What are the 10 worst Christmas candies for 2022?

Baking is a big part of the Christmas holiday, whether it’s cookies, yuletide logs, or fudge. But don’t forget about the candy.

Store-bought or homemade, candy at Christmas is a must.

Candystore.com decided to do a little twist and instead of listing the best Christmas candy, it surveyed 9,000 people to rank the 10 worst Christmas candies of all time.

#10 — Chocolate Oranges

According to the site, the impression is that each piece of chocolate had a real slice of orange inside. But that’s not true. It’s milk chocolate-covered orange cream. Many respondents say it’s kind of a mess. They want to like it but it’s not letting them.

#9 — Peppermint Bark

Customers call peppermint bark, “Grinch vomit” because it looks like Christmas vomit. Others call it the pumpkin spice of Christmas: sugary, nasty, and prolific. Some call it just weird because it’s melty, sticky, and weirdly soft, and then crunchy in parts.

#8 — Ribbon Candy

Many agree the only thing ribbon candy has going for it is its appearance. It certainly is pretty. Some didn’t even know ribbon candy was edible. Others call it “stuffy looking and awkward to get your mouth around.”

#7 — Peeps

They are not just for Easter anymore.

Many respondents say peeps are the worst by far. The texture alone gives them the heeby geebies.

#6 — Old-fashioned Hard Candy Mix

This is described as a bowl of jewels that have been around since your grandmother’s grandparents smuggled them from the motherland in the 1880s.

Some respondents say it tastes like soap. Others say the flavors are weird and tastes like fruity rocks.

#5 — Candy Canes - Non Peppermint

People apparently don’t like change. Some responses included, “Candy canes don’t need you to change them. Peppermint only please.”

Others thought they were biting into a traditional candy can but it tasted like fruit, which was a big letdown. Some complained the flavors were weird and the colors were not even Christmasy.

#4 — Lifesavers Story Books

“Those LifeSavers storybooks. They just make me sad,” is one response. Another wrote, “Lifesavers are not for Christmas.”

Others say it’s not that the lifesavers are that bad. It’s really all about the packaging. Packaging a bunch of Life Savers in a Christmas storybook and passing it off as something somebody wants to read is a big no-no.

#3 — Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cordials

Chocolate? Good. Cherries? Good.

But these are not, according to the responses and that’s why it’s the third worst Christmas candy.Some respondents asked, “What is it with that clear-ish liquid inside? Ew.”

Another one wrote, “That poor little cherry has been swimming in whatever that junk is and now we’re supposed to want to eat it.”

#2 — Reindeer Corn

While this is a very popular Christmas candy, it’s also a very polarizing one. If you hate it, you’ll always hate it and if you love it, you’ll always love it.

Still, it’s been ranked the second worst Christmas candy mainly because it’s candy corn but with Christmas colors.

A popular response to reindeer corn is, “Feels weird in my mouth and it emits some kind of secondary flavor a moment later that kind of scares me.”

#1 — Christmas Nougat

The stick-to-your-teeth factor and the weird minty flavor makes this the worst Christmas candy for 2022 among the respondents in this survey.

Here are some of the responses to Christmas nougat:

“Squishy Christmas tree mint circle things. Squishy and minty are weird.”

“I don’t even want to see the little poker chip nougats. Ugly, bad taste, weird texture. Go away.”

“Not sure if they are all stale, but they just look stale, don’t they? Not appealing by any measure.”

By the way, traditional peppermint candy canes received an honorable mention on the list of worst Christmas candy.

On the flip side...

Candystore.com released the top Christmas candy by state.

New Jersey’s favorite Christmas candy is Skittles. Some may not connect Skittles with Christmas, but there it is. The state's second favorite Christmas candy is Reese’s Cup Minis and the third most popular Christmas candy in the Garden State is candy canes.

Do you agree with the worst and the best? The debate continues.

To see which candy is popular in every state, visit here.

Jen Ursillo is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at jennifer.ursillo@townsquaremedia.com

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