December 2015

Village Candy
344 Beaver Street
Sewickley PA
412.741.1490
Tues - Sat 10-5

Wed 'til 8

Closed Sun/Mon

Special Holiday Edition

Gingerbread & Cookie Kits

Theo Holiday Chocolate

Barley Candy Toys

Pigs & Plums

Pez Sure to Please

The BeanBoozled Lineup

Chiller Theater

Quick Links

Check Us Out On The Web at

villagecandy.com

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You have before you a very special edition of the Village Candy-Gram. Not only does it include suggestions for knocking one's ugly Christmas socks off in the holiday gift-giving season, but it has a couple of month's worth of newly arrived stock items in need of mentioning. So please indulge us for a lengthier than normal newsletter - we're sure you'll enjoy the award-winning writing and the photographic excellence.

Remember, what follows is a very small selection from the cornucopia of gift-giving ideas in store right now. We're literally overflowing with chocolate christmas shapes, old-timey candies, special holiday editions of long-time fan favorites, Christmas chocolates, candy-themed jigsaw puzzles, unusual sodey pops and oh-so-much more. Remember to shop early for the best selection.

Gingerbread and Cookie Kits

Great Family Activities

Gingerbread House and Cookie building kits have always been in high demand in past holiday seasons, and that tradition should carry through this year. They're perfect for those

frigid winter days when you want something engaging to do with the kids. And bonus, they leave the house smelling wonderful! Sure, you can gather up all the supplies on your on, but why bother when these kits group everything in the amounts you need to make and decorate a masterpiece. There are several varieties to choose from, including the Frozen Sugar Cookie Castle Kit (above) or the Wonka Giant Gingerbread Pal (right).

Just In Time For Christmas

Theo Chocolate for Gift Giving

Theo Chocolate created the first Organic and Fair Trade Bean-to-Bar chocolate factory in North America. Since 2006 they have been making the highest quality chocolate, in Seattle, from the world's best cocoa beans, grown in the most sustainable ways possible. It's their way of putting their passion into practice. Village Candy is introducing them now with these holiday offerings: Gingerbread Spice in 45% milk chocolate, Cranberry Orange in 55% dark chocolate, Nutcracker Brittle in 65% dark and Peppermint Stick in 70% dark. Any or all would make the perfect gift!

And don't forget Village Candy's normal expanse of artisan chocolates, including a full complement of nut-free treats.

Barley Candy Toys

An Old Victorian Treat

Every year we get requests for barley lollipops. This year we decided to be truer to history with these barley toys. Barley sugar candy (or barley sugar) is a traditional variety of British boiled sweet (hard candy), often yellow or orange in color with an extract of barley sometimes added as flavoring. It is similar to hard caramel candy in texture and taste. During the 18th century metal molds were used to create the shapes known as Barley Sugar Clear Toys, a popular Victorian Christmas treat. These bags contain a nice variety, and are made by Plantation Candies right here in PA!

Pigs and Plums

Saratoga Sweets Are Back

Village Candy made a deal with Saratoga Sweets way back in 2010 to offer their Peppermint Pig Kits for sale. A customer had told us about the tradition, and we knew that many of our loyal customers would love to start the same with their families.

For those who don't know the story: In early December nights long ago, in the quaint Victorian village of Saratoga Springs, NY, legend suggests a "Peppermint Pig," cast of hard candy similar to candy cane and festive pink in color, was brought out after the holiday dinner. It was passed around amongst those gathered, each in turn giving the pouch a firm tap with a hammer and sharing a tale of the past year's good fortune. The delicious broken peppermint and warm memories were enjoyed in hopes of prosperity for the coming year. As holiday seasons passed, the tradition of the "Peppermint Pig" became a wonderful memory.

Saratoga Sweets revived this tradition, and Village Candy offers the kit - an 8 ounce Pig, a velour pouch and a small metal hammer, along with a card describing the tradition - all encased in a red gift box. We also offer their Victorian Sugarplums, another lost art reincarnated.

Pez Sure to Please

New Collectors Sets

Nothing widens the eyes of children (and collectors) more than tearing wrapping paper and finding a Pez set. Pez has been around since the early 1900s (as a candy not a dispenser), but it wasn't until the 50s that they came to the U.S. There are actually several Pez conventions around the country, and the highest verifiable sale of a Pez dispenser was a private sale of a Mickey Mouse softhead for $7,000, between an Austrian dealer and a U.S. collector. Just in time for the holidays and in stock: Star Wars, the last two in the Presidents series, Peanuts and Harry Potter.

BeanBoozled

Up the Wazoozle

Jelly Belly's BeanBoozled had an interesting road to existence. When Jelly Belly briefly lost the license to the Harry Potter Bertie Botts several years back, they had a lineup of "unconventional" flavors without a product. BeanBoozled was born. It works like this - select a speckled light green bean - it could be Juicy Pear or it could be Booger. There are ten other color pairs just like that. Fun and upset stomachs ensue - and kids of all ages love them and lasso their parents into participating. By now they come in several packages: the original box, a slightly larger bag, a box that includes a spinner to make a game of it, a jumbo box that includes a larger spinner and many more beans, and a dispenser that pushes out one bean at a time. And we can tell you, they are HUGELY popular thanks to a number of funny videos posted on YouTube, AND a lot of fun.

Chiller Theater

A report on all things sodarific: what's new in the fridge, tastings and interesting tidbits from the world of bottled effervescence.

Fest Pecan Root Beer

At Fest Cola Inc. they thirst to produce a truly distinctive line of premium, original (never before imagined) sodas naturally flavored and sweetened with real Louisiana cane sugar. They started with a general idea (in this case, flavors tailored for the New Orleans area). From that general idea, the creators of Fest narrowed the taste options down to some excellent classics. Pecan Root Beer (left top) has Fest Almond Cola

distinct pecan and praline notes that add a degree of complexity and originality to this naturally flavored root beer. Their Bourbon Cream Soda (right) brings the distinct oak undertones of bourbon to the natural vanilla bean flavor. And their Almond Cola (bottom left) is their signature, with a unique southern blend of distinct almond notes and natural cola flavor. You have to taste these unique brews, or wrap them up with a bow for a fantastic presentation!

Village Candy is an old-time, new-fangled retail shop specializing in a unique selection of retro and current bulk and novelty candy, artisan chocolates, glass-bottled pop and candy-themed gifts. Oh, and remember customer service? It's back!

We are here Tuesday thru Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, but on Wednesday we stay late until 8! We are closed Sunday and Monday.

Sincerely,