Candy: Making Christmas More Cheerful

Entertaining guests is an integral part of the holiday season. Whether you plan elaborate get-togethers or get caught off guard by spontaneous drop-ins, your unused chairs and "nice" dishes are bound to get some play before the end of the year. I recently discovered a time-tested strategy for making all this visiting easier -- one that seems to have been forgotten along the way by generation X.

It's very simple. Put candy all over your house. I'm not kidding. As an eater of salad in lieu of dessert, I am the last person who ever expected to say this. Sure, I celebrate individual candies as their own independent holidays. But scattered candy previously meant nothing to me aside from an abundance of temptation. I've finally found what receptionists and bank tellers have known for years. Candy makes people feel better. It makes them calm down! Even when they're being told bad news, like, "No, Michael's not here" or "No, you can't make a withdrawal. We actually want you to pay us before we'll let you leave."If little bits of sugary sweetness can brighten those moments, imagine what they can do for your too-small apartment when your great aunts, who don't like your boyfriend, suddenly feel the urge to spend unending amounts of time with you. With a little forethought and very little expense, you can make your home an exciting place to be -- for you, your guests, and for the children they drag along with them. Placing candy within reach has the incredible and immediate impact of making guests feel more at home. Elevate your freinds' enjoyment of your company by giving them something sweet to eat.

Celebrate the Season

The fun part of holiday candy is that it's socially acceptable to put it literally everywhere. Red-and-white-striped candy is the perfect complement to sprigs of evergreen. So hang candy canes on your tree and place peppermint sticks throughout your garland. It's super adorable to dress up vintage jars or modern glass vessels for Christmas. Just fill them with different candies and slap on some homemade labels to give your guests a variety of beautiful things to snack on and talk about. So showcase your sweet tooth and brighten up your space at the same time. It's the one step of holiday decorating that will be painless (and might even make trimming the tree go more smoothly)

Share the Love

Putting candy around the house is a really suave way of getting people to try things that you love. We all want to share things we enjoy, but it can be next to impossible to get friends to take the leap on their own. Instead of giving treats as gifts -- and having to wrap them and send them -- you can encourage your guests to indulge while keeping you company. It's the perfect way to change minds and get first dibs on the leftovers.

Keep the Kiddies Busy

We all grow up with our favorite houses to visit -- and those we dread. Candy is the best way to swing your friends' kids' opinions in your favor. Did you throw away the box of toys your cousin Hannah gave you for occasions like this? Distract with chocolate covered cherries. Have a tendency to snap when someone sets a little foot in your parlor? Grab some gummi bears. When kids have off from school, candy is the prime currency for buying time with your adult friends. The more rooms you decorate with it, the greater the scavenger hunt you can send them on. And the best part is, they'll love you for it! There's no use fighting -- embrace the season! String up popcorn with your holly and pair peppermint with your poinsettias. And maybe you'll make the holidays just a little bit sweeter for your self and everyone who visits you.