As the days between now and Christmas narrow, it’s no surprise that orders for Christmas Candy are seeing a steady increase. And while we’re packing up Christmas Peeps and Peppermint Tootsie Pops faster than you can say “Santa”, it is the past week or so that has shown a true Christmas trend. The Christmas candy orders in general will continue even into January, but there is a certain kind of Christmas candy order that explodes onto the Blair Candy scene in the two weeks following Thanksgiving. Do you have any guesses as to which 2 types of items are flying off our shelves faster than reindeer during this time? We’ll give you a hint…Candy Canes and Popcorn Balls! Ok, so that wasn’t really a hint, but we didn’t want to leave you in suspense too long!

So what has so many people ordering candy canes and popcorn balls? Two words – Tree Time! In households across the country, people are mumbling less than sweet things under their breath as they attempt to get Christmas trees to stand straight without losing their temper or losing a finger. Ah yes, it is the timeless tradition of bringing something in the house that has no business being in the house, and blaming the tree when it doesn’t want to cooperate. We’ve all been there. And it is one of the most frustrating tasks on the planet. But there truly is nothing quite like the moment when you realize the tree won’t fall after all, the family cat won’t be crushed, and at last all the lights are lit and shining brightly. Whether they’re 15 feet tall and natural, or 12 inches tall and made of tinsel, Christmas trees are among the most magical things in the world. All wrapped up in their branches is wonderment and wishes for health, happiness, and love. So it’s really only fitting that we celebrate and decorate our trees with another of the most magical things in the world – candy!

We always decked out our tree with Candy Canes and Popcorn Balls when I was a kid. And with each passing day, there was a new empty spot here, and an obviously bald spot there, as us kids sneaked a treat or two (or seven) from the tree. Sometimes I’d even notice a new missing popcorn ball in the morning, and I realized why we didn’t get in trouble for eating the decorations – my parents were eating them, too! But for the day or two that the tree was covered in candy, it didn’t only look decorated, but also delicious. And in the days that followed, we weren’t only eating the ‘fruit of the tree’ if you will, but were also rather accidentally making it easier to un-decorate the tree following Christmas. Sure, there were plenty of ornaments that we weren’t about to nosh on, particularly the metal ones. But the candy canes, popcorn balls, and strung pink and white Sugar Popcorn were all fair game, and fair game was festively tasty!

If you’ve never added edibles to your tree, we hope you’ll give it a try this year and see what you think of the results. I think there’s a certain something that candy adds to a tree that other ornaments just can’t capture, and given all the fun options available beyond the classics, there’s really no reason not to indulge in some delicious design. Go ahead…have fun with it! Loop an ornament hook through the string of some Bubble Gum Coal – hang a dozen Mesh Christmas Stockings full of Hershey Kisses – forego the star on top and let Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the gang keep watch over everyone with Toy Story Pez Dispensers. Get creative, mix it up, and most importantly, eat it up! If you need an excuse, just say you don’t have a lot of space to store decorations. 😉