Cabbage Patch Kids

Pick your favorite and bring it home! Cabbage Patch Kids turned “adopting” a doll into one of the biggest Christmas toy crazes ever.

You didn't just buy one - you adopted a Cabbage Patch Kid! Chubby cheeks, yarn hair and a name all its own! Cabbage Patch Kids weren't supposed to be just another doll. Each came with its own name, birth certificate and adoption papers. You picked the one you liked and took it to its new home - if you could find one.

In 1983, finding one to take home wasn't easy. Cabbage Patch Kids became the toy to have for Christmas that year. Stores sold out almost as soon as new shipments arrived. I remember the news stories and film clips - parents waiting in long lines, crowds rushing into stores, and even actual fights as people tried to get the latest craze. Many stores had to hand out numbered tickets just to try and keep things under control. By the end of 1983, almost three million Cabbage Patch Kids had been sold, and there still weren't enough to go around.

Part of the appeal was that they weren't all alike. Each had different faces, different hair, different clothes. Boys and girls. And each had its own name and birthday. The idea was to find the Cabbage Patch Kid that was uniquely yours.

The craziness eventually died down, but Cabbage Patch Kids didn't disappear. They're still available today, with different dolls, sizes and styles. And they still follow that initial concept - you're not just buying another doll, you're adopting one.