Candy Caning

I don't know about in your family, but in mine we always buy that twelve-pack of candy canes to hang from the branches of our Christmas tree. And yet, nobody ever eats those candy canes. Each year, they are left hanging until December 26^th. at which point they are removed from the tree and either discarded or tossed into the boxes of Christmas ornaments to be found all melty and twisted the following December. It does kind of make you wonder why we buy them at all. And I suppose the answer has more to do with honoring tradition than impulse buying or bad breath fighting.

But all that aside, I started thinking about how I could use up those twelve candy canes this year. And I complied a short list of possible uses which you may find below. With any luck, I'll find the time and ambition on December 26^th to actually put some of these ideas to good use. And if not... Well, maybe I'll be able to use them next December 1^st when I dig them (once again) out of the boxes of Christmas ornaments.

• Melt the candies down into mugs of hot cocoa, mint tea, or even hot Dr. Pepper.
• Include the candy canes along with any overdue Christmas cards as reparations.
• Wet the tip of the candy cane and attempt to use as a pen.
• Use to decorate the indoor ficus tree until someone finally does eat them.
• Jam into lawn to aerate the grass.
• Use the candy canes in the place of wooden dowels to keep the layers of a wedding cake separate.
• Place the candy canes on the edge of any dessert plate in the hopes that someone will eat it.
• See if they work as a miniature cultivators for rooting out weeds in the garden.
• Bait mousetraps with pieces of candy cane.
• Grind up into a fine peppermint dust and stir into your toothpaste for extra minty freshness.
• Use as a novelty putter/conversation starter on the golf course.
• Hand the candy canes out to trick-or-treaters next Halloween.
• Use as minty-fresh fish hooks.
• Glue the candy canes together into a giant pole. Then, tack the pole up beside your front door and open up a barber shop.
• And if all else fails, throw them into the box of Christmas ornaments just to see how funny looking they will be next year.