Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Cabbage Patch Kids 25th Anniversary



Today I went to Toys R Us in Times Square to do a story on the Cabbage Patch Kids 25th Anniversary. There was a big birthday party with cake and ice cream and a lot of excited moms and kids. Xavier Roberts, otherwise known as the creator and the guy whose signature was on all the kids' butts

Look in the background of the picture and you'll see what looks like a cabbage patch kid statue. It's actually a cake! Made by a Food Network chef (whose name escapes me at the moment.) It was pretty amazing. I'll post a better visual once my segment is done and uploaded to Better TV.

For the birthday celebration the company re-created all the original Cabbage Patch Kids from that first year. I couldn't find the one that looked identical to mine unfortunately, though I saw one that was close. It's okay though - cause I still have my original cabbage patch kid. Her name is Constance Georgia. She escaped the fire cause she was still at my mom's house.

I was one of the lucky ones who got a cabbage patch kid during that crazy year where people were allegedly murdering one another for the dolls in toy stores. I had seen my friend Michelle get one for her birthday in September and told my mom I wanted one. Being the early Christmas shopper she is, she went out and purchased one for me and put it away. Then the craze started. My parents told me later they were very tempted to sell the doll for a significant amount of money - she might have funded their entire Christmas shopping list! But they decided in the end that I should have my doll.

Of course they told me that they hadn't been able to get one and said I needed to be understanding that it was impossible. I understood, but was immensely disapointed. I wanted one SOOO BADLY! So imagine my excitement when Christmas morning I opened my first gift and there she was!!

She's a little worse for wear now, but very loved. And I'll never forget the story about how she came to be under the tree. So even though today I thought it was a little strange to see THAT MANY PEOPLE lined up to share in a new Cabbage Patch celebration, I guess in a way I understand...

Marianne

2 comments:

Lis said...

Oh my gosh, I didn't realize it had been 25 years :o) I still have my first one too. I remember my dad's story about everything they did to get a hold of one. It was like some big covert operation!

Cindy Holby said...

I've still got mine too. Actually I've got three. I guess there are some benefits to having a dad who works in retail.