holiday candy bar

The holiday season is here, which means lots of fun parties and delicious desserts! If you’re hosting a party this year, a fun idea for all ages is a Holiday Candy Bar. It’s really easy to set up and there are lots of fun ways to get creative with it. You could set this up as a treat to enjoy during the party, or as a favour bar for guests to take home with them after the party. Here are a few fun ideas to help you brainstorm your own holiday candy bar ideas.

Choose a Theme - Your candy buffet doesn’t have to have a theme but it does make your shopping list a bit easier when you know exactly what you’re looking for. Some fun theme ideas for a holiday candy bar include: Gingerbread House Construction Zone: Your candy bar could include items you’d typically use to decorate a gingerbread house like gingerbread cookies, gumdrops, chocolate coated candies, peppermints and more.

consider the ages of your guests as well. Adults would be fine with a bar-style table with different heights of candy vases but for a candy bar for kids you may want to use something shorter like a coffee table and plastic serving dishes. You’ll also want to add some colour to your table with items like a tablecloth, paper lanterns, candles, flowers or other colourful holiday decorations. Tree ornaments are great for this! Finally, you’ll need to give guests a way to carry their candy. You could use small paper bags, little favour boxes, bowls, or even plastic martini glasses. Don’t forget the candy scoops for your guests to use instead of their hands. I hope your holiday season is full of great memories and plenty of delicious desserts!

Holiday Colours: Your candy bar theme could simply be your favourite holiday colours like everything in red, green & while or silver & gold. For this party I went with a silver and red theme. For silver candies I used Sixlets (a candy coated chocolate), York peppermint patties, and Hershey’s kisses. For red candies I used licorice, Sixlets, and then mixed in a few other items like frosted & sprinkled cookies and chocolates. Homemade Candy: If you love baking, you could set out a buffet of your own homemade truffles and candies. You could start with some easy Oreo Truffles (a recipe was shared in the last edition of Pink Magazine), homemade fudge, saltine cracker toffee (you’ll find a recipe online – this is always a holiday favourite), and more! The bulk candy section is a great place to shop for candy for your party. They have a large selection of candy and you can buy it in the quantity you think you’ll need. Setting the Scene – Once you’ve decided what you’d like to serve in your candy bar, you’ll need ideas for how to display everything. Glass vases work great to display a variety of candies, but they aren’t the best idea if you’ll have younger guests at the party. At your local craft supply store, you’ll find plastic candy vases that look just as pretty as the glass ones. Clear plastic bowls and scoops work just as well too. Whatever you decide to use, make sure it’s easy to see the candy through the serving bowls and vases. Next, you’ll want to add some height to your table display so you can easily see everything to choose from. For a holiday-themed party, this could be as easy as using wrapped gift boxes as a stand to hold candy bowls and vases. When planning how to display the treats on your table,

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by Cheryl Kirkness

FOR SASKATCHEWAN WOMEN | VOL. 5 ISSUE 12, DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017 | 23