Today's featured candy is one that has more fond memories for my wife, than it does me. However, I honor it because it's a treat that both of us used to get as kids from Santa. The candy I am talking about are the Life Savers Story Books.
First debuting in 1935, kids could get a book filled with 12 rolls. Instead of each roll being a variety pack, each package was devoted to a single flavor. The 12 original flavors were 'Pep-o-mint, Spear-o-mint, Butterscotch, Orange, Lemon, Wild Cherry, Wint-o-green, Clove, Stik-o-Pep, Butter Rum, Crist-o-mint, and Five Flavor.' Okay, so you got 1 variety pack. I was wrong.
Over time, shrinkflation took hold as it always does. As Mars discontinued flavors, the story book got smaller. Over time, the number of rolls shrunk from 12 to 10 to 8. Currently kids get only 6 rolls in a book; all 5 flavor variety packs.
The package for the life savers has always opened as a book. Half of the flavors were in a plastic sleeve on the left, mirrored with more rolls of Life Savers on the right. I'm old enough to remember the 10 count books looking like this. However in the 80s, the count shrunk to when you opened the book, all the rolls would be on the right side of the book. The interior left page was now a poem or letter from Santa.
These days, the plastic display window has shrunk as there's no reason to highlight 6 rolls of the same variety. A hole has been cut into the cover to show of the product. The story now splits between the inside top left and top right with the to/from tag printed on the very top of the book. Not a fan of the hard candy variety? Mars now makes a Life Saver Story Book gummies edition. The inside of that book is full of fun and games activities.
Both my bride and I would find one of these in our stockings. Being born a few years apart and from completely different backgrounds, we don't often have similar touchstones when it comes to things we got from Santa as a kid. But the Life Savers Book is one of those things we can both say we got from St. Nick. I'm sure if she longs for any of the original lineup to return. I know that I miss the Butter Rum flavor something fierce. There's actually an online petition asking for some, if not all of the original flavors to return in a special anniversary story book. It might be fun to get one to try some of those vintage flavors like Clove and Crist-O-Mint (what the frick is that?) If it did become available, I know my wife would want one. But I'm not sharing the Butter Rum. Okay... She can have 1!
A very weird food fad of the 1999s was to serve the missing parts of things. Donut Holes, called munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts gave way to a number of treats made of the scraps. It was a novel way to make a few bucks while cutting waste. These days we call it upcycling or recycled food.
One such candy from this era was Life Savers Holes. They were these tiny pills of the 5 flavor variety. I was a fan. It's too bad they didn't last very long.
As my penultimate 2023 Advent present for you, I present a commercial of the Life Savers Holes. Maybe the sunny beach setting warm you a bit on this Winter's eve.
Enjoy!
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