“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!” ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Last week I ran to our local supermarket to pick up milk, orange juice, lettuce, and whatever I can whip up for dinner on very short notice. On my way to the check out I noticed the stock boy opening a mountain of boxes in the front of the checkout lanes. Isn’t this the spot where all the Halloween candy just was? But somewhere along the way Halloween (and Thanksgiving) came and went and so did those bags of Milky Ways, Snickers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kats (as well as all those turkey day leftovers).
Now what did my wandering eyes did appear but box after box of colorful candy canes in every possible color and flavor imaginable! Boxes of Peppermint, cherry, raspberry, blueberry, Lifesavers, and chocolate mint candy canes lined the aisle. And oh, by gosh, by golly is it really only 4 weeks till Christmas?
So while I was waiting in the “10 items or less” checkout line (and silently counting the number of items the lady in front of me kept taking out of her shopping cart) I was thinking that you can associate a certain candy with just about every holiday. A heart shaped box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. A big chocolate bunny at Easter. And of course those classic red and white striped candy canes always say, Christmas.
I remember they were the last thing we hung on our Christmas tree when I was little. Somehow the amount of candy canes that adorned our real tree on December 1st had somewhat diminished by the time Christmas Eve arrived.
Did you know that Bob McCormack started his own candy company in the 1920s in Albany, Georgia and made candy canes by hand? This was a tedious job and the breakage rate was high. Bob’s brother-in-law, Gregory Harding Keller, a Catholic priest invented the Keller Machine which twisted the candy and bent it into canes. Needless to say, this remarkable machine revolutionized the candy manufacturing business. Today, more than 1.7 billion candy canes are sold each year!
So how about adding candy canes to that “all I want for Christmas” list (along with those two front teeth)? Candy Favorites has wrapped Peppermint Candy Canes, Miniature Candy Canes, Candy Cane Peppermint Tootsie Pops, Candy Cane Pails and Hershey’s Candy Cane Candy Bars.
So it doesn’t matter if you’re naughty (Santa, it’s a long story) or nice, remember candy canes make great stocking stuffers and don’t forget to leave some peppermint sticks for that jolly old elf who will be coming down your chimney soon with a bound.
May your days be merry and bright. Merry Christmas!
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