You know it's a good sign when you're finding cool new holiday junk at virtually every store you walk into. Let's just hope that the well doesn't run dry by early December, leaving us with no other option but to repurchase the items below and pretend we didn't already buy them. It's too much fun when things are shiny and new.
New "Peppermint Marshmallow Stars" from the folks at Peeps may seem a little basic at first, but they're actually the most Christmassy Peeps I've ever eaten. The stars, white as snow save for a generous helping of red sparkly sprinkles, taste exactly like what you'd imagine marshmallow candy canes to taste like. It's really quite incredible; they're the only Peeps in history capable of making my mouth feel cleaner.
I have a friend who constantly touts the glories of stale Peeps. In fact, she intentionally "dries out" her Peeps in an effort to get them to the perfect level of staleness. I'm on the fence when it comes to that phenomenon, but you really shouldn't do the stale trick to Peeps as soft as these. While most Peeps have an almost sand-like exterior, there's something especially soft about these. My only regret in eating them is that I'm making my potential new head pillow smaller by doing so.
From the makers of the almost-holy Cadbury Creme Egg comes...well, it's pretty much the same thing, but updated with a Christmas-themed foil wrapper. "Cadbury Ornament Creme Eggs" taste no different than their more famous cousins, but since it's impossible to eat the originals during the winter holiday season and not feel a little bit screwy about it, the red foil goes a long way.
I'm only covering the Christmas candies that I haven't already talked about, even if I talked about them five years ago on pages that aren't actively linked anywhere on the site's primary pages. It's a quirk. Point is, there's much more out there beyond what you'll see on the blog this season, and if you're the type to fill your kids' stockings with random candy, you could totally give someone the gift of diabetes this Christmas.
"Santa Snow" is just one of the many titles given to the endless varieties of "snow-in-a-can." I love snow-in-a-can. It's a fool's game to assume that the weather gods will bless your home with a heap of holiday snow, so sometimes, you've got to take matters into your own hands. The can is stuffed with somewhat smelly artificial snow, which can be shot out much like hair spray to create the design of your choosing.
One caveat: Many, many years ago, my sister and I were in charge of decorating my parents' old house while they were out of town. We went a little nuts with the snow-in-a-can, spraying it on the outside of every first floor window. That January, we were surprised to find that snow-in-a-can has an adamantium-esque invulnerability. It was impossible to clean the stuff off. We had to wait for the heavy rains of April for the outside of our abode to stop looking like a gingerbread house, and by then, the damage was done. Our family's neighborhood reputation was forever tarnished.
I think my main goal for December is to find a big, unattended brick wall and spray "EAT LEAD TRACY" on it with snow-in-a-can. Few will get it, but those who do will think I'm really amazing.
Posted by Matt on 11/09/2007. E-mail me!
Chestnuts roasted by 
The last two Christmases have been really craptastic for me due to excessive procrastinating and lack of holiday spirit, and — to quote Gwen Stefani — a few times I’ve been around that track, so it’s not just gonna happen like that (this year). I’ve already pieced together an ultimate Christmas music playlist and I’ve begun shopping for presents and assorted Christmas necessities.
“[Christmas] lives, and this time [I'm] ready!” – Halloween 5 tagline.