The Most and Least Popular Holiday Candies

It seems like Halloween was just yesterday.  But the Internet has already moved on to CHRISTMAS candy.

CandyStore.com released its annual list of the most popular holiday candies in America.  And Peppermint Bark is #1 again, but not quite as popular as last year.

Here are the top five holiday candies we’ll be buying this month . . .

1.  Peppermint Bark.  It’s the top choice in eight states, but that’s down from 14 states last year.  (This year’s states are Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and West Virginia.)

2.  Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, seven states.  They come in gold, red, and green wrapping around the holidays.  (California, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.)

3.  M&M’s, seven states.  (Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming.)

4.  Starburst, also seven states.  (Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin.)

5.  A tie between Hershey Kisses and Chocolate Santas, five states each.  (Santas in Alaska, Mississippi, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Ohio.  Kisses in Arizona, Maine, Montana, South Dakota, and Utah.)

The biggest surprise is candy canes.  Six states had them at #1 last year, but now it’s down to two:  Louisiana and Oregon.  They did take second in 15 states though.  So plenty of us still like them.  (FoodAndWine.com has a list of the Top 3 candies in all 50 states.)

Non-peppermint candy canes also made the WORST holiday candy list this year though.  And so did Peppermint Bark.

The ten worst holiday candies are:  Christmas nougat candy . . . Reindeer Corn . . . cherry cordials . . . Lifesavers . . . non-peppermint candy canes . . . old-fashioned hard candy . . . holiday Peeps . . . ribbon candy . . . Peppermint Bark . . . and chocolate oranges.  (Here’s a graphic with photos.)