#cabbage patch kids

[moreliketearsofpain]

this is my Roman empire

bonus:

[shiftythrifting]

Baby army, avaliable for a moderate price on Marketplace.

[heckyeahponyscans]

One of the benefits of vending at real-life toy shows is you get to chat with real-life people. I complimented a guy's shirt and found out there are marble racing leagues, I helped a guy track down some Shopkins because the ones belonging to his daughter (now a college grad) had accidentally been donated to Goodwill and she was nostalgic for them, and I learned that the vintage action figure of Allura is still one of the few toys she's had.

I also talked with a woman who asked if I had any Cabbage Patch Kids in my booth. (I did not.) She said, "I had one as a child and I always wonder . . ." She smiled, looking across the booths full of toys.

She got her Cabbage Patch doll in 1983, the year of "the craze". They were THE big toy. No modern toy that can compare to that phenomenon. Parents were getting into fistfights over these dolls, buying them from scalpers, or standing in long lines.

The woman at my booth said her aunt was the one who stood in a long line to get her a Cabbage Patch doll; she smiled as she described the doll, she obviously remembered it so well.

Then she said: "I used markers to give her makeup. I wanted to make her beautiful, but my father didn't see it that way. He saw it as me ruining the doll that it took so much effort to get. In anger, he threw it in the trash right in front of me."

She kept smiling wistfully as she was talking, without any apparent ire, even though after all these years she was at a toy show "wondering" about her doll.

As a collector, I love finding a mint condition toy. But when I was a child I cut holes in the vintage baby doll diapers (because I didn't like baby dolls but did like stuffed animals) and I gussied up Little Red Riding Hood's hair with streaks of eyeshadow that never washed out. I do not think it is possible for a child to "ruin" a toy. (Unless they make it physically unsafe to be around).

The purpose of a toy is to bring a child joy, fun, and help them grow. Sometimes that will mean dolls with cut hair, action figures dramatically buried in a grave after an imaginary battle, or, yes, Magic Marker makeup on dolls "to make them look beautiful." And if a child regrets what they did to a toy, that too helps them grow. Learning that a doll's hair, once cut, remains cut forever is such a mild and safe way to learn the importance of foresight.

For an adult looking back on childhood, it can seem idyllic. But one of the main experiences of childhood is a lack of control over your own life.

But a child should at least have control over their toys.

Adults: if you want to guarantee that precious toy you spent so much money on stays pristine . . . buy it for yourself and put it on your own shelf. It is not a child's job to be a caretaker to an object for twenty years.

I hope that lady finds her Cabbage Patch doll.

[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[wilwheaton]

Absolutely fascinating history of Cabbage Patch Kids, here. So much I didn't know, including how Xavier Roberts totally stole the entire thing from the woman who actually created the visual design, and the idea that these dolls were adoptable.

[only80sgifs]

Birth of a Cabbage Patch Baby - 1984

[discomedian]

I haven’t seen anyone do this yet so here you go

[yodaprod]

Huntington's Toys R Us bring in police to disperse upset customers when Cabbage Patch dolls ran out of stock after 4 hours wait (1983)

[kidcore-nostalgia]

[90s-2000s-barbie]

October 13, 2007

[celestite-caroline]

brave little bot!

@mountielle brought back the interest

[shiftythrifting]

[homecircus]

ARE U KIDDING ME!!!! I got this cutie a few months ago and they are by far my favorite clown purchase!!!

[retroness-is-fabulous]

[barbielore]

Has there been any Barbies released as collaborations with other doll brands?

An interesting question!

The reverse occurred last year - there was an American Girl doll released in the likeness of Barbie.

As of now there does not appear to be any intention to do a reverse.

And there's been a number of Barbies with Hello Kitty themed designs -- here's one I didn't even include on the previous post about it!

And the American Girls collab had some history -- there was, many years ago in 1999, a similar collab with Cabbage Patch.

As a part of the Storybook Collection, Kelly and Tommy had an appearance as Raggedy Ann and Andy.

To my knowledge that's about it - there may be some I'm missing, but I wracked my brain and did a bit of googling and that's about all I'm coming up with!

[littlefleamart]

(source)