Cabbage Patch Dolls – The ‘80s “It” Toy

Fighting over a plush doll might seem ridiculous to some, but in the ‘80s, did you know that people fought tooth and nail over the Cabbage Patch Kids? Originally registered in 1978 as The Little People, these dolls were later renamed and mass-produced in 1982. These dolls (and the events that caused people to go crazy over them) are making headlines once more thanks to HBO’s The Dolls series, a show that chronicles the chaos brought about by these seemingly innocent toys. It stars and is produced by Laura Dern from Big Little Lies and Issa Rae from Insecure. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new HBO series will shine a spotlight on the aftermath of the Cabbage Patch riots, particularly what took place in two small towns in Arkansas and will explore the effects of privilege, class, race, and what it meant to be a good mother back then.

Not unlike the Black Friday chaos that rolls out every year in Wal-Marts and Best Buys across the US, the Cabbage Patch riots were as strangely violent as the name suggests. Although the dolls had been around since the late ‘70s, they weren’t bought by Coleco until the early ‘80s when they were subsequently mass-produced. Coleco seemed to have underestimated the popularity of the doll, leading to riots all over the country.

This photo, taken on the 27th of November 1983, shows a customer happily displaying his purchase – a Cabbage Patch Kid doll, as he leaves a store in south Bellingham, Massachusetts. The picture also reveals the crowded storefront, with people lining up hoping to make a purchase of their own. Cabbage Patch Kids are moon-faced dolls made of cloth that caused waves among shoppers, leading them to line up for more than five hours just to make a purchase.

The Cabbage Patch empire’s rapid rise to popularity may be attributable to brilliant marketing strategies, or maybe it was their gimmick that no two Cabbage Patch Kids were the same. Regardless, it took off to great heights and by the fall and winter season of 1983, these dolls were considered the “it toys” of the season. The increased demand meant that stocks were literally flying off the shelves, with Coleco unable to produce enough to meet demands. According to Timeline, the company produced two million dolls in anticipation of the holiday season, but they ended up being sold out by early October. Hundreds of customers waited in line outside stores for hours on end, hoping to get a chance to grab one of the store’s limited range of 40-50 dolls.

In a 1983 Victoria Advocate article, it stated that it wasn’t unusual for shoppers to travel and even cross state lines and wait in line at different stores just to get a chance at buying a popular toy. Stores ended up raising prices from $17.99 to $23.99, equivalent to about $60 in today’s currency. More often than not, shoppers went home empty-handed, failing to get their hands on the coveted toy. This scarcity led to some arguments and scuffles with fellow shoppers and even some violent incidents. Indeed, it was the first case of holiday hysteria which has now become commonplace in America’s shopping routine.

The same article described incidents in which shoppers were injured, including a woman suffering from a broken leg, a pregnant woman and 75-year old man getting trampled, and another Cabbage Patch hopeful being almost knocked unconscious by a fellow shopper’s elbow. Those who were fortunate enough to get their Cabbage Patch Kid from stores ran to their cars as fast as they could, fearing that someone would grab the doll out of their arms. In a case at a Zayre store, an employee had to use a baseball bat to fend off a crowd of 1,000 trying to enter the store and grab a doll. At other stores, they tried to avoid chaos by handing out tickets for every doll in stock or by limiting the number of people allowed inside at a time.

As crazy as it sounds, these riots truly happened. In fact, they were the inspiration behind the 1988 film, Child’s Play. The film features Good Guy dolls, which drew the same sort of fanaticism as Cabbage Patch kids. Thankfully, no Cabbage Patch Kid has ever been reported to have had any murderous urges.