all sold out. So she had to buy me one that was just like the original. I was like six years old at the time. Maybe five...Anyways, it didn't matter to me...I still loved it. I collected about like 2 or 3 after that. I think I might still have them somewhere.
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Anonymous
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i still have my original cabbage patch doll, i think i got if for my 7th birthday. Still have the certificate i got with it too, might be worth something one day. who knows.
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Anonymous
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I never really like the look of these but a few girls at school & friends sisters had them. Were these one of the first "must have" toys which were in short supply before Xmas. I remember the Turtles, Tracy Island, Buzz Lightyear & the Nintendo Wii causing perental panic. It was lucky my sister was too young for them & the initial craze had died down by the time she was old enough.
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