Lucky Charms - Valentine's Day Treats

For some reason, General Mills always gives Lucky Charms the special treatment when it comes to the holidays.  Whether it's a decorative box, a St. Patrick's Day cereal, or seasonal marshmallow treats, Lucky the Leprechaun always has a wee bit of Irish luck on his side.  For us, that's a great thing because it leads to awesome products that enhance the season and, of course, our Holidaze.  This one, which I caught at the last minute, was a cool surprise.  I missed out on the orange-bottom Halloween edition, so I was happy to see their was a pink-bottom Valentine's Day edition to make up it.

Look at Lucky, laying there with his head in his hand, thinking about the countless girls he picks up over the rainbow.  You don't smile like that when you're not getting Lucky, and that's gotta be his name for a reason.  I'm starting to think he's a bit of a player, because look at what the wrapper says - "To: Sophia From: Jacob."  Last I checked, his name isn't Jacob, but he's the one with the feathered pen.  So, either Lucky is writing this one for his friends and is more of a cherub named Cupid than a Leprechaun named Lucky, or he's giving out fake names when he pops out from cereal boxes.  I don't know about you guys, but "Taste Me Lucky Charms" is taking on a whole new meaning this Valentine's Day.  I see you, Lucky.. Play on playa..

In all seriousness, I think these mini treats are perfect for Valentine's Day.  When I was a kid, the boys would always bring in V-Day cards and candy for the girls in our class.  I only wanted to bring them in for the cute girls, but my Mom told me I couldn't do that and I had to bring them in for everybody.  That defeated the purpose, so I usually sat that one out and let the candy come to me on the down low.  But we didn't have Lucky Charms mini treats when I was a kid.  If that were the case, I would have easily brought these in for everybody, boys and girls, just to make the popularity meter go up.  It's been a while since I've been a kid, physically anyway, so I don't know if these would make somebody "nerdy" or not, but at 26-years-old, I'd consider it an affection of love.  Just make all 25 pouches out to Cliff and my heart is yours.

 

I've had Lucky Charm marshmallow treats in the past and absolutely love them.  I once bought two of the smaller boxes and killed them by the end of the day.  It was getting to the point that I ate too many and the thrill was gone.  Well, it's been a while since I've picked them up and, of course, as soon as I saw the pink-bottom icing, it was going down.  That's the selling point, but I knew what to expect in terms of flavor so it was really more of a bonus than anything else.  It just creates a Valentine's Day experience and enhances the spirit of this day.  It's cute, it's pretty, it's everything boys aren't supposed to like, yet I do and am not ashamed to tell you how much that pink makes me happy.  We've seen an orange variety on Halloween, a pink on Valentine's Day and, I can only hope, that there's a green variety on St. Patrick's Day.  Given the fact that Lucky is Irish, that makes more sense than the others!  If General Mills pulls that off next month, they may just break the home run record for awesomness.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, here's a Lucky Charms Treat from The Holidaze to you.  Yeah, you!  No, I'm not like Lucky.. I'm not a player.. I'm talking to you, not that other reader, but you, with the nice eyes made perfectly for reading The Holidaze :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!! 

I know this may not be the most popular of holidays, and I get that it's largely associated with girly things that most guys aren't in to, but it's a pretty cool day if you ask me.  It's a day to celebrate the love we have for not only our significant others, but everybody we hold close to our heart.  Whether it's your Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Son, Daughter, Friend, Cousin, Wife or Husband, today is a day to remind them how much they mean to you and let them know how much they're appreciated.  Candy, teddy bears, and balloons are great and they're one way of symbolizing that love and affection, but a simple word or warm embrace can do the trick.  You don't have to go out and spend money on the materialism that drives this site, but rather put the extra thought, that runs this site, behind your gesture to create an unforgettable memory or experience that lasts a lifetime.  It's not about what you do, but how you do it.  As is the case with everything, it's about going the extra mile to show somebody how much you care.

To commemorate this February 14th, here's a Valentine's Flashback Friday

In 2009, money was tight, but I wanted to create a memory for my girlfriend that would not only surprise her, but make her feel as special as she is to me.  So, we went down the shore on a cold February 13th and I went out to gather all the ingredients I needed to make some type of Valentine's Day breakfast.  The first thing I bought were a dozen roses and the biggest box of candy I could find.  I bought Valentine's Day cookies and donuts, made waffles and sandwiches because, honestly, I'm not much of a cook and that's about as good as it gets.  I picked up a box of cherry Pop-Tarts and Dr. Pepper Cherry to compliment the flavor and give us something red to drink.  To top it all off, I made her a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal.  But the kicker?  I picked out all of the heart-shaped marshmallows so that it would be her very own Valentine's Day cereal.  It was a huge hit and, of course, I scored some major brownie points for going the extra mile.  It cost me nothing but time but earned me the most beautiful smile I could ask for.

Looking back, I'm surprised General Mills hasn't released an all-hearts Lucky Charms cereal!  What are they waiting for?  That's perfect for V-Day and I'm speaking from experience.  Until then, start picking out those hearts, gentlemen!  She'll appreciate it!

Whether you're single, mingling, flirting, talking, in a relationship or not interested at all - you have somebody in your life that loves you and you love them back.  Use this day as an opportunity to embrace that feeling and show them how much they mean to you.

For all my Holidaze readers, I have two more Valentine's Day posts on deck to help commemorate the day and the connection I have with all of you.  After that, all this mushy gushy stuff is being put aside for green beer and shamrocks :) 

Red Velvet Valentine's Day M&M's

I had no problem finding Cherry M&M's, but the Red Velvet M&M's were a different story.  Whenever I can't find a product, I need to drive out to a Wal-Mart much further away because, for some reason, they always seem to carry more than my local retailers.  Over the years, they're to thank for Halloween and Christmas Crunch cereals, Oreo Cookies, and a few cakes and candies that have been unattainable elsewhere.  In this case, they're to thank again because they're the only location to offer me these highly sought after Red Velvet M&M's.

Red Velvet cake and cupcakes have been all the rage for quite some time.  I think the Food Network deserves the credit, especially Duff from Ace of Cakes and his TLC rival, Buddy the Cake Boss, for creating masterpieces with Red Velvet ingredients.  To be honest, I can't remember anybody mentioning or wanting the flavor before it hit the TV screen.  When I was a kid, I didn't even know what Red Velvet was.  Outside of some type of sensual cloth, I had no idea that it was something you can taste.  Now, and especially over the last few years, everything is being flavored in Red Velvet!  Candy, ice cream, cake - you name it.  But hey, I can't blame them.  When something is that popular, you have to cash in before it crashes down. M&M's are no exception and leave it to Ms. Green to lure us in with her freshly baked cupcakes topped with, what I can only assume are, crushed Red Velvet M&M's.  Some imagination, eh?

The M&M colors are nearly identical to that of the Cherry bag.  If not for the white M&M's thrown into the mix, I don't think you would be able to tell the difference.  The white makes sense, though, because it represents the icing on Ms. Green's cupcakes.  The only color I would have liked to see more of is a deep purple.  Why?  Just because I like the color and think it would work.  Does it matter?  Absolutely not, I'm just being picky at this point.

Just like the Cherry M&M, the Red Velvet version is chocolate on the inside with less of an impact when it comes to flavor.  This one reminds me more of the Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread M&M's because there isn't much taste to it.  To me, it was still basically a chocolate M&M with very little Red Velvet in the mix.  To a degree, that's not a bad thing because, unlike the Cherry, it's far from overwhelming.  But, at the same time, a little bit more punch would have been appreciated and might have worked better.  Either way, It's a good pick-up and a welcome addition to the line of Valentine's Day M&M flavors.  Believe it or not, there are more than just these two bags that I've reviewed today, but these are the hot shots that deserve all the glory and acclamation.

It's the day before Valentine's Day, so if you're still behind and need to get something quick for that special someone in your life, then these are worth the money.  If you can find them, I'd recommend purchasing both.  I know they'll receive mixed reviews, as they have on The Holidaze, but they represent the season so well that they deserve a shot.  Throw them in with a bag of 3 Musketeers Strawberry Dark Chocolate and you're well on your way to sealing the deal.  Or a stomach ache, whatever comes first :)

Three Musketeers - Strawberry Dark Chocolate

It's been exactly one month since my last Holidaze post and, as is common with this time of year, I saw it coming.  I told myself I wouldn't let the off-season affect the way I treated the site, but between work and the lack of topics, it's just natural.  But, to some degree, I wanted to stay true to my word and keep up with the site as much as possible.  Although I haven't had a lot of down time to dedicate to The Holidaze, I couldn't let Valentine's Day, which is now only 2-days away, come and go without paying it due diligence.  I've never covered it before, but this year had to be different, so we're kicking off the 2-day V-Day marathon with the hottest of cupid's products.

3 Musketeers Strawberry Dark Chocolate Minis!!

I first saw this on Instagram and knew it would be February's biggest hit.  Look, you can take any old Snickers or Reese's and shape it into a heart, but that just isn't going to cut it anymore.  You need to go the extra mile because that's what's going to attract me and make me spend my money, especially for a less popular holiday like Valentine's Day.  Let's face it, it's a day for love, couples, and girls.  I'm not against either of those, but it's far from wrestling and basketball so it takes a lot to lure me in and get me to spend money on myself.  But this year? You win, 3 Musketeers!  You had me at Strawberry..

Now, these may or may not be new, but having never covered Valentine's Day before, they're completely new to me.  I think I remember seeing a cherry flavored edition in the past, but didn't take the time to investigate the product.  This year, I wasn't going to let this get away.  Look at the pink and silver contrast with the red and purple to create the perfect Valentine's Day rainbow.  You couldn't incorporate better colors to appeal to my eye.  For me, sometimes it's more than just whatever flavor they're offering, it's about product design and how far they'll go to make it complete.  Not every product can change their taste, and some don't have to, but that doesn't mean you can't change a few colors and logos to celebrate the season.  For me, 3 Musketeers was already a success before I even tried the minis.  Package design and art always go a long way.

I love milk chocolate, but tend to avoid dark chocolate.  I've never liked the flavor.  It's like dark beer - I'll drink it, but would rather not.  In this case, I was willing to make the exception because I figured there had to be a reason why the 3 Musketeers chose dark over milk.  It had to work better with the strawberry and I trusted my three homies.  They wouldn't steer me wrong, so it wasn't really an issue for me.  Dark or milk, I had complete faith that this would be well worth it.

Man, I couldn't get my iphone to take a picture that does the color justice, but the pink strawberry filling is beautiful.  It screams Valentine's Day and tastes great.  For as much as my iphone doesn't do the visual justice, I don't think my words can do so for the flavor, either.  This is awesome.  It's strong, it's sweet, and tag teams with the dark chocolate well enough to be champions.  Usually, whenever I buy one of those big, overpriced, heart-shaped boxes of variously assorted chocolates from Russel Stover, I tend to avoid the strawberry filled candies.  They never appeal to me so I go straight for the caramel and call it a day.  But this?  This is the best starberry/chocolate candy I've ever had.  This is what should be offered in those big boxes because it puts all others, and their price tags, to shame.

Whether you're single and want to revel in your freedom or you're with that special someone who wants to indulge in your sweetness, this is the way to go.  Either way, you can't go wrong because this takes your regular, every-year Valentine's Day to the next level.  We know V-Day is all about candy, teddy bears, and flowers, so you're 1/3 of the way there and it's a lot cheaper than ordering that big box on February 13th.  I'm looking at you, guys, I'm right there with ya.  But don't pay an arm and a leg to get whatever body part it is you're trying to get on Valentine's Day.  Let the 3 Musketeers be your wingmen (or wingwomen) and you're good to go ;)