gumballs Archives - The ORIGINAL Candy Blog from America's Oldest Wholesale Candy Company

Why Not Propose a Candy Buffet for Your Special Day

June 9, 2017 by Mary Lynn Davidek Alpino

“Life is the best party I’ve ever been invited to.” — Arlene Francis

Dearly beloved . . . we are gathered here at the most popular month for weddings! Finally it’s your day. A day you’ve been dreaming about for so long. All the planning and preparation is over. Now it’s time to celebrate with family and friends. White dresses and black tuxedos. Beautiful flowers and great music. Delicious food, delectable cookies and you even remembered to include an eye-catching, colorful, candy buffet.

But hold the rice! Don’t toss your bouquet just yet! Because candy buffets aren’t just for weddings you know!

On your wedding day, I’m sure you’ll hear the saying “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” But for all those candy lovers not walking down the aisle this month, let’s “marry” that well-known quote to some unique candy buffets for any occasion.

Candy Buffets are not just for weddings anymore…

How about Something old to create a Happy 60^th or 70^th birthday candy buffet using candy favorites from years ago like Kits Taffy, Butterfinger, Chuckles (we can all laugh about our age now, can’t we), Mr. Goodbar, Oh Henry and a product from my era, the 1950’s, M&Ms. Celebrating a high school class reunion is a great occasion to set up a candy buffet featuring your high school colors. Celebrating your hair style back in those days . . . hmmm . . . not so much!

A candy buffet adds a sweet touch to almost any event!

Something new has endless possibilities for your candy buffet. Did your new neighbors buy that house next to yours? Why not throw them a “welcome to your new home” party? If it’s spring time how about a candy buffet done in all pastel colors? Candy Favorites has pastel M&Ms, gumballs, Hershey Kisses and even licorice. Add some 5^th Avenues and Milky Ways. What a great way to welcome them to your great neighborhood!

Did someone have a new baby? Pink and blue candy buffets will welcome in that bundle of joy. Fill candy jars with Baby Ruths and Pacifier Pops for some added laughs.

Learn how to add creative touches to any event!

Any special day should have a candy buffet!

Something borrowed brings to mind sleepovers! You get it . . . you’re actually borrowing your children’s friends for a fun filled night, where they stay up late, watch movies, play games and eat candy! Tootsie Pops, Fun Dip, Gummie Bears and Dubble Bubble Bubblegum will keep the laughs going.

Once I walked down to our basement at one of my daughter’s sleepovers and saw every kid glued to their phone. “Ok, all phones off, everyone make two teams,” I laughed. Then I gave each of them a wooden stick and the first one in line got a Life Saver. “The first team to successfully pass the Life Saver from one person to the other by holding your wooden stick in your mouth wins a prize.”

See who can blow the biggest bubble with bubble gum. Ask them to guess how many Jelly Belly Jelly Beans are in a jar. Play Minute to Win It to see how many M&Ms each kid can suck up with a straw and transfer them in a bowl. It’s amazing how candy can be such fun!

And lastly, Something blue. Why not set up a blue candy buffet at your next Pitt, West Virginia, Penn State, North Carolina, Michigan, or Notre Dame football game? There’s blue Air Heads and Nestles Crunch. Whether it’s your high school team or your favorite pro sports team, the possibilities and color combinations are endless.

So celebrate life with candy. Whether it’s a birthday, new home, sleepover, tailgating with friends, or saying “I do” with the one you love, a candy buffet fits into any special occasion or reason for a party! So go on! Throw the rice! Blow out the candles! Giggle with your friends! Yell for your favorite team!

Life is about moments. Create them. Don’t wait for them. Life is sweet. Celebrate it!

Candy News

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth This Memorial Day!

May 23, 2016 by Laurnie Wilson

No matter where you are in the country, Memorial Day always feels like the start of summer. There’s usually nice weather, great food, and good times spent with friends and family. What could be better than that, right?

Around here, we think quality time with your favorite people is one of the most important things in life. After all, you spend all day working—maybe with people you’d rather not be working with! When you do have the down time, you’ve really got to make the most of it and surround yourselves with the ones you love.

Especially on Memorial Day, we should take a moment to appreciate the loved ones we do have and the service of those who gave their lives so that we can continue to live in freedom.

And if you’re gathering your nearest and dearest together this Memorial Day, you may want to consider adding a bit of candy into the mix! Because after everyone has had their fill of burgers and hot dogs, you may want a little bit of sugary sweetness to pick things up.

Of course, you can eat any candy on any day of the year, but why not go for a patriotic theme? If that’s what you were thinking, then we’ve got just the candies for you.

Fancy something a little chewy? Our Red, White and Blue Gumballs are just what you need! These will look great on a buffet table, and even better when you use them to blow a giant bubble! And if Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, then blowing giant bubbles is the unofficial activity of the season.

Or, if you’d prefer something to satisfy your chocolate cravings, maybe our Patriotic Tootsie Rolls are what you need. These are all wrapped up in our nation’s greatest colors, and ready for your summertime enjoyment.

And if you’re more of a cookie person than a candy person, our Patriotic Cookie container is here for you.

So whether you’re having a large or small gathering this Memorial Day, don’t let you guests leave without dessert!

Candy in Pop Culture, Top 10

Gumballs Top 10 List

May 12, 2015 by Charlotte Hopkins

1) Bubble Gum Necklaces: Put a twist on the cherished candy necklace by creating a Gumball necklace! Poke a hole on both sides of the gumball (a fork prong is good for that) and lace your necklace with a ribbon or string of black cord. Fun to make – and just as fun to bite off – piece by piece!

2) Decorate a Snowman: Gumballs are great for the winter to decorate your snowman! When it’s time to bring down your snowman, break the gumball into pieces and make a bowl of snow ice cream (mixed with your tasty gumball pieces, of course)!

3) Teaching Aid: Gumballs are great for teaching colors, counting and even matching! For a fun matching game with preschoolers, gather your favorite gumballs and an egg carton. In one row put a different colored gumball. Have your child pick a gumball from a bowl and place it in the empty row next to the matching color. Congratulate your little learner with a couple gumballs of their own!

4) Super Fun Fizzy Drinks: Fill a glass with a clear carbonated beverage, (7Up or Sprite) and then drop your favorite gumball into each glass. Use clear cups/containers to make your drinks so you can watch the color change to the color of your gumball! The gumball will become white and your Fizzy Drink will transfer to the sweet drink of your favorite color gumball.

5) Gumball Wreath: Gather a big bag of gumballs, along with a hot glue gun, a foam wreath and a long ribbon. Glue each gumball to your wreath and wrap the ribbon around the top to create a hanger – voila! A gumball wreath!

6) Gumball Garland will add a splash of color to your spring decorations or even to your Christmas tree! Sort of like the gumball necklace but with a much longer piece of cord. The fun part of a gumball garland is using different sized gumballs for this creation.

7) Decorating with gumballs can be fun for any occasion – parties, special events, sleep over treats, and even your kitchen décor. Stop by any craft supply store for clear plastic tubes that you can fill up with gumballs for school parties, community events and sleep overs. They are also great for birthday parties and trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Fill up baby food jars and baby bottles for guests at your baby shower. Add an array of color to your kitchen decorations by filling a glass bottle with gumballs.

8) Health Benefits: Did you know that there are some health benefits to gumballs? It’s true! Chewing gumballs increases saliva in your mouth which helps remove plaque and freshen your breath. Chewing gumballs enhances your concentration and memory and increases your metabolism. Studies have shown that when you chew gumballs while you study for a test, and then chew that same flavor gumball during the test it helps you remember everything that you went over during your study session.

9) Cakes and Cupcakes: Decorating cakes and cupcakes with gumballs makes it extra special! Whether you cover your cake with gumballs or top off your frosted cupcake with a colored gumball, these are sure to be a crowd pleaser for any event. It’s always extra sweet when you use gumballs to spell out a word, a letter, or a number (great for birthday parties and anniversaries)!

A Gumball Surprise Cake is a must-have for parties and holidays and easy to make too. Bake a 2-layered cake. Place the first layer down, dig a hole out of the center, but not all the way through. Now do the same to the top layer but cut all the way through. Ice inside and bottom of the holes. Place top layer back on and pour your gumballs inside the hole. Trim the top piece (if necessary to fit) and replace it on top of the cake. Ice the cake as you normally would. There you have it – a Gumball Surprise Cake!

10) Chew it! Keep it with you for road trips and days at the park. With such a wide selection of gumballs at Candy Favorites there is a different color for every day of the week. Have a certain interest in mind, then color coordinate baggies of gumballs – Orange Gumballs for basketball games, White Gumballs for Miniature Golf and even Black Gumballs for Halloween (and you can call these gumballs – vampire eyes!).

Always keeping your best interest at heart, Candy Favorites also carries sugar free gumballs. And add some giggles to your bowl of gumballs by including our Nerds-Filled Gumballs!

Candy News

Your Favorite Candy…Now Available in a Jar!

May 6, 2015 by Laurnie Wilson

Everyone knows that the secret to success is a jar full of candy. Oh, you didn’t know that? Well, now you do! We like to think we speak from experience when we say that candy jars make everything ten times better. That’s why we’re so excited about our new Filled Candy Jars section!

Imagine with us for a minute that you have a party to go to, or a friend to bestow a gift upon. What will you buy? Around here, we tend to think that a jar of candy is always a good option, and we have a lot to choose from!

Maybe your friends are really into nostalgia and all things retro. That’s perfect! They would probably love our website. But, they would probably love the Americana Mix Candy Jar a little bit more.

This mix contains goodies from yesteryear that are sure to put a smile on any sentimental face! Every time you open the lid, you’re bound to grab a candy that has you reminiscing on days gone by, when it snowed on Christmas morning and when children respected their elders. Sounds good to us!

If you’re in the mood for something a little more on the fresh side, we’d recommend the Starlights Mints Candy Jar. This jar makes it easy for you to always open your mouth with confidence!

With all of the mints inside, you don’t have to worry about scaring off your friends and family with smelly breath anymore! Or, if you prefer, we also have a Brach’s Ice Blue Mints Candy Jar, so you can have options when it comes to keeping your breath fresh. Thank goodness for that minty clean feeling, are we right?

But maybe you’re craving a sweet rendition of your favorite soda. If your favorite soda is root beer, then the Dads Root Beer Barrels Candy Jar is exactly the jar for you! This is definitely the perfect gift for anyone who could drink root beer morning, noon, and night. Now, instead of opening up a can of soda, you can pop one of these sweet treats in your mouth!

For those of you who are itching for a vacation, you’re in luck! No, we can’t give you a vacation, but we can give your mouth one! Our Riviera Mix Candy Jar will leave you feeling like you’ve jetted straight to the French Riviera, with only the best candy in tow!

We’re pretty big fans of the high-quality candy in this mix, and we know that you will be too. In fact, it’s so good, you might not even mind that you aren’t on vacation.

As fun as it is to go away, it’s also great to come back home. That’s why we think everyone will love this Assorted Tootsie Rolls Candy Jar and the Vanilla Tootsie Rolls Candy Jar. Because, really, who doesn’t feel all warm and cozy when they bite into a Tootsie Roll?

Just one taste and you’re right back in your happy place, right? We know we are! And if you don’t believe us, then you’ll just have to order the jar and find out.

One thing we can probably all agree on, however, is that the Caramel Creams Candy Jar is going to be dangerous. These candies are just too hard to resist! We know we’ve found ourselves reaching back again, and again, and again, for just one more. So be warned! These creams will have you hooked after just one bite, for better or for worse (but probably for better).

If you and yours are big fans of bubbles, then the Bubble Gum Balls Candy Jar should keep you occupied for a while! This is a fun jar for people who crave something they can really get their jaws into!

It’s also a great jar for keeping the kids entertained on a long car ride. Because if they’re blowing bubbles then they can’t be annoying each other, right? Just as long as they don’t start putting the gum in each other’s hair!

Rounding out our long list of great candy jar mixes is the Brach’s Butterscotch Discs Candy Jar. This is one super sweet jar that is practically guaranteed to please. When we think of sugary treats, butterscotch is high on our list of favorites, and we know we’re not alone in that! So, if you really want to get your sugar high on, then you’re just a few clicks away from making your dreams a reality.

As you can see, we have a mix for just about every taste! So don’t be sad and candy jar-less anymore. Now there’s no excuse not to get your hands on one of these guys!