The Cabbage Patch Doll could have quite possibly been the defining toy of the 80’s. With their over exagerrated dimples and puffy cheeks, Cabbage Patch Kids were the hit of the decade and were the center of many a fight around Christmas time.
According to the “legend” of the Cabbage Patch Kids, a cabbage patch was discovered by a boy by the name of Xavier Roberts. The crop was being dusted by “Bunnybees” with magic crystals that suddenly turned the heads of cabbages which opened up to produce children inside. This discovery spawned the creation of “Babyland General Hospital” where the kids were given a home and wait anxiously for someone to adopt them.
The actual history of the creation of Cabbage Patch Kids obviously varies slightly. The founder of these kids actually was a man by the name of Xavier Roberts who, at the age of 21, began a type of fabric sculpture known as needle molding. A year later in 1977 he came up with the plan of creating an adoptable doll that came with birth certificates and registered them with the name “Little People.” Each of the Little People was hand made and Xavier began exhibiting them at arts and crafts shows where people generously give $40.00 as “adoption fee.” In 1982, Little People shrank and were made using vinyl heads, thus the Cabbage Patch Kids were born! By the end of 1982, almost 3 million dolls had been “adopted” out but the demand for them still continued to grow. This boom in sales and demand earned the dolls a spot in the record books as the most successful doll ever to be introduced. As the years went on, Cabbage Patch Kids ventured into different markets and adventures. They even became mascots of the US Olympic team in 1992 and 1996 and traveled to Barcelona and Atlanta with the athletes.
Their empire has not slowed down and to this day, Cabbage Patch Kids are one of the highest sought after dolls on the market. The dolls that the children of the 80’s and 90’s grew up with are now being passed on with pride to the next generation.
