Babyland General Hospital and Cabbage Patch Kids

Legend has it that a young boy named Xavier Roberts wandered into a magical cabbage patch hidden behind a beautiful waterfall. He discovered busy little Bunnybees sprinkling cabbages with magical crystals. Suddenly, all sorts of different kids and babies peeked out of the cabbages. Each one had his or her own special look, personality, name and birthday. “I’ll call you the Cabbage Patch Kids!” he said as everyone cheered. Xavier fell in love with the “Kids” and built Babyland General Hospital for them. It’s a safe, happy place to live and play until someone adopts them and takes them home to be cared for and loved.

I admit that I’m one of those parents who traveled all the way to the North Georgia mountain town of Cleveland in the mid-1980s and stood in line to adopt a Cabbage Patch Kid for my daughter, Ashley.

Back then, artist Xavier Roberts had been making and adopting his handmade soft sculpture Little People Originals® for about a decade from Babyland General Hospital, a turn-of-the-century medical facility in Cleveland that Roberts had renovated and opened to the public. In 1982, he decided to license his doll with a major toy manufacturer to produce a toy replica, changing their name to Cabbage Patch Kids®—a name that now identifies the toy doll as well as the handmade originals.

This is where the trouble began for moms and dads across the country. The “Kids” were so popular that supply simply could not keep up with demand. The Kids flew off toy store shelves. In fact, CPKs went on record as the most successful new doll introduction in the history of the toy industry and even were featured on the cover of Newsweek in December 1983. It was extremely difficult to even find one—unless you made the trek to Babyland General Hospital – where they were “born.” Thank goodness, we at least lived in the state of Georgia. It was just a two-hour drive from Fayette County!

Today, all four of the Cabbage Patch Kids that Ashley eventually “adopted” still reside at my house, strewn on the floor of Brianna’s playroom. They have birth certificates ranging from 1985 to 1987, and they are just as well used and loved as they were more than 20 years ago. Santa brought Brianna a new Cabbage Patch Kid, Emma Brianna, three years ago; and last year she and I made the trip to Cleveland during the Appalachian Christmas at Babyland General for an “official” adoption – Mattie Alene is her name.

This year’s Appalachian Christmas Event will take place November 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the brand new Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland. This 70,000-square-foot home sits on 100 acres with the North Georgia Mountains as a backdrop. There will be arts and crafts, prizes, life-size Cabbage Patch Kid costume characters, rides and slides, music and dancing, live performances, a tree lighting at dusk, snow flurries and, of course, the arrival of Santa. There’s also a drawing for a soft-sculpture Cabbage Patch Kid, valued at over $200. Activities are free; but for $7, you can go to a Breakfast with Santa and the Cabbage Patch Kid characters – reservations are not necessary but they are recommended.

Brianna loved visiting Babyland General last year, just as Ashley did many years ago. Some things about little girls never change. I’m thinking about doing the Christmas event again this year because I would like to see the new “hospital,” but I know it will cost me another “adoption.” Or I may wait for the Grand Opening and “Reunion,” which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 8, 2010.

When you go to Babyland General, remember, there are all sizes of “kids” with a variety of “adoption fees.” I was pretty effective at steering Brianna toward my price range.

The new Babyland General Hospital is located at 300 NOK Drive, Cleveland, Georgia. You can visit the Cabbage Patch Kid website for more information and directions.

Let me know about your trip – or past trips – and I will do the same.

See more of Sherri’s adventures on Brown’s Guides to Georgia.