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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 evern 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.As the popularity of the dolls grew, Roberts opened a factory where he mass produced them, and in 1982 he 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. No doubt little Jimmy already has his wish list for this year's visit from Santa, and Mum and Dad will be sharpening their elbows in anticipation already. If not for a Cabbage Patch Kid, for something just as essential...
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