Cabbage Patch Parents Line Up To Adopt Dolls

New Cabbage Patch Parents Line Up To Adopt Adorable Dolls

Permed hair, legwarmers and shoulder pads. The nostalgia for the 80’s is rampant and now 21 years on, one of the icons of the decade is set to make a come back – the Cabbage Patch Kid.

The doors will open for the worldwide re-launch of the next generation of Cabbage Patch Kids at 8.00am on Monday 2 August at The Warehouse stores around New Zealand.

Over 100 million individual Cabbage Patch Kids have been adopted worldwide since 1982 – and hoards of eager Kiwi Cabbage Patch mums are expected to line up to get their hands on the new arrivals.

Their pudgy faces, stumpy arms and close-set eyes have made them the most sought-after doll in the world.

“The thing about Cabbage Patch dolls that makes them so special is that every one is unique, has it’s own name and is adoptable,” said Stuart Hay, director of toy distributor Planet Fun.

“No two dolls are the same, so people really bond with Cabbage Patch Kids – a far cry from the mass-produced dolls of recent times.”

“As a part of the relaunch we have made a 25-minute documentary about New Zealanders and their Cabbage Patch Kids. It’s fantastic viewing – the passion and fervour that these little dolls created in kiwi girls and boys is quite extraordinary,” said Hay.

Over 500 eager Cabbage Patch Parents submitted their stories for the CPK documentary, and nearly 30 of these were chosen to appear in the documentary.

Cabbage Patch Kids were the brainchild of Xavier Roberts, a sculptor living in Georgia, USA in 1979. He began "adopting" out his creations from “hospitals” - hiring "doctors" and "nurses" to deliver dolls from the Cabbage Patch every few minutes. New “parents” received birth certificates and adoption papers.

Cabbage Patch dolls were in such high demand during the 1983 Christmas season that the US$25 Kids were "adopted" on the black market for as high as US$2,000.

Efforts to get hold of one saw fistfights break out between customers, stores holding lotteries to determine eligible purchasers and police being called to help quell near-riots. Once home, some “parents” even paid babysitters to watch their Kids when they went out.