Presidential Cabbage Patch Kids Raise Money for Toys for Tots

I remember standing outside a Montgomery Wards Store in New Jersey, can’t remember if it was in ’82 or ’83, but it was cold outside and we were about the tenth in line at the ungodly hour of 4 am. Our friends had accompanied my wife and I and we were drinking steaming hot cups of coffee from thermoses, chatting and eagerly waiting for the doors to open at 6 am. No, we weren’t waiting to buy an X-Box or a new computer, they hadn’t even been invented yet. What we were waiting for on that cold and dank morning was the right to purchase the ugly but short supplied Cabbage Patch Kid doll.

When the store employees finally came out of the store, everyone in line crowded forward and I thought we were going to die as the people crushed us to get their hands on a slip of paper that was the “license” to buy the dolls. We did manage to come out of that mess alive, each with armed with two licenses. When the manager flung open the doors at 6 am, thermoses and coffee long forgotten, we raced back to the toy section so we could have the best selection. The only time I have seen people run faster is at the running of the bulls in Spain, except that we were the ones that looked like the bulls.

In any case, we did manage to get four of the ugly cabbage patch dolls, which we quickly turned around for a nice profit. At the time I believe we paid about $25 for the Cabbage Patch Kids at Montgomery Ward and we sold them each for an average of $125 at a flea market in New Jersey. Essentially, we made $400 by standing in the cold and risking life and limb from crazed “bulls” that wanted to stampede past us so they could get the prettiest of the ugly dolls.

Today however, there are no shortages of Cabbage Patch Kids and prices for a new doll hover around $50 for a brand new one and vintage ones from the late 70’s and early 80’s bringing in hundreds of dollars at auctions. One particular auction on eBay, today featured one of a kind 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kids that were made to look like our presidential candidates McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden. I have to say that they probably didn’t have to do too much creative design to Palin’s doll since she kind of looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid anyway.

The auctions, that ended today, the same day in which we will vote for our next president, were spirited as presidential memorabilia buffs tangled with Cabbage Patch Kids collectors, vintage toy doll collectors, vintage toy collectors and plain ordinary folks who want a piece of history. This time the profits however will not go into someone’s pocket, like ours did oh so many years ago. This auction that raised a total of $36,000 benefits the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, which raises money every year to help provide gifts for needy children.