We went Christmas shopping today.  For the extended family, we always put together gift baskets with handmade and store bought goodies.  Candy canes are an essential part of Christmas, and especially our Christmas gift baskets.  As I walked down the candy aisle at Walmart, I was appalled when I finally stumbled upon the candy cane section.

When I was growing up, you had two varieties of candy canes: small and large.  They all had red and white stripes, and they all tasted of peppermint.  That’s the way it should be.  Today, I couldn’t believe how many different ways the candy cane has been ruined. 

In addition to the traditional candy cane, there were all these weird, obnoxious colors and flavors.  I mean, Skittles?  Star Burst?  Who came up with those?  There were candy canes in a wide variety of colors, from fruity yellows, oranges and reds to brown and green stripes and myriad strange hues in between.

What happened to the traditional candy canes I grew up with?  They were dwarfed by all of these strange concoctions some marketer is trying to pass off as candy canes.

So, it was with great dismay that I picked up multiple packages of the original candy canes.  Will there be more next year?  I don’t know, but at least I got enough to fill my Christmas baskets.

As I was walking away, I noticed something that caught my attention: mint chocolate candy canes.  It turns out that my moral high horse has incredibly short legs, and I walked away with two packages of those as well.  Who can resist mint chocolate?  Not this lady, that’s for sure!