Blizzard Punch Is Why I Love Holiday Candy Season

Blizzard Punch is exactly why I love holiday candy season. Did we already have NERDS Juicy Strawberry Punch? Sure. Is it addictive? Of course it is. Did NERDS need to give us another Juicy Gummy Clusters flavor before I was emotionally prepared? Absolutely not. Am I already making room for NERDS Blizzard Punch Juicy Gummy Clusters anyway? Obviously.

This is the part of the year I wait for.

The minute fall starts creeping in, candy brands apparently decide normal flavors are no longer enough. Suddenly everything is limited edition, holiday-themed, covered in snowflakes, shaped like something festive or flavored like somebody in product development got a little too comfortable.

And I love every second of it.

Because regular candy is great. But seasonal candy has drama.

There’s always that moment when you’re scrolling or wandering through the candy aisle and see something you’ve never seen before.

Wait.

What is that?

That is how they get me.

NERDS Clearly Wasn’t Finished With the Juicy Gummy Clusters

The original NERDS Juicy Gummy Clusters Strawberry Punch already gave us the formula: crunchy NERDS on the outside, that soft juicy center in the middle, and approximately zero ability to eat a reasonable amount.

So naturally, the next question is: can we get another flavor?

Yes. Yes, we can.

Enter Blizzard Punch.

Even the name sounds like somebody at NERDS looked at December and said, “Fine. Let’s make candy out of it.”

And that is precisely the type of holiday decision-making I support.

This Is What Makes Holiday Candy Season So Good

Holiday candy season isn’t really about needing another bag of candy.

Nobody needs Blizzard Punch.

That’s not the point.

The fun is seeing what shows up next.

A new flavor. A weird mashup. A limited-edition bag. Something you immediately send to somebody with, “LOOK WHAT I FOUND.”

Halloween starts it. Then the holiday flavors roll in. Then Valentine’s Day candy starts appearing approximately twelve minutes after Christmas. Before you know it, we’re all standing in an aisle debating whether we need a seasonal version of a candy we already buy year-round.

We do.

Apparently.

Strawberry Punch, Meet Blizzard Punch

And this is where things get dangerous.

Because I don’t particularly want to choose between Strawberry Punch and Blizzard Punch.

Strawberry Punch is already the known quantity. She has tenure.

Blizzard Punch is the new girl.

So I’m doing the only reasonable thing and putting them together.

The NERDS Juicy Gummy Clusters Strawberry Punch + Blizzard Punch Duo is $12.99, because if we’re going to investigate a new holiday flavor, we might as well have the original nearby for scientific purposes.

Very serious research.

Obviously.

And This Is Only the Beginning

That’s the other reason I love this time of year.

Blizzard Punch won’t be the last new candy we see.

Not even close.

And because NERDS apparently plans to keep feeding this problem, Cupid’s Punch is next for Valentine’s Day, followed by Springtime Punch for Easter.

So yes, this is apparently a seasonal series now.

And yes, I will be paying attention.

The holiday candy floodgates are opening, which means the next few months will be full of new flavors, seasonal releases and completely unnecessary candy purchases that I will somehow find a way to justify.

So yes, I already had Strawberry Punch.

Yes, it was perfectly good.

And yes, I still wanted Blizzard Punch the second I saw it.

That’s holiday candy season.

And we’re just getting started.