The 'must-have' toy of 1983 was the Cabbage Patch Kids doll. Created by Xavier Roberts, these were hand-stitched, soft-sculptured dolls resembling small children, which were sold complete with an 'adoption' certificate, and each doll was unique. Launched nationwide by US toy firm Coleco, the dolls soon became popular among collectors and rapidly became the latest must-have toy. The scarcity of the dolls led directly to riots at stores, as demand far outstripped supply and angry consumers fought amongst themselves for the much-prized dolls. The scenes were forerunners to the now-annual Black Friday sales in the US and elsewhere, when customers looking for bargains frequently fought one another for the few heavily discounted items on offer.
As with most fads, the Cabbage Patch Kids demand ebbed away in later years as new 'must-have' toys emerged; the dolls are still produced to this day however and still have a cult following, even a dedicated website.
A period commercial for Cabbage Patch Kids is shown here:
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