Here’s the last of the Gift Guides for 2006! Have a look at last years, this is just a supplement to that ... there are lots of great ideas out there in addition to giving folks actual candy, so keep an eye out for these candy-themed gifts.

Candy Desk

Chocolate Post-It Notes ($12.43) or Tower Note Pads - Wine Chocolate Friendship ($15.95)

Fred Flare is always guaranteed to have something cute. This year they’re featuring an innovating little desktop item called the Chocolate Bar Pen Holder ($14) ? it looks like a real chocolate bar!

After the holidays you might want to do more than send your notes, you might want to scent them too. Try these Scratch & Sniff cards for $8 a pair.

Candy Games and Amusements

Candy Dominoes and Candy Matching (Memory) Game ($16)

Bring the arcade experience into your home and burn some calories by frustrating yourself with the Candy Grabber for $35 (not including candy).

Holiday Candy Kaleidescope ($13) and the Regular Version ($11.95)

Jelly Belly 24 piece jigsaw puzzle ($4.95) a great stocking stuffer that will be around long after the candy is gone.

Chocolate-Opoly - $24.95

For some more interactive game fun, try the Candy Volcano for $21.99

Stocking Stuffers & Entertaining

Candy Shot Glasses ($4.95 for 6) - I have no idea if they make a sticky mess or if it’d be totally cool to smash them when you’re done.

M&Ms solo teapot in three different colors. Good for tea, or maybe even hot chocolate! ($23) For some bizarre reason you cannot have this shipped to California, so if you live there, try the M&Ms calculators for $10

Themed Candies - Gummi Tools ($6.95), Gummi Motivational Bracelets - I really want to order those ($2.95 a dozen), Snowman Bubble Gum Coins ($2.99)

Tootsie Roll Scarf ($24) - nothing says appreciation for retro candies like a scarf in the Tootsie Roll colors.

If that’s too casual for you, demonstrate your professionalism with a Sugar Daddy Business Card Holder for $29.00.

If you make the $40 minimum purchase, they’ll throw in a Tootsie Roll Car Air Freshener. There are loads of stocking stuffer ideas there at Tootsie.

Other

Hershey Baseballs - they’re real baseballs, not chocolate. At least they won’t melt on the field.

For the gift that keeps on growing, how about a symbolic piece of the candy world. Try OneShare.com for single shares of stock for Wrigley, Tootsie, Hershey’s and more. You can order just the share or get it frame with a special engraving to personalize it. I’m not sure if it means that you get the annual report for the company or not.

Hershey: Milton S. Hershey’s Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams by Michael D’Antonio.

Jewelry & Adornment

If you like the idea of a candy charm bracelet, there’s a whole series of items in the Pugster Fun Jewelry line that are pretty inexpensive.

Lip Candy lip palette from Sephora Girls $14

Tootsie Candy up your iPod for $5.95.

Drinkable

Lemonhead or Atomic Fireball mugs for only $6.95. There are plenty of other fun Lemonhead items there too (tees, shirts, and caps).

Candy University Mugs ($18.00)

Max Brenner’s Hug Mug made just for hot chocolate with a special shape to cup between your hands.

Apparel

Reese’s ball cap - orange with brown trim. $15

Baby Chuck Taylor hi tops in peppermint stripes. $24.99

The strangest entry in the brand tie in merchandise has to be these cute Cow boots from Goetze’s Caramel Creams (makers of Bull’s Eyes and Cow Tales). At only $19.95 I’m kind of wishing it rained more where I live.

They also have hats and an umbrella ... and if you live in an area where it’s hard to find Goetze’s, you can order right there for more than enough to stuff your stocking.

Jelly Belly Embroidered Tee $22.99 is one of the more inventive garments on their site. They also have some luscious looking hoodies, ringer tees and caps. But the thing you really need to click through and see are the pro-styled bib bicycle shorts.

Inventive Individuals on Caf? Press & Zazzle:

Gummi Bear Mob - yes, this gummi bear has a posse.
Got Candy ? jewels of candy ? you got ‘em?
Candy Elements - Carbon + Nitrogen + Dysprosium (who knew?)
Birth of the Candy Bar a meme long before the word meme was coined

I guess the newest thing in candy canes in the past 50 years was the introduction on different flavors. Yeah, there are also different shapes and sizes as well, but the candy cane is pretty much a hard candy.

The Chocolate Filled Handmade Candy Cane seeks to be beyond the plain hard candy stick. This seven inch cane in peppermint has stunning red and opaque white strips and of course the advertised chocolatey filling.

The hard candy shell has a chocolatey filling twisted through it. It’s not a lot of chocolate, I had three of these canes and the one pictured above is the most chocolatey of the three. The mint candy is nice with a strong peppermint flavor. The inside features a pink and slightly foamy center which gives the whole thing a good crunch.

The chocolatelyness is not that intense, it certainly mellows out the intensity of the peppermint and gives a little fudgy burst every once in a while. As a chocolate person, I was a bit disappointed. As a hard candy fan, it was far superior to those “chocolate” starlight mints (I usually spit those out). The chocolate here is made from cocoa and coconut & palm kernel oils ... so not really chocolate at all, just a chocolate syrup.

They’re a bit on the expensive side but they are drop-dead gorgeous and a great upscale stocking item. I’ve seen the Elegant Sweets line around a bit more lately. I saw some of their Christmas tree shaped lollies (in cherry & green apple) at a store called Cuvee on Robertson in Los Angeles yesterday and ran across these canes at Harry and David while I was in San Francisco the weekend before.

Besides their holiday line, they have some freakishly stunning candies all year round. You can expect them to turn up here again in the future.

Sometimes just giving someone a box of candy doesn’t feel special enough. You know, when you give someone a sweater, they wear it over and over again. The cool solution for the consumable nature of this type of gift is to spread it out over a long period of time. Lots of candy companies now offer Candy of the Month clubs, so that loved one gets reminded once a month that you know their passion.

Here’s a roundup of a few options:

Ethel M - Chocolate Club ($99-$299) - 3, 6 & 12 month subscriptions for regular deliveries of chocolates.

Jelly Belly - Bean of the Month Club ($68.99-$249) - Choose 3, 6 or 12 months of Jelly Belly candies delivered 2.2 lbs at a time. Includes dispenser and shipping charges.

Licorice International - Candy of the Month Club ($178) - three different packages for candy lovers, black and red licorice lovers and black licorice purists.

Lake Champlain - ($115-$395) Chocolate of the Month - choose 3, 6 or 9 months of fine, all natural, Kosher chocolate selections.

Dale and Thomas - ($86-$455) Popcorn of the Month - choose from a large variety of clubs that range from 3 months to 12, could be a variety of savory and sweet popcorns as well as other sweet treats.

SeventyPercent - Chocolate Connoisseur’s Club (varies) - based in the UK but ships worldwide. Focuses on high end chocolate bars from all over the world, plus discussions in their forums about the monthly selections.

Recchiuti - Club Recchiuti ($125-$425) - 3, 6, 9 & 12 month memberships with a wide range of products delivered throughout the year.

Flippin’ Fudge - Fudge of the Month Club ($348) - a different flavor of premium fudge every month. 

Candy Warehouse - Candy of the Month Club ($99-$139) - various versions, one featuring nostalgic favorites, one for gummi fans and another for chocoholics.

Have you ever been gifted a candy of the month club? Any tips or recommendations?

I was poking around a couple of weeks ago at my Holiday Gift Guide from 2005 and was (if I may say so) pleased that it’s still a pretty good guide. So instead of just doing the same thing over again, I thought I’d kind of do a summary of where I’ve been this year but also use it as an opportunity to help you Go Regional!

There are a couple of ways to look at this. You can give folks something from their own area, which is a great gift because it means that they can go back there, or you can give them something from your area, as a way of personalizing the item. Or you can give them something from a place they’re planning on visiting, kind of like a proactive welcome wagon.

(you can make fun of my map and the way I divided up and named the regions ... I have no idea what I was thinking)

Recchiuti (San Francisco) - fine chocolates from Michael Recchiuti located in the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco. Lots of herbal combination infusions, uncommon ingredients and savory inclusions. Known also for their sauces. (order online) Expensive

Charles Chocolates (Emeryville) - no company-run store, so you can only order online or find them at other chocolate shops. Many items such as the triple coated nuts and the high-end bars would make excellent stocking stuffers. (order online) Expensive

Cocoa Bon (Los Gatos) - a perfect supplier of stocking stuffers, their cute little chocolate tins are filled with more than chocolate wafers, they also have spiced caramels, toffees and chocolate covered coffee beans. Check out their cocktail-inspired jelly beans, too. (order online) Moderate

Boule - interesting truffles, tasty caramels and nougats but if fruit is your thing, give the pate de fruit a try. (order online) Expensive

Chuao Chocolatier (Encinitas) - Venezuelan inspired chocolatier with tasty truffle combos and some truly strange ones as well. Tasty chocolate bars (I liked the nib one) in other stores. (order online) Expensive

Plush Puffs (Sherman Oaks) - fun flavors of tasty marshmallows. (order online) Moderate

Sees - known of tasty caramels, nuts and chews. Their truffles and other candies are good quality. (order online) Inexpensive

Shaymee’s Aussie Toffee (Pleasanton, CA) - high quality ingredients from this nutted toffee company. (buy online) Inexpensive

Valerie Confections (Los Angeles) - superb seasonal nougat and excellent toffee in elegant presentational boxes. (order online) Expensive

Fran’s (Seattle) - probably one of the best known of the sea salt caramel makers, they have a pretty good selection of other truffles and chocolate dipped fruits. (order online) Moderate

Seattle Chocolates - good quality chocolates with some cool combinations, they also make Chick Chocolates. (order online) Moderate

Big Island Candies - why should Hawaiians have all the fun at the beach? Macadamia and Coffee items are to be expected, but don’t forget the traditional truffles and dipped shortbreads. (order online) Moderate

Chocolate Shops to Explore in Person

CocoaBella (San Francisco) - great chocolate shop, especially if you want to combine chocolates from a variety of chocolatiers: Amadei, Christopher Elbow, Charles Chocolates, Knipschildt Chocolatier, Marquise de Sevigne, Michel Cluizel & Pralineur Van Coillie. You can build a custom, mixed maker box or order one of their World’s Best Chocolates boxes. (order online) Expensive

Sahagun (Portland)- no shipping here, just fresh and tasty candies straight from the kitchen to your mouth. Expensive

Mel & Rose Wine & Spirits (Los Angeles) - feature a wide selection of consumer chocolates and candies from around the world that are great as stocking stuffers, but also an excellent variety of couture and high end bars and boxes from MarieBelle, Michel Cluizel, Vosges, Valerie Confections as well as, you know, wine & spirits. (Their website) Inexpensive-Expensive

Best Regards (Olathe, KS)- small town gift baskets with big homemade items like the Craves barks, comfort sweets (chocolate dipped Oreos) and tasty cookies. (order online) Moderate

Enstrom’s Toffee (Grand Junction, CO) - amazing planks of that caramelized sugar and butter mixture known as toffee. (order online) Moderate

Hammond’s Candy (Denver, CO) - beautiful hard candies made by hand. (order online) Inexpensive

Xocoatl (Taos) - truffles, nuts and the specialty of the house, spiced chocolate. (order online) Expensive

Christopher Elbow (Kansas City, MO) - artisanal chocolates made with fresh ingredients (order online) Expensive

Ethel’s (Chicago) - fine chocolates from Mars ... who knew? (order online) Expensive

Harry London Chocolates (Canton, OH) - Buckeyes (peanut butter chocolates) melty mints, and Cookie Joys. (phone orders only) Moderate

Vosges (Chicago) - spices and teas in fine chocolate. (order online) Expensive

Knipschildt (Norwalk, CT) - fresh nuts, herbs and spices in rich high quality chocolate. (order online) Expensive

Jacques Torres (NYC) - cute molded chocolate, inventive panned items (cornflakes, fruits & nuts), great hot chocolate mixes and of course truffles. (order online) Moderate-Expensive

Lake Champlain (Burlington, VT) - a rather large company now, good quality all natural ingredients. Traditional and high end assortments. (order online) Moderate

MarieBelle (New York) - chocolates cute as a button and swell hot chocolate mixes. (order online)

Sweet Riot (NYC) - chocolate cover cacao nibs in cute ever-changing artistic tins. (order online) Expensive

Charleston Candy Kitchen & Savannah Candy (Savannah, GA) - crumbly tender pecan pralines, oh the pecans. They’re in everything. (order online) Moderate

Flippin’ Fudge (Canton, GA) - tasty gourmet fudge in cute individually wrapped pieces and fun flavors (I liked the peanut butter). (order online) Moderate
(after I divided up the country I realized that I had only one entry for this region ... I guess it’s something to work on in the new year)

Laemmes Pralines (Austin) - the chewy pecan praline like no other. (order online) Moderate

Laura’s Candies (New Orleans) - open again after Hurricane Katrina, known for their wide selection of traditional and chewy pecan pralines, modest prices and heritage in the French Quarter. (order online) Moderate

Norman Love - stunningly presented chocolates in inventive and comfort food styles. (order online) Expensive

Susie’s South Forty Confections (Midland, TX) - chewy pralines, extraordinarily dense almond toffee and other gift items. (order online) Moderate

Nothing there to your liking? I’ll have more ideas for candy lovin’ gift givin’ over the next few days!

UPDATE (12/10/06): Looks like I’ve been Farked. Welcome new visitors. Just to clarify if you’re not a regular Candy Blog reader, my recommendations above are for places I have actually TRIED and LIKED. Yes, there are gaps and I appreciate everyone’s suggestions for the new year ... it all sounds very tasty!

I’ve always turned up my nose at Palmer chocolates. I’ve had their mockolate bunnies at Easter before, and in my candy-deprived-state of childhood I would eat them. But I never really liked them. So as an adult with the financial means to make other choices, I have avoided them.

But taking a risk this season was a little easier, as I found that Walgreen’s carries these little single-serving bags (two ounces) of the foil covered Premium Milk Chocolate Balls. It said premium, maybe they were good!

The ingredients looked promising:

Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk, Chocolate, Soy Lecithin and Vanilla.

Real vanilla, they took this premium thing seriously.

Palmer’s have always looked pretty, so I wasn’t disappointed with the merry red and green foil decorated with holly leaves in a band of gold around the middle. Inside the foil they weren’t terribly attractive though, looking more like a wad of putty.

They smelled sweet and slightly milky. I didn’t detect any real vanilla complexity though. I popped one in my mouth and immediately got a hit of sugar. As the grainy chocolate melted it was very sweet with a vague dairy taste and pleasant vanilla aroma. But very little chocolate. Though it melted, it felt a bit chalky and waxy instead of smooth and buttery. The texture is cool on the tongue and I don’t actually mind a bit of sugary grain to my chocolate, but without much of a chocolate flavor I was underwhelmed.

They’re pretty, I’ll give them that.

There are a lot of different kind of flavored candy canes out there. I could probably start a blog and post about a different one each and every day. And bore myself and you to tears.

I rather like hard candy and I rather enjoy candy canes. I’m more interested in the minty and spicy flavors as I like that combination during the winter, not the fruity flavors. If I had to give holiday seasons a flavor set it would go something like this:

Halloween = Milk Chocolate and Nuts
Thanksgiving = Caramel
Christmas = Nougat, Mint and Spice
Valentine’s Day = Dark Chocolate and Sweet Fruit Flavors
Easter = White Chocolate and Sour Fruit Flavors

Of course the product above from Hershey’s has very little to do with that list. The Hershey’s Chocolate Mint Candy Canes are really lovely. A white cane with small green and red bands and a larger brown stripe winding its way around the generous 5 1/2 inch cane. I would guess that some folks would pick these up more often because of the pleasant color scheme than the taste.

Because they’re not that tasty.

The candy is nice and solid without that foamy crunch that some canes have. These have a mild minty taste and an overwhelming cardboard chocolate flavor. The word chocolatey doesn’t do it justice. It’s like someone watered down a Tootsie Roll with sugar and a dab of peppermint. The stale and plain chocolatey taste has no relation to much of what’s great about chocolate itself. It’s not rich, it’s not creamy, it’s not complex, it’s not fulfilling or addictive. I had a lingering aftertaste of packaging material with a minty hint.

So what makes them like this? Here is the list of ingredients: Sugar, Corn Syrup, contains 2% or less of: Natural and Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color and Soy Lecithin. So there you go, there’s no chocolate in there.

If you’re looking for candy canes to decorate with and this fits your color scheme and you’re one of those people who never actually eats them, well, these are definitely for you. Oh, and they’re Kosher!

There I was last spring, talking up the Easter-only Cadbury Mini Eggs. But it turns out they do have a Christmas version of them.

Irritatingly enough they couldn’t be bothered to name them. The package says Cadbury Solid Milk Chocolates with a Crisp Sugar Shell. What the? You call that a name? How about Christmas Cadberries?

I was hoping they’d be just like the Mini Eggs. I opened the package and they smelled similarly inviting, like sugar and cocoa. But the colors, oh, they colors are just off. I don’t know if the photo above conveys it. They look like pencil erasers. Kind of chalky, not quite pastel, not quite vivid. Inconsistent, bumpy and just weird.

On the tongue they’re familiar. Soft and slightly cool, the shell is crisp and crunchy. The milk chocolate inside is a little tangier than the last time I had these. I was terribly disappointed to see that they have PGPR in them as well (which was pointed out by a reader, Jenn, who commented on the Mini Eggs review and prompted me to search for these).

It’s odd how quickly my feelings can change, I have a hard time believing this is a bad bag. It might be the different colors or the PGPR (that could be in the Easter version for all I know) but they’re just not the same. I can’t give these more than a 6 out of 10 (the taste is okay but they sure don’t look tempting).

I went looking for Christmas candy of all sorts last week during the holiday break. I seem to have the best luck at Walgreen’s since they have dependable sales and a clean store (I also went to Target, but everything came in super-jumbo bags). As I expected Russell Stover’s has their assortment of single-serving goodies that are similar to the Easter and Halloween ones. I did, however, find one that I’d not seen before, the Russell Stover Coconut Wreath

They were on sale for 50 cents, so I could hardly pass it up. I’m a sucker for coconut haystacks which is what I expected this to be.

I wasn’t disappointed either. The plop of coconut and milk chocolate was shiny and smelled of coconut. The coconut was crunchy and well-toasted, giving it a much more chewy texture than something like a Mounds bar. The coconut bits were rather small, like little flecks instead of being little curls like you’d find in a bag of coconut shreds in the baking aisle.

It wasn’t too sweet at all, just a nice mellow mix with an interesting texture.

If I was disappointed it was at the shape. I expected something that looked like a donut, instead it’s just a plop. What’s like a wreath about this? Or was mine malformed and had a filled center?

I have to say that I’m pleased that Candy Blog has prompted me to give the Russell Stover holiday lines a chance. Their quality is excellent (no PGPR in the chocolate) and when on sale they’re about the same price as any consumer candy bar and usually feature less common flavor combinations.

Other Russell Stover holiday candy reviews:

Pumpkins: Vanilla Marshmallow and Marshmallow & Caramel

Cream Eggs: Strawberry, Maple & Coconut