Gifting Sweets for All Occasions with Swizzels*

When I compare my childhood to LM’s, a lot has changed. Not just basic things like fashion, music and pop culture, but even the way we parent and the toys she plays with. Sometimes this makes me sad, but other times I feel happy that the world is constantly changing and LM gets to have a better childhood than I had (and I had a rather blessed and sheltered one). However, I love when I find something that hasn’t changed from my childhood, and today’s example of that is Swizzels sweets. In fact, Swizzels has barely even changed since my mother was a child, and that’s saying something (sorry mum!)

If you’re from the UK, I’ll be very surprised if you don’t know Swizzels. You might not recognise the brand name but surely you’ll recognise the sweet names, such as Love Hearts, Parma Violets and Drumsticks? They have a very retro look to them but without a doubt they’re still as popular as ever. As a parent, they’re my go to brand when it comes to bulk buying as they’re good value and kids still love them.

Today I’m going to share with you what kind of Swizzel sweets I buy for what occasions;

Love Hearts
Starting with LM’s favourite, Love Hearts. Love Hearts are definitely an iconic Swizzels sweet. If you’re not from the UK, these are little round sweets or candy with a sweet message on them. I buy Love Heart mini packs to take on holiday with us. We make up little packs of them to give to Disney Cast Members to say thank you. They’re perfect as they don’t melt in the heat, they’re fairly durable to survive the flight and if LM gets a bit peckish I can hand her off a packet to keep her going!

Drumstick Lollies and Squashies
I loved Drumstick lollies growing up. The strawberry and milky flavour was delicious and I loved biting it straight off the stick then chewing it in my mouth. You can’t beat it. And now they have sweet versions (instead of it being on a lolly stick) called Squashies and these are really popular in our house! My nephew especially can eat a whole sharer bag! These are perfect to fill a piñata up. We usually get a pumpkin shaped one at Halloween as LM won’t hit an animal shaped one haha.

Fizzers and Parma Violets
One of my all time favourite smells is Parma Violets and I love the taste too. These little packets of crunchy sweets are perfect for a party bag. They’re small but a couple of packets feels like a lot to a kid. That and if the kids parent isn’t a fan of them eating too much sugar (which is the norm these days) they’re easy to hide or ration! If LM comes home from a party with a fair few of these I usually eat the Parma Violets (bad mummy) and let her keep the Fizzers!

Refreshers
Can anyone remember getting these for 10p at the corner shop? They lasted ages and were the perfect mix of sweet and sour sherbet! These days you can get multi packs which are perfect for giving out at Halloween! I usually buy a big bag then fill a tub that I can offer to anyone that calls. They’re great because it means everyone gets the same and no one spends 5 minutes rooting around for their favourite. They do come in different flavours though and even the mini ones are a decent size which makes them great for loot bags!

These are just our personal favourite Swizzel sweets! I didn’t realise they had such an extensive back catalogue and you can even get personalised ones for birthday or wedding favours!