Make It Sweeter: Tasty Tips to Sweeten Your Holiday Celebrations

Giving decadent boxes of chocolate to friends and family members, placing candy canes on the Christmas tree, hiding candy treats in Christmas stockings, playing dreidel with chocolate pieces. Holiday traditions are the cornerstone of celebrations this month and candy has a treasured place in many of these traditions, according to the National Confectioners Association.

"Candy has always played an important role in celebrations," explains NCA’s Susan Fussell. "Ancient Aztecs even included chocolate in many of their traditional ceremonies. Today we have even more ways to celebrate with candy from traditional customs to fun and creative new ideas."

According to NCA, 90 percent of adults rank sharing family traditions as an important part of their lives and they agree that traditions involving candy invoke warm childhood memories.

"Spend some time recalling your favorite childhood holiday activities," urges Fussell. "Then think about how you can introduce your family to these customs – maybe even with a new twist. As a child, I always looked forward to coming home to hot chocolate decorated with a peppermint stick after being out in the cold. Today I make a grown-up version of this treat with gourmet chocolate, peppermint whipped cream and crushed mint candies on the rim of the glass."

Need more ideas on ways to sweeten up your holiday celebrations? Try one of these tasty tips:

Tasty Tip #1 - Use fun shortcuts in holiday baking

Homemade sweets are often the tastiest treats of many holiday celebrations, but no one wants to spend the entire season in the kitchen. Try this shortcut designed to give you more time at the party:

Candy Cupcakes
Mix one package of chocolate cake mix according to directions. Line muffin pans with cup cake liners. Pour about ½ the necessary amount into each cup, then insert one bite-sized, unwrapped chocolate piece in each. Fill the cup 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full and bake as instructed. If desired, ice the cupcakes before serving. The candy will have melted during the baking process. NCA recommends miniature coconut chocolate bars for a taste identical to German chocolate cake with much less effort (other bars will work as well – have fun experimenting!). If you cannot find bite-sized pieces of your favorite brands, simply cut larger bars into smaller pieces.

Additional recipes, including more shortcuts, Grown-Up Hot Chocolate and delicious Chocolate Toffee Mandel Bread perfect for Hanukah celebrations, are available at NCA’s Web site – www.CandyUSA.org.

Tasty Tip #2 - Recruit kids to make ornaments and decorations

Gather family and friends together for an afternoon of crafting. Cover a long table in paper and assemble craft supplies like glue, pipe cleaner, ribbon, Styrofoam forms, felt, empty paper towels rolls, wood sticks, cardboard, peppermint candies, marshmallows, candy canes, cinnamon candies, gum drops, candy-coated chocolates, pretzels sticks, gum sticks, sugar cubes, icing, licorice, pre-baked gingerbread or any materials you desire. For some candy craft ideas and templates, visit NCA’s Web site at www.CandyUSA.org.

Tasty Tip #3 - Get creative about pairing candy with a gift to make it more memorable (and delicious!)

Pamper Mom with a spa service like a facial or fancy pedicure. Wrap the spa certificate inside a luxurious towel along with a relaxing CD, a gourmet dark chocolate bar and an aromatherapy candle. Give your teenager a membership to the local gym. Tuck the membership card inside a sports duffel bag – don’t forget a water bottle, new sneakers, energy gum or mints and a portable music player for those high-energy tunes. Treat the movie lover in your life to a gift certificate to the local theater or movie store. Place the card inside an empty popcorn bucket with a few boxes of movie-theater style candy and a film trivia book or encyclopedia.

For more tips and tricks for making the holidays sweeter, or for general information about the candy industry visit www.CandyUSA.org.