Candy Airplanes for Christmas

Every Christmas season for over fifty years, 

my father would walk across the pastures on his farm

and cut one of the small cedar trees that dotted the landscape.

It was almost always the Sunday before Christmas.

While my dad untangled the Christmas tree lights

and wove them over and around the prickly branches,

my mom, brothers, sisters, and I would string popcorn garlands

using needles and long lengths of thread.

We'd also make candy airplanes for tree decorations

to go with the frosted cut-out sugar cookies we had made the day before.

photo courtesy of morguefile.com

The idea for candy airplanes came from a magazine article

that my maternal grandmother had once read, 

and it became an integral part of our Christmases.

They are super cute, quick, and unusual, 

so for those who want an old-fashioned tree, here's how to make them:

Lifesaver candies for wheels

flat sticks of Wrigley's gum (Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, or Double Mint)

rubber bands

stick peppermint candy

Take 2 Lifesavers; place them side by side as they are in the package.

Thread the elastic band through the "wheels,"

bring each end of the band up 

and run a stick of the gum through the loops.

This makes the wings.

Then slide the peppermint stick under the gum at a right angle.

Voila! a candy airplane. 

We always hung them from the tree with ribbons.

I don't have any of my own photos for candy airplanes, 

but there are some good images of them on a blog called 

"Darling Darleen: My Daily Obsessions":

http://darlingdarleen.blogspot.com/2011/02/candy-airplane-valentines.html

Tomorrow, a few more Christmas tree tales.

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