Christmas Candy Containers

Ninety years ago, children were delighted to find candy in their Christmas stockings, just as they are today. But while modern children might see plastic PEZ dispensers peeking out of their stocking tops, children of the 1920s would have found these beautiful glass candy containers nestled within. Once the candy inside was gone, children often saved the containers to use as toys, and so they have been preserved through the years for lucky collectors to discover.

This 4.5 inch container depicts a belsnickel-like Santa in a long coat and hood. It still has its original metal lid capping the bottom opening. When new, it would have been colorfully painted (remnants are visible on the face) but even bare, it's a beautiful thing, full of character. 

This container featuring Santa and a chimney is just under 4 inches tall. Originally the chimney would have been filled with colorful round, pellet-like candies, and capped with a thin metal lid.

They just don't make candy packaging like this anymore!

Halloween Witch Candy Container

Every fall I hope to add a piece or two, if I'm lucky on the hunt, to my collection of antique Halloween stuff. This year, I found a wonderful old candy container.

Measuring just under 6 inches tall, this container dates circa the 1930-40s, and features a black robed witch atop a pumpkin. It's made of a pulpy composition type material, like so many of the jack o' lanterns from this time period. 

Originally it would have been filled with candy or nuts, and the young owner would have retrieved them by removing this wooden plug on the underside.

Click here and here to see my other Halloween candy containers. 

Pumpkin Candy Container

Here's a jolly looking jack o' lantern, a candy container made in West Germany around the late 1950s. Just 4 1/2 inches tall, he's made of molded cardboard and opens at the center, providing a space for small candies.



The candies are long gone, but here's where they were.

Candy containers of this type were exported from Germany for over 100 years, and they were made for many holidays, including Christmas and Easter. There are collectors who specialize in candy containers, and entire guidebooks are devoted to them. They're a fun collectible, although their fragile and disposable nature makes them a challenge to find today.



Antique Halloween Witch Candy Container

I got this last December, and have been waiting all year to post it. (My family has grown used to me asking for antique Halloween stuff for Christmas...)

This pumpkin bodied witch, 6 inches tall, is a candy container. The base opens, revealing a space inside that could be filled with small candies. Made in Germany circa the 1920s.