A Classic…

Today is that beloved day of the year when I toss about flour, sugar and other delectable ingredients to compose what is to be known as the baked gifts of our holiday season. Though we call them this, there are hand made confections in there as well…

Nothing puts one in the mood for such grueling work fun, than rich and wonderful sugary substances that one doesn’t have to slave over create. My new friend Jonathon, over at
See’s Candies really aided us in this motivation. You see, he contacted me, some time ago, asking if I’d be interested in conducting a review. While I considered my December schedule/work load, Chw was pretty much committing me too it simply because it meant free chocolate.
Men.

Obviously, I said yes. (I mean, what better time to review a candy company than just before Christmas, right?) I moved on with life. I met deadlines, went about my busy schedule and continued hand making gifts late into the night. Imagine who didn’t forget, however. No he did not. Diligently he checked the mail several times a day. I told him, several times, to go buy a milky way and chillax*… (*N0, for the record I do not actually use the word chillax. I just think it’s a lame word, and even lamer for appearing in that popular vampire movie I shall refrain from naming for the millionth time.)

But then, as the heaven’s opened and a chorus of angels ripped themselves from Christ’s side to serenade my husband as he ripped open the shipping package from See’s Candies– These appeared…

There are so many funny things I can point out here. I could pinpoint the time, in Detroit, that I was able to take my Transformer obsessed husband to a Transformer’s event, months before the film came out. There are junkets, premieres and so many other totally cool things my writing career have opened up for him. But what is the one event he feels the need to gush with pride over, and tell everyone on the planet about?
My blog review of See’s Candies, complete with free chocolate.

Every chocolate, in the box, was cut into pieces. Sometimes a friend had a piece, (of the piece) and sometimes it was just Gen, Chw & I. (I must point out here, however, that Genny’s opinion is irrelevant. She is a sugar-a-holic and I do believe that, had we handed her chocolate covered pine sol she would have declared it her favorite before swiping a pocketful of additional chocolate covered cleaning supplies to save for later… We merely allowed her to partake out of kindness.)

Most women, anywhere on the planet, would agree that chocolate can be a beautiful thing. See’s Candies proves to be no exception. Of the entire box, there was one chocolate that no one liked. The downside is we will never know what it was because the box didn’t come with a “chocolate guide”. Except for the lovely little square chocolates, which everyone knows are caramel, we were sort of tasting blindly.
Every piece had the consistency that a chocolate should have had. You know those cheap heart chocolates that hit stores just after Christmas? These are NOT those chocolates. These are smooth, and just as pretty to look at as they are delectable to eat.

See’s Candies began in 1921. I remember my grandmother receiving (and buying) boxes of See’s, every Christmas- when I was little. Christmas fell under happier childhood time and I’ve never been able to pass a See’s Candies Boutique in a mall, without feeling warm and nostalgic. I am such a sentimental girl that, honestly, my favorite part of the entire ordeal was that the box that landed on my doorstep looked exactly like the boxes from those days, over 20 years ago. I suspect Chw thought I was a bit of a fool for even caring about that- but the more on thought on it, the more I realized how important that is. In this era of corporate chaos, everything is streamlined, simplified, outsourced and pretty much stripped of any real human connection. Change isn’t always the best. It’s nice when things today can be the same quality as they were 25, 40, 50 years ago.
It’s rare…

The other thing I’ve enjoyed is the people.
Yes, people. Jonathan, the guy who first approached me, is really very kind and funny. This made me curious, so I went into a See’s candy. Keep in mind this was, in the mall. This was during the holiday season, on a Sunday afternoon. There were tons of people, all around us. The wait for Santa was over three hours. I tell you this only to point out that the place was packed…
And the women, in the store, had all of the kindness & patience in the world.
Timeless…

We all have last minute shopping to do. Everyone loves chocolate. I’m just saying, chocolate gifts make sense. They also have a direct like for business gifts which, let’s face it, is pretty great. With buyouts, mergers and layoffs galore, many companies are forced to forgo the annual Christmas parties or Christmas bonuses. Employee morale is low and even something as simple as a box of chocolate really could provide a boost.