American Greetings/Kenner
The Sweet World of
Strawberry Shortcake


and her Friends!

What started out as a greeting card design, blossomed into a whole world of dolls and related items that are already on their way to becoming fun collectibles!

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The world of Strawberry Shortcake dolls opened up to us in 1979.  American Greetings originally designed Strawberry Shortcake and her friends as a line in their greetings cards.   They were instantly popular and Kenner Toy Company teamed up with them to produce the characters into dolls. In keeping with the greeting card theme, each doll box included a "thank you" card for the new doll owner to use to thank the giver.  Thus, teaching good manners.

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The thing that made these dolls so special was that each one was created with a scent to match her name.   This quickly caught on and she became a requested item on every little girl's birthday wish list.  Very quickly the market was flooded with more and more dolls as the company tried to keep up with demand and be creative in offering new items.   After the first series of friends, the dolls were introduced with pets, then some international friends were added, along with Party Pleasers, cuddly babies who blow sweet smelling kisses, sleeping dolls, rag dolls, and the Berrykin line. This over saturation of merchandise may have been the downfall as their popularity waned in the mid-eighties.   It seemed that everywhere you looked Strawberry's face was smiling back.  From bed linens, to salt shakers, games, clothes, and clocks, she flooded the market.  Because of this, the later dolls are some of the hardest to find and the most collectible.

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In 1991, a company called Toy Headquarters (THQ) "Those Characters from Cleveland," bought the rights to produce the doll.   Though they are not as popular as the original Kenner dolls, they are still quite collectible.  They have a slightly different look, their eyes are larger and their hair is very long and wavy (similar to the Berry-kins line).

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Surprisingly though, I do not see many Strawberry Shortcake dolls at local doll shows.  It could be the region or it could be that they are "sleepers" at the bottom of toy boxes.   There is quite a following of them on the Internet though.  I have a couple of sites listed in my favorite links section back on the main page.  Also, click below to link directly to my Dolls of the Eighties pages to see my personal collection of Strawberry Shortcake and her friends.  I inherited most of my dolls from my daughters' collections.  I tried in vain to get them interested in collecting but finally realized I was the one who was enjoying these little dolls the most.  It is said that the sense of smell can invoke a very strong memory response. (Who hasn't smelled crayons and instantly been transported back to kindergarten?) Perhaps that is why these little dolls are some of my favorites.  When I smell their fruity smells, I think of my girls playing for hours, and the simple pleasures that these precious dolls gave them.

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Click below to view my Strawberry Shortcake Collection

Kaylee's World of Strawberry Shortcake

Kaylee's Dolls of the Eighties

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