#1: Market The Sports Game.

The first step to getting more candy sales is…getting more people to the game! Outside of parents and friends of the players, few people often know what the Little League or sports game schedule is – so how can they come buy your concession candy? Make posters advertising the team’s schedule and promoting the next game and ask the coach or players to get permission from the school to hang them around. Tell your co-workers, and ask the players to tell all their friends and families. The more people, the merrier – in fundraising!

#2: Can You Eat One Piece of Candy? They Can’t Either.

Eating just one scoop of Gummy Dolphins is pretty much impossible, right? Give each person who attends the game a raffle ticket that they can redeem for one piece or scoop of concession candy. It’s a great way to get them coming over to the stand, and chances are high that they’ll buy more.

#3: Explain What The Fundraiser Is For.

People typically feel more compelled to buy when they know their purchase is going towards a worthy cause. Post flyers around the candy stand explaining exactly what the money is going towards, and what it can help, buy, or do.

#4: Variety Is The Spice (And Sweet) Of Life.

Think outside the concession candy basics. Think Razzles, Pop Rocks, Cotton Candy Lollipops, and Sour Patch Kids for an added dash of variety to your concession stand!

#5: Make Your Concession Stand Mobile.

When you think of a major league ball game, chances are the call for “Peaaaanuttttsss” comes to mind. Add this same much-loved element to Little League and sports games by having trusted parents or school board members walk around with candy to sell. Simply place various candy varieties in a flat box, with tags noting their price. Gotta perfect that “Gummmmy Fishhhhh” call!

Good luck with your concession candy stand fundraising! As always, we do our best to keep our bulk concession candy affordable so you can get as much profit from your candy stand as possible. Do you have any tips for making your concession candy stand a homerun?

After all, what self-respecting mom or dad forgets the things like toothbrushes and toothpaste? Aren’t you a little more worried about being the parent who forgets to send along those sweet little somethings, those comforting reminders from home that help soothe away the sorrow of homesickness and banishes the blues? Looking for a surefire way to bring smiles to faces? Just add a few secret treasures from your certain favorite bulk candy store in the luggage and you’re well on your way to earning your “World’s Greatest Parents” t-shirts.

Summer Essentials – Be a Bulk Candy Store in a Box!

Parents looking for summer camp brownie points should never underestimate the power of sweets! Whether you’ll be packing away your sweet treats or sending them as part of your care packages, parents who buy bulk candy can save time and money and help their kids make a lasting impression on their new pals. Here are a few other suggested items:

* Digital or disposable cameras (so they can hold onto mementos from their getaway)

* Letter writing supplies and stamps

* Comic books or magazines for late night reading

* Buy bulk candy that offers individual wrapping or packaging to prevent pest problems, like Tootsie Frooties and Taffy Town Taffy!

* Home-baked cookies or treats that can be shared with their dorm mates

* Stuffed animals or other comfort buddies

* Bug spray or bug spray wipes (again, extra to share would be great!)

* Cards, dice or other small games

What fun must-haves will be on you and your child’s summer camp checklist?

I think back to my childhood where I would use my allowance to go to the corner store (remember those?) and buy gummy fish and vanilla popsicles. I can still see Ziggy (yes, that was the store owner’s name) counting out the fish on the old-fashioned candy counter, and then sliding the candy from the counter into one of those tiny brown paper bags.

Or, I would go down the block to the other corner store (yes, there were two within 200 yards of one another, on the same side of the same street), and buy Smarties pops and my favorite, marshmallow ice cream cones! That’s when soda came in 16 ounce glass bottles, when you would earn a few cents for some more penny candy when you returned the glass bottle! What are your mom’s favorite candies from her childhood? Include some of those as well. (My mom loves Squirrel Nut Zippers and Mary Janes.)

Enough of my nostalgia. Enjoy these ideas for your scrapbook…

Create a “Through the Years” scrapbook:

Dedicate each page to every year of your life with mom, with pictures of the two of you together from when you were an infant to an adult, and of course, some fun captions, too.

Or, try a “Side by Side” scrapbook with themed pages—about you on one side, and about Mom on the opposite facing page as follows:

Find a baby picture of you and a baby picture of Mom, and cut out each face.  Create a “crib” on each page complete with a blanket, and tuck each baby into her crib!

Include a “garden” filled with flowers (decals or pressed, dried ones) from your birth month and from hers.

Create a page with high school or college memorabilia for each of you, and include graduation photos of each of you.

Compare the meaning of each of your names side by side, and build each page theme around the respective meanings.

Take a step back in time, and include prices from the year of your birth and the year of Mom’s birth for popular items such as a gallon of gas, a candy bar, a year of college tuition, a loaf of bread, etc.

Give Mom the gift of nostalgia for a Mother’s Day neither of you will ever forget!

In the past, we used packing peanuts for securing our shipments. Now, we use packing material that is comprised of 60% recycled material for almost all of our shipments; gone is the styrofoam, because this new option is made from paper!  BlairCandy.com recycles cardboard, too.

What You Can Do?

Switch from styrofoam and plastic products to paper ones, such as eco-friendly hot dog boats and earth friendly French fry trays.

It sounds simple, but to quote Woodsy The Owl, “Give a hoot; don’t pollute!” Habits start young, so be sure to teach children from early on that candy and gum wrappers go in the trash basket, not on the ground.

Think about volunteering for a local “Adopt A Roadway” initiative with your family or workplace and help keep the shoulders of the roads clean and clear of debris or trash. It’s good publicity for an employer, and a great way for children and adults to get involved in the community around the home. Contact AdoptAHighway.net or your local city or town hall for information.

Use biodegradable paper bags instead of plastic ones.  One plastic bag can literally take hundreds of years to break down, and may not ever fully decompose. With an estimated 100 billion plastic bags used every year, you can imagine what kind of problem we have on our hands.

Buy in bulk – with bulk candy, of course! It saves on packing materials, and is lighter on your wallet, too, as the average cost per unit decreases when the quantity in the package increases. Also, don’t be wasteful. If you have leftover candy (think Easter, Halloween, etc.) or supplies (Little League snack stands, family picnics, etc.) that you can’t use, don’t trash them; donate to a local shelter instead. You would be surprised at how much the little things are appreciated by your fellow citizens, and by good old Mother Earth.

The candy facts we crave:

• 16 billion Jelly Beans are created just for Easter
• 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced each year for Easter
• 4 million Peeps and Chicks are produced for Easter – each day!
• Each household spends around $131 on Easter candy

Do you concur with these candylicious numbers? How much do you typically spend on Easter candy? What kind of Easter treats do you usually choose- Jelly Beans, Peeps, chocolate bunnies, Reeses Eggs, etc…

Share it with us by leaving a comment!

Easter by the Numbers

Displayed on Care2.com, created by DegreeSearch.org, and credited to Robert Banh

Instead of chocolate chips, substitute Snocaps! (non-pareils) You’ll still get that bittersweet bite, but with an added sweet surge from the white candy micro-beads as well.

Or, how about some sweet Sixlets, in any color of the rainbow? Take it one step further and add a splash of your mom’s favorite color with food coloring to your batter and/or icing. Imagine pale pink cupcakes with pink Sixlets in the cupcake as well as in [or on top of] the frosting.

You will need: (for an easy alternative, see below *)

> 3 1/4 cup sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

> 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder

> 1/4 teaspoon salt

> 7 ounce (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

> 1 3/4 cup sugar

> 1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

> 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

> 5 large egg whites, room temperature

> 2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Or, use nonpareils or Sixlets)

> Chocolate Chip Icing (Or, use basic vanilla or buttercream icing, and mix in Sixlets or crushed non-pareils in place of chocolate chips)

Directions:

> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

> Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. In a separate bowl, mix milk and vanilla together. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture, and ending with dry ingredients.

> Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, and fold into batter. Fold in chocolate chips, Sixlets, or crushed non-pareils. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

> Bake cupcakes 22 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. After cooling, frost with icing.  For best results, keep cupcakes in refrigerator until a few minutes before serving.

* If you are in a hurry, hate to bake, and/or are working with children on the project, use a simple white cake boxed cake mix, but add in the non-pareils or Sixlets (and the food coloring, if you choose), and follow the baking directions on the box for cupcakes.

- How about some pastel Skittles? Pick your favorite Easter colors.

- Not a fan of chocolate? Gummy bears, Swedish fish or Sour Patch Kids may do the trick.

- One of our very favorites is peanut butter, so bring on the Reese’s Pieces, please.

- Tic-tacs will also fit nicely, and are a fresh alternative to traditional Easter candy.

- For the sports-oriented, make larger Krispie eggs and stuff them which chocolate baseballs, soccer balls, basketballs, or footballs. We have them all!

- Of course, you can never go wrong with a long-time favorite, Easter jelly beans!

- Do your loved ones have a sour tooth instead of a sweet one? Nerds are the answer.

- Want to taste the rainbow? Stuff your surprise eggs with Skittles.

Let your imagination run wild, and let the creative ideas flow. Fun and easy project for kids, too! (NOTE: Always be aware of choking hazards.)

Don’t forget to leave a special surprise Krispie egg for the Easter Bunny himself!

> Do you have a service member in your family? Consider a basket filled exclusively with Made in the USA Easter candy!  From chocolate basketballs to Cella’s chocolate covered cherries, and caramel creams to Clark bars, the Easter Bunny delivers some sweet American pride! Fill basket with red, white and blue basket filler, and you’re all set. (We ship to military PO boxes, if you prefer.)

> Have someone on the list who remembers the “good old days”? We have a huge selection of nostalgic Easter Candy, and even have a pre-assembled nostalgic candy Easter basket!

> Everyone has a favorite color, so why not create an Easter basket that is bursting with that hue? Shop Easter candy by color, and you’re on your way to an impressive presentation they will believe took the bunny hours to put together.

> Do you have a diabetic in the family? We have a sweet solution; easily put together a sugar-free selection with sugar free Easter candy and gum.

> If you have a loved one like we do (Candy Pam) who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, go for a snack food Easter basket. The Easter Bunny will prove he appreciates the sweet and the salty tastes of his good little boys and girls. (Great for college students, too!)

The Easter Bunny’s Favorite Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes

Courtesy of:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/magnolias-vanilla-cupcake-recipe/index.html

Yields 24 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

• Easter-themed muffin cups
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour
• 1.25 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 sticks softened, unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients:

• 2 sticks softened, unsalted butter
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extra
• Gel icing in pastel Easter colors
• Your favorite Easter candy varieties to top it off!

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. While you’re waiting for the oven to pre-heat, tell the following Easter joke:

Q: How did the eggs leave the highway?

A: They went through the “Eggs-it”!

2. Line two, 12-capacity muffin tins with the Easter-themed muffin cups.

3. Combine the flours in a small bowl.

4. In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to blend the butter until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the sugar, and beat about three minutes, until it has more of a fluffy consistency – like the Easter Bunny’s tail! Then, add the eggs one at a time, continuing to blend after each is added. Start adding the dry cupcake ingredients, alternating between the milk and vanilla. Beat until well blended.

5. Once blended, use a rubber spatula and spoon to fill the Easter-themed cupcake liners with your batter mixture, so that they’re each about ¾ full.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in and it comes out clean.

7. While you’re waiting for the cupcakes to finish baking, whip up your Extraordinary Easter Icing!

8. Place the 2 sticks of butter in a large bowl, and then add 4 cups of sugar, milk, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer on medium and mix until creamy, around 3-5 minutes. Start adding the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the icing is up to par and can be spread easily on the cupcake.

9. Add a few drops of the Easter-themed gel icing to your buttercream mixture. You can even separate the mixture at this point into a few small bowls, and add different Easter-themed gel icing colors to each bowl!

10. Make sure the buttercream is safely guarded from the Easter Bunny, or it’ll be gone in the flash of a hare!

11. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, start icing them. Top them off with your most scrumptious Easter candies – think Mike and Ike Jelly Beans, Reeses Easter Eggs, Cadbury Mini Easter Crème Eggs, oh, the list is endless!

The Easter Bunny is licking his lips over these “egg-celent” Easter Cupcakes, with Easter candy yumminess on top. Our Blair Candy staff is ready to take a little break from stocking our shelves full of bags and bags of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, and is happy to take a bite out of these vanilla cupcakes – before the Easter Bunny hops away with them!

But you didn’t stop by to hear me whine about my cold, so I’ll save that for my coworkers. For you, I’ll bring a compendium of cough drops to consider for when that cold bug gives you a bit of a bite. We’ve got a few tried-and-true favorites that have become tricky to find in stores, all ready to tell your cough to hit the road and keep on running! Let’s take a look at 3 favorites…

Ludens Cough Drops – While I’ll gladly take any cough drop I can get when I feel that ‘cough is coming’ tickle, Ludens have been a favorite since I was a kid. The Wild Cherry flavor is my top choice, with Honey Lemon following close behind. Cool Menthol is a good option for times the cough is kicking things up a notch, and Honey Licorice reminds me of something my Grandma might have loved. All in all, you can’t go wrong with candy-like Luden’s, but only Wild Cherry has my heart!

Smith Brothers Cough Drops – These cough suppressant wonders trace their beginning back to 1847! Our customers have given them a 5-star rating, and we understand why. Quite simply – they work! Alyce, a reviewer of Smith Brothers cough drops, notes, “These cough drops work better for me than any other brand. They do not leave that lingering after taste so many other brands leave in your mouth and throat.” Do you find most cough drops you’ve tried leave an aftertaste? Maybe it’s time to trust the Smith Brothers with your cold!

Honees Cough Drops – We wouldn’t go so far as to say you’ll be glad to have a cold, but if you’re a honey lover like me, you will find Honees cough drops a pleasure to enjoy! I’ve never come across another cough drop quite like them – each brings a pure liquid honey center that is ever-so-slightly-sweet and wonderfully soothing. Available in your choice of Honey, Milk & Honey, or Menthol Eucalyptus, there’s something for everyone. Gerry Stack, a reviewer of Honees cough drops, says these are, “Absolutely the best and most effective cough drop I have ever taken. It works so fast and lasts much longer than any other.” Glad you love them, too, Gerry! The next Milk & Honey I take is dedicated to you.