Is it just me, or are dads difficult to buy for?  When I asked my hubby what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Nothing.  Please don't do anything.  I don't need anything right now."  Wrong answer!  Of course, the kids and I will do something!!!

The kids knew exactly what they wanted to do, and I think a Birthday Candy Gram will become a yearly tradition!

What is a candy gram?

A candy gram can be any message given with some type of candy or candy bar (anonymously or not). For example, the message, "You're such a sweetie!" attached to a box of candy hearts is a candy gram.

However, in my family, a candy gram is a message written on a large piece of paper or posterboard with some words replaced by candy and candy bars. It is a fun and tasty way to share a message with someone you care about. Not only is it perfect for celebration days like birthdays, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Father's Day, but it's also just right for cheering someone up (or even asking someone out on a date).

How do you decide which candy to use?

Many candy and candy bar names fit easily into messages, and others work equally well with a little creativity.

There are a few ways to decide which candies are best for your project:

1. Choose candy with titles that easily fit in to sentences, and build your message around the names of the candy. (This is my preferred method.)
2. Make a list of the person's favorite candy, and then write a message based on those candies.
3. Create your message, and then try to work in candy that matches. (I think this is the hardest method.)

Don't be afraid to think outside of the box. Almost any candy name can be adjusted in some way to work in a sentence.

Which candy works best for candy grams?

There are so many types of candy, candy bars, gum, and even packages of nuts or cookies that work well with candy grams. Here are a few examples to try:

For the greeting:

• Whatchamacallit - Dear WHATCHAMACALLIT, I mean (insert person's name) . . .
• Mr. Goodbar - Dear MR. GOODBAR
• Baby Ruth - Cross out Ruth - Hello, BABY!

For the message:

• Whoppers - Cross off the -s- to make the word "whopper." You're a WHOPPER of a friend. / You're a WHOPPER of a dad.)
• Milky Way - You're the best ____ in the MILKY WAY. / I'd have to search the entire MILKY WAY to find someone as special as you.
• Almond Joy -- Cross out almond and use the word "joy." (You bring JOY to everyone around you. / You're a JOY to have in our family.)
• Mounds - You're MOUNDS of fun.
• Rolo - Use to replace the phrase "roll of." (You're a ROLO fun.)
• Snickers - Cross off the -s- to make the word "snicker." (Don't SNICKER at my gift.)
• Take-5 - You deserve a break, so TAKE-5.
• Payday - Here's your PAYDAY. / You deserve a PAYDAY.
• 100 Grand - You're worth way more than 100 GRAND.
• Cliff Nut Butter Bar, Nutter Butter Cookies, a bag of nuts - We're NUTS about you!
• Butterfinger - I was such a BUTTERFINGERS that I dropped your gift, so I made this instead!
• Air Heads - I'm such an AIR HEAD that I almost forgot your gift!
• Laffy Taffy - Cross out y Taffy - You make me LAUGH
• Nutrageous - Use to replace the word "Outrageous." We think you are NUTRAGEOUS
• Hi-Chew - Use the word "hi" or the word "chew." I CHEWS you. / HI there!
• Mentos - Cross off the -s-. I MENTTO tell you I love you.
• Twix - This is no TWIX.
• Lifesaver - You're a LIFESAVER.
• Any type of mint - You're a MINT. / We think you are dino-MINT!
• Reisins - Here are some of the REISINS I love you.

For the closing:

• 3 Musketeers - From, the 3 MUSKETEERS
• Sugar Babies - From, your SUGAR BABIES
• Sour Patch Kids - From, your SOUR PATCH KIDS
• Hershey's Hugs, Hershey's Kisses -- HUGS and KISSES, from _______
• Baby Ruth - Cross out Ruth - From, your BABY
• Hershey's Nuggets - From, your little NUGGETS

Check out these printable Valentines for even more food pun ideas.

Here's what ours says:

Dear Mr. Goodbar, (We mean Daddy!)

You're a Whoppers of a great dad!  You're the best dad in the Milky Way!  You are the Almond Joy of our family.  You are a Rol-o fun, and we think you are Nutrageous!  Please don't Snickers at our silly card!  Take 5, it's your birthday, and you deserve a Payday!  We love you.

Love, the 3 Musketeers.

How do I make a candygram?

If you've never made a candy bar poster, here's how it's done:

Head to the store and grab all the candy bars with titles that can be used in a sentence. (The Dollar Store and Five Below are great places to find a large assortment of candies -- including retro candy.) Write a silly note using the ideas I shared above. While leaving empty space for the candy, transfer it to cardstock or a posterboard with a pencil. Don't use pen yet. You may need to readjust the spacing. Once you have everything layed out the way you like it, tape the candy bars to the posterboard, and you're all done!

If your kids are helping, you can be as involved or uninvolved as you want.  I helped my kids pick out the candy bars, but they composed the message themselves.  (In fact, aside from help with a few sentences, my six-year-old did most of it herself!)  Once the kids made the plan, I wrote the message in pencil, and they took turns tracing it.

Candy grams make such fun gifts!

What do you think?  Would you give someone a candy gram?  I certainly wouldn't complain if one landed in my lap!

If you have more candy bar ideas, please add them to the comments!  I'd also be interested to see how this works in a foreign country.  I'm sure you have some different candy bars to choose from.

While you're here, please check out some of these other gift ideas (images are linked):

Need more gift ideas?  Click here to see them all!