As with every holiday candy plays an important part, I cannot remember one holiday in my childhood where candy was not somehow involved…especially with Christmas! Granted it is over shadowed a bit by presents and cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning but it is still there to be enjoyed later on. My stocking was always full of little trinkets but most importantly my mom would fill it with my favorite candies. I would always take my stocking right up to my room to enjoy my “treats” later on. This could be why every year during holiday decorating my stocking was always the only one missing!

Christmas candy has truly evolved over time from candy canes and chocolate boxes to Christmas colored swedish fish, sour patch kids and many others. Being the candy lover that I am I always go down the candy aisles at stores, so this morning while going down Target’s I was in complete awe of all the different candy options available. It took up 3 whole aisles, I am very impressed at the creativity of this years Christmas candy!

Since I love candy so much…you had to know I would post a few Christmas candy fun facts!

• According to legend, the earliest stocking stuffers included miniature bags filled with gold. Later stockings contained five gifts—one to please each of the five senses. Fruit, nuts and, of course, Christmas candies, were intended to please the sense of taste.
• In 2008, the National Retail Federation found that American households reported spending only $95.04 specifically on Christmas holiday food and candy. Americans spent $1.4 billion on Christmas candy in 2004.
• An estimated 1.76 billion candy canes are produced each year, making it the most recognizable icon of Christmas candy.
• Candy canes are thought to have originated during the 17th century, when candy artisans in Germany created sweet white treats shaped like a shepherd’s crook. Adults distributed these candy canes to children at Nativity reenactments to help keep them happy. In the mid-18th century, a German immigrant to the U.S. used candy canes to decorate his Christmas tree. By the 1950s, candy canes were being mechanically produced using special machines. Some say the red stripes have Christian symbolism, and even the traditional peppermint flavor has been linked to a minty biblical herb.
• On Christmas Day, children consume about 6,000 calories of food and candy–about four times the daily recommended amount.

Note: The fun facts above are courtesy of  http://www.ehow.com/about_6464197_fun-christmas-candy.html