Reliving my childhood dreams with Cabbage Patch Kids

Each year there seems to be the in toy. When I was younger it rotated between Barbie, Polly Pocket, Cabbage Patch Kids, Tamagotchis, Furbys {these just freak me out now, why the hell did I ever like them?}, Puppy Surprise, Cupcake dolls, Tazos, Yowies.... gosh the list is endless now I'm trying to think of them all. Most toys seem to go out of fashion as fast as they come in, but occasionally there's exceptions to the rule that remain popular for years. Barbie for example has been around for decades, but they don't seem to have as much of a cult following as they did when I was younger {although that could just be because I'm not an 8 year old girl anymore}. Another toy that's withstood the test of time and is making a huge resurgence in popularity are Cabbage Patch Kids.

Originally available in the 80's, the ever popular Cabbage Patch Kids are once again filling up toy shelves and little kids Christmas lists in 2017. And I for one am loving it! One of the best parts of having kids is getting to relive {or just recreate} the childhood I always wanted and one of the things I missed out on the first time around was my very own Cabbage Patch Kid doll. As all 80's kids will know, they were the doll of the decade and lots of little girls {and I dare say many boys too} wanted to get their hands on one, me included. Alas I never got my own, but thankfully I get to live vicariously through bub with hers! 

What makes Cabbage Patch Kids so unique?

Cabbage Patch Kids are soft sculpture dolls {with plastic faces, accessories and hair to style}. Legend has it that Xavier Roberts was a ten-year-old boy who discovered the Cabbage Patch Kids by following a BunnyBee behind a waterfall into a magical Cabbage Patch. He vowed to help them all find good homes so he built BabyLand General Hospital {it's a real place you can go and visit in America} where the babies could stay until they're adopted out by loving families.

Each Cabbage Patch Kid comes with it's very own birth certificate listing their name and birth date. Ours is Kathleen Dawn and she was born on December 26th {cool birthday if you ask me}. She also came with official adoption papers that bub can fill out. I remember when I was young I thought the birth certificate was the coolest thing ever. I also love that they have Xavier Robert's signature as a birth mark on their bottom {it's a bit cheeky!}.

One of their other distinctive features is that their faces smell amazing. I know that probably sounds super weird, and I'm not sure how they get them to smell so good, but it's seriously intoxicating. Similar to when you have a real newborn and you can't stop sniffing their heads because they smell SO GOOD. Perhaps I'm the only weird person that does this, but hopefully there's other CPK owners out there addicted to the smell as well {surely there has to be at least one person?}.

While each cabbage patch doll is easily identifiable by their distinctive body and head shape, they're all unique. Each doll has a slight variation in either skin tone, eye colour, hair colour, hair style, facial expression, outfit, shoes or accessories meaning no 2 are ever exactly the same. I was super excited that bub got a CPK that has glasses like her. I wore glasses when I was younger and I remember wondering why the dolls never looked the same as me, so I'm really glad she has a doll that looks {almost} just like her.

The new Cabbage Patch Kids come with a key which can be used with the new Adoptimals. Adoptimals are little electronic pets which can be adopted to a forever home just like Cabbage Patch Kids. Each Adoptimal makes different sounds, their locket lights up and they come with a bowl and brush. The key that comes with each CPK can be used to unlock the Adoptimal's secret heartbeat via the special locket. The dolls and pets are sold separately, but there's photos of each on the respective packaging. Let's be completely honest here, the parent in me sees that as slightly annoying, because obviously the first thing that's going to happen is "muuuum I want the pet" {and that's exactly what she did}, but with my business degree hat on I can appreciate it's a stroke of marketing genius.

And it works, because guess who's been scouring the shops for a few weeks looking for a pet cat? Yeah me. And not any cat, it apparently has to be the grey one like on the box. Kudos guys, this mum is loving searching through all the CPK Adoptimals each time I go to the shops to find the dam cat {I'm only being slightly sarcastic, because the inner child in me is actually loving searching for it}. The jury's still out on whether the cat will be making an appearance at Christmas {i.e. I haven't managed to find it yet}.

As a former preschooler and tween girl myself, I can totally see the appeal of Cabbage Patch Kids and why they're gaining massive popularity again 30+ years after they first graced toy store shelves. I can also 100% understand the need for an accompanying Adoptimal. I mean hello they're like the puppy surprise of the twenty-tens {is that what this decade's called? If you ask me it doesn't have the same ring to it as 80's or 90's}. I'm so lucky I mean bub's so lucky she has one of her very own. I'm definitely holding onto it forever {or at least until she has her own kids who we can pass her down to}.

The new 14 inch Cabbage Patch Dolls and Adoptimal Pets are available {sold separately} from Big W, Myer, Toys R Us and Mr Toys Toyworld. FYI you can buy Adoptimals without a CPK, you just won't be able to unlock the heartbeat. Also the key with each doll will work with any of the Adoptimals not just the one pictured on the box.

Disclosure - I was sent a Cabbage Patch Kid for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are based on my somewhat foggy childhood memories and our experience with bub's new doll. I did not receive payment for this review.

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