Love them or hate them, one toy in the ’80s had kids obsessed and parents waging retail war to get their hands on it: Cabbage Patch Kids.
Born from the imagination of artist Xavier Roberts, these soft-bodied dolls with chubby cheeks and adoption papers were unlike anything toy shelves had witnessed before. They became wildly popular thanks to their unique adoption concept, complete with birth certificates that made each doll feel one-of-a-kind.
Loved beyond measure, parents braved long lines and sold-out shelves to bring one home and avoid having to deal with the disappointed faces of their own kids. These toys were in such high demand and short supply that during the 1983 Christmas shopping season fights broke out in stores across the United States as parents battled to get one for their child. There were long lines, shoving matches and carnage.
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But despite their popularity at the time, parents were likely unaware of the odd backstory created for the dolls, nor how they actually came to be.
Cabbage Patch Kids were originally intended to be called ‘Little People’, with the reason said to be due to Roberts wanting owners to see the dolls as small humans in need of a forever home, as opposed to dolls for profit.
He purchased a property in Cleveland, Georgia and set up the fictional 'birthplace' of his babies, which he named the Babyland General Hospital. Staff here were referred to as doctors and nurses to add to the notion of the dolls being delivered.
The dolls were originally designed by artist Roberts in the late 1970s as hand-stitched soft sculptures before he licensed them to major toy brand Coleco. But a more whimsical back story had to be created.
According to a weird origin story the team came up with, which still featured on the toy company's website, the idea for the brand name traces back to a surreal childhood encounter. As the tale goes, a young Xavier was playing in the woods near the Appalachian mountains of North Georgia when a curious creature, part bee, part bunny, suddenly appeared.
Intrigued, Xavier followed the charming hybrid to a nearby cabbage field, where he discovered a fantastical scene: baby creatures emerging from the cabbages, along with a fully grown boy named Otis. Otis explained that Xavier had an important mission — to help these newborn 'Cabbage Patch' children find loving homes.
The origin story is obviously just a legend, but it adds a peculiar sprinkle of intrigue to the Cabbage Patch Kid tale.
So, if you were wondering how Cabbage Patch Kids come to be, forget the birds and the bees, it’s all about the Bunnybee in a cabbage patch.
Gregory Robinson