10 old fashioned Christmas candies that will take you back
Images: Whitman's Chocolates, leix38 / eBay / Brach's, balovell / eBay
One of the many joys of Christmastime is all the sweet treats. Just like Halloween. Or the pies on Thanksgiving. Or Easter baskets. And Valentine's candy.
Look, we really like to eat candy. Here are some old school treats one would find at holiday time in the 1950s and 1960s. Do still have a sweet tooth for the stuff?
Cut Rock
You didn't have to be Fred Flintstone to enjoy this hard candy — it was better than it sounds. Plus, the rounds with little icons looked like jewelry, and sort of predicted emojis, too.
Image: Candy Warehouse
Divinity Candy
Those down south will undoubtedly delight in the memory of this nutty, marshmallow-ish, meringue-like treat — of course, you could still be making it today.
Image: Swiss Colony
Gloria Mix
Hard candy mixes were standard fare in decorative Yuletide dishes. It was hard to imagine going to grandma's house without picking through the fruity, minty assortment of candy pillows, candy straws, cut rock, chips, ladyfingers and waffles found in the Gloria Mix.
Image: antiquesnavigator.com
Hard Candy Stockings
Of course, you could get your hard candy in a see-through stocking, too.
Image: balovell / eBay
Jinglebits
Jinglebits was essentially just a competing brand name of the Gloria Mix, but we particularly love this midcentury, mod tin. You can still buy this blend of mint, clove, orange, watermelon, peach, anise, grape, cinnamon, cherry, apple and root beer hard candies from Plantation Candies — in rather retro packinging.
Image: Candly / Etsy
Merri-Mints
These thin mints can also still be found in some form today. The red, green and white Christmas mix tasted of peppermint, cinnamon and spearmint.
Image: luckyottershaven
Necco Chocolate Peppermints
Necco is thankfully still around to serve up its old fashioned recipes. However, it no longer makes its own brand of Chocolate Peppermints seen in this nifty ad — and a box would definitely set you back more than 10¢.
Image: fringefamily
Peppermint Sticks in Oranges
Baskets of citrus fruits were common gifts, and our favorite way to spice up — and, well, sugar up — healthy treats was to jab a peppermint stick into a fresh orange and suck the juice through like a straw.
Image: charmofthecarolines
Pink Popcorn
Pink, candy-coated popcorn was a simple treat, not to mention decoration. You could string it up and and use it as garland on your pink Christmas tree!
Image: Thinkstock
Ribbon Candy
It's just like a candy cane, only more fragile and awkward to eat. These long curls were as required in the holiday home as colored lights around Christmas time. Even Sears sold the stuff in its Wish Book.
Image: Candy Warehouse