A Small Easter Candy Rant
March 21, 2008 by Deborah Ng
Filed under Holiday Thrift
I only have one child. I like to give him a little variety in his Easter basket but hate having to buy several separate bag of different kinds of candy only to give him a few pieces each. At all the stores they have plenty of “family-sized” bags of candy but no “one child-sized” bags of candy. And speaking of family-sized bags, how big a family are we talking here? No one needs that much candy. I
You know what I wouldn’t mind seeing? An Easter candy section with bins filled with loose candy. Then I can take a couple of pieces each, pay for exactly what I want and be on my merry way. My son doesn’t get too much candy and nothing is wasted. Now I give my son a little out of each bag, save some for the family Easter egg hunt and give the rest to my husband to bring to work. Why do I want to buy Easter candy only to give it to my husband for work?
Lately I’ve been buying small toys, pencils and craft supplies so I’m not buying so much candy. Still, I want to give my son a few goodies. I understand most families have more than one kid, I just wish there would be better options for those of us without multiple offspring.
Image via Morgue File.
LRN
One suggestion is to find an old general store or something similar. In our town, we have a Mast General Store that sells bulk candy by the pound. They have bins of every candy imaginable, retro and current, and you can pay for exactly how much you want. I suppose the only drawback is that they may or may not have Easter candy like eggs and bunnies. They may not have seasonal candy, but at least you could buy less!
Most of the grocery stores I go to do have candy bins, but the selection is limited and doesn’t tend to have seasonal items. In my (very limited) experience with children, candy is candy, whatever shape it comes in, so maybe he wouldn’t mind getting chocolate that isn’t egg or bunny shaped — but you know him better than me.
Also, for adults and kids who’d appreciate it, I suggest going to a nicer candy store or bakery that sells things like truffles individually. They can be a bit pricey, but personally, I’d rather have a few really special chocolates than a big bag of Hershey’s chocolate.
Deb,
A couple of options:
Find a friend to split the candy with. Less expense all the way around, and none of the added weight from that 3/4 bag of candy that no one wanted to “waste”.
Consider molding your own candy. Buy a couple of Hershey bars (or any chocolate, even chips) melt it, and pour it into molds. Then you can have the bunny/egg shapes, and use any leftover chocolate for baking later. White chocolate and food coloring mix well, and some specialty stores will even sell the foil wrappers.
Molding your own is wonderful because the molds are cheap and re-usable, and the chocolate is all purpose. You can even dye and add in rice krispie treats to make multi-colored crackle bars, etc.