Remember back in the ’80s when the moms went all crazy-like for Cabbage Patch Kids at Christmastime? Remember the fights in the aisles of Toys R Us? And the waiting lists at the stores?
Okay. Probably not. More likely, you remember the stories of the gaga-going parents for these adorable little dolls. Everyone had to have one, right?
Did you?
I did. Her name was Ricki Sue, but I changed it to Melissa Sue the day I got her. That day was Mother’s Day, 1983. My sisters and I came downstairs, ready to celebrate a day for our mom, and our parents surprised us with gifts. I still remember my sisters’ dolls names, too. Jo Becky and Bertha Ursula.
Later that year, we pooled our money and bought a preemie: Jed Benjamin. And a year later, another preemie, Gertrude Sue, was added to our family.
Last Monday, Big (taking a sick day from school), Little and I returned from the grocery store to find a cardboard box delivered from FedEx. Expecting a shipment of clothing, I asked Big to grab the box and open it. Never did we expect a yellow box. With a doll inside. A beautiful doll. I couldn’t hide this doll from the kids and wait until the holidays. I had to open it. I had to touch her, to smell her, to make sure her belly button was still an outtie and her bottom was authentically autographed “Xavier Roberts.” I had to touch her perfect, chubby vinyl face. I had to smell her.
Yes. As I ripped Jemma Skylar from her box, I recognized that she was the real thing. I had a Cabbage Patch Kid to pass on to my daughter.
She is the real thing. Absolutely everything that we remember from our love affair with one of the biggest fads of the 80s hasn’t changed very much. Her hair is now silky rather than yarn. Her clothing is updated. We were sent Fashionality Sporty Girl, a doll from the new Fashionality line, which retails for $49.99.
Also updated is Cabbage Patch Kids’ online play area. (I mean. Of course. There was no online anything in the 80s.) Kids these days can play on the website, and they can also register their Kids and build a family tree.
So excited about giving my baby girl a Cabbage Patch Kid, I emailed my PR contact and asked her if I could give one to one of my readers. Sorry, readers. I never do that. Consider this an early-holiday present, ‘kay?
I wanted to share my love of these dolls with you.
So. Yes. I’m giving one away.
Enter to win a Fashionality Cabbage Patch Kid
Really simple. For your mandatory entry, please tell me a Cabbage Patch Kid memory in the comments on this post. Tell me your doll’s crazy name. Or how many you had? Or how you felt when your best friend got a new one? Or how proud you were to carry her with you everywhere. Maybe you have a funny story about the Kids. It has been so fun to walk down memory lane, I want to do it with my readers.
Extra entries:
- Share this post by tweeting it to your followers. (post a link to your tweet after you tweet it.) Or use this example tweet (fill in the blank):
My favorite @cpkusa memory is _____. #giveaway to #win a Cabbage Patch Kid: http://wp.me/pHY8M-1dR from @justprecious - Follow @justprecious on twitter and tell me in the comments.
- Subscribe to Just Precious by email and tell me in the comments.
© 2011, Julie Meyers Pron. All rights reserved.


















I tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/Sarafan2/status/124917035858804736
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my brother giving me one as a Christmas gift!
Follow @justprecious on twitter phxbne
my dolls name was prescilla- i’m so glad i still have her for my little girl
tcogbill at live dot com
i follow you on twitter-katychick123
tcogbill at live dot com
I have an older sister, so I got a few “hand me down” Cabbage Patch dolls that I loved but never named before I got my first new one for my birthday one year. I named her Michelle and still have her to give to my daughter someday:)
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I follow Just Precious on twitter (@jjak2003)
Cabbage Patch became popular just as I was approaching adulthood, the little girl I babysat for really wanted one. I would sit outside of Toys R Us waiting for their trucks to come in and stalk the store to see if they had any of the dolls. Unfortunately, I was not able to get one that year. Thank goodness she had a wonderful Christmas anyway. I would love to win this and give it to her now, 30 years later.
I follow on Twitter @ggerth
I tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/ggerth/status/125334217642094593
I had seven cabbage patch kids…and I remember when I was sick and home from school, I would gather them all together and line them up on the couch with me. There was barely any space left for me to lay…LOL
Twitter: justprecious
says:
Congratulations, Julie H of Florida–the Cabbage Patch Kid winner! her comment was number 85, which was randomly selected by random.org. Thanks to everyone who entered!
I had one doll I called Sunshine and now my 5 year old plays with her all the time.
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When I was a kid my cabbage patch dolls name was Betty, I LOVED her soooo much!
My favorite memory of having a cabbage patch growing up was the Christmas I turned 6. I wanted Santa to bring me a CP doll sooo badly but I really wanted a girl one and I was afraid I would get a boy doll.