Riot of Christmas 1983

Do you remember the riot of Christmas 1983? Were you one of the lucky shoppers or child that got one for Christmas?

Millions of shoppers sleeping in cars and getting trampled, just to get a doll with adoption papers. Cabbage Patch fever was the latest phenomenon in November of 1983. No two Cabbage Patch Kids were alike and each had their own special name. Many stores had to limit the number a person could buy and some even had to pull them off of the shelf, just to prepare for sales.

One store in New Jersey had to break up fistfights. One lady who was lucky enough to buy a doll, said it was the craziest thing she had ever seen and she had gotten scratches on her neck. 

If stores were lucky enough to get dolls, they were selling out within the first hour of opening. In Wilkes-Barre, PA, one lady suffered a broken leg and four others were injured. The store official was so frightened, he armed himself with a bat. 

This craze over the 16 inch doll did slow down after Christmas, but is still going strong to this day. 

I was one of the little kids who wanted a doll from Santa that year. I have heard horror stories of my parents getting mine, but when you are a kid, that doesn't matter. That feeling of opening my doll up up Christmas Morning, is a memory I hope I will always have. I ended up getting 8 dolls throughout my childhood, so I fell like the riots did eventual end.