The wooden circular base had room for six pie-shaped dishes that when pieced together formed a perfect circle of holiday goodness. A different kind of candy filled each one, making the choice very difficult when approaching the selection of Christmas candy. My mom would bring out the dish and fill it up in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. Not any earlier. She knew us well!
We each had favourites and you could tell which ones were most popular as you watched the levels in the dish begin to drop. Magically, the next day each would be filled again for another day of seasonal snacking.
When my husband and I started hosting Christmas celebrations I wanted to have a similar candy dish to set out the selection we had. I couldn’t find one quite the same so instead used a six-sectioned (seven if you count the middle) Tupperware vegetable tray. It was much larger than we needed but nonetheless we filled it up and set it on the coffee table in anticipation of our family’s arrival. There was one thing we forgot about…our dog.
At that time we had a springer spaniel named Mocha. She was a really great dog who apparently had quite the sweet tooth. After being out one evening we came home to an almost empty candy dish and a very sheepish canine. She had a discerning palette it seemed, eating the most expensive candy first and leaving the cheaper stuff behind. Worried for her health we kept a close eye on her but she was just fine and we took to calling her the dog with the steel gut after that.
It is said that 93% of us eat, make or give chocolates and candy this time of year, spending triple digit millions on the sweet treats. Americans ate 150 million chocolate Santas last year but they were lightweights compared to Germans who bested that number by 20 million.
The king of all sweets at Christmas is the candy cane—a treat that reaches production levels in the billions—yes billions. They are used for eating, baking and decorating and can be spotted pretty much everywhere you see anything Christmassy. On the same level of debate as “Christmas tree: real or artificial” is the question of where you start eating your candy cane; from the bottom straight end and up, or the top curved end and down? Apparently 72% start on the straight end.
While the peppermint-flavoured candy cane is the most purchased candy for the holidays, other mouth watering sweets are popular too. Gingerbread houses, Hershey Kisses, M&M’s, and caramel-filled confections will find their way into many of our homes in the coming days (if they’re not already there tucked in the back of a closet to avoid temptation. Not that I know anything about that).
As we were making some purchases this year we noted, yet again, the downsizing of some of our favourites. It’s not just the candy of course. Name any product and you notice the volume has dropped while the price has most certainly increased. It is the reality of producers trying to stay afloat while battling higher inputs themselves. Downsizing seems to be impacting every product on our store shelves. Nonetheless it can lead to some discouragement as a consumer when you’re searching for favourite candy and discover the package is smaller than you remember. But is that worth our complaint?
The list of people that don’t have any Christmas candy at all—or anything else seasonal and festive for that matter—is long. Perhaps the best way to counteract our feelings toward downsizing is to remind ourselves that in so many ways we are leading very large lives. People may not have everything they want but I think most of us would be able to say we have more than we need.
Looking around my house I am taking note of a few different places where there are candy canes. They are not my favourite candy this time of year yet they seem to be in abundance. So abundant that I don’t think I really see them anymore. Imagine a child’s face who has never seen, let alone tasted, a candy cane, and yet I have many that will likely be packed away to be forgotten again. How sad that my dog (accidentally) has had a taste of candy so much of the world will never know.
I hope everyone is able to enjoy the festive foods and tasty treats they look forward to this time of year—and without any guilt while doing so. But as we do, let’s be reminded that while some of our candy dishes may be smaller, millions will never have a candy dish at all. As we enjoy our favourite sweets…not to mention our daily bread…let’s take a moment to recognize that despite the downsizing, we are leading super-sized lives. That’s my outlook.
