With just over two weeks until Christmas, my holiday preparations are in full swing.
 
Christmas decorations up? Check. Visits with friends and family? Scheduled. Gifts purchased? Getting there. 
 
My list is missing just one thing, and that’s buying candy canes. The crook-shaped treats are a holiday staple and are great for giving Christmas trees and stockings a little color.
 
However, the run-of-the-mill peppermint flavor often makes me say “Bah! Humbug!” Thankfully, Seattle-based novelty dealer Archie McPhee is here to help.
 
Along with Handerpants, a set of undergarments that can be worn as gloves, and Introvert Mints, which presumably, are to be enjoyed by one’s self, Archie McPhee offers a variety of uniquely-flavored candy canes.
 
Not feeling peppermint? Try Archie McPhee’s dill pickle candy canes. The 5 1/4-in. canes come in bright green, which may shock an unsuspecting thief when they swipe one from the tree. Unfortunately — or fortunately, perhaps — they appear to be sold out.
 
However, Archie McPhee has another variety of white-and-green candy canes. The spicy wasabi canes could easily go undetected, giving their taster a surprise horseradish-y kick.  
 
The bacon-flavored canes are equally deceptive, since they’re available in bright red. They also come in jumbo size — 10 ¼ inches — for anyone who wants more meaty goodness. Brown-and-white, gravy-flavored candy canes are also available for those who want to experience it in cane form.
 
Archie McPhee also offers unique flavors that aren’t so savory. Coffee candy canes will delight diehard fans, and red-and-black Krampus Candy Canes, named for the Germanic figure believed to punish naughty children around Christmastime, have a smoky cinnamon flavor.
 
If these aren’t your style, Hammond’s Candies, based in Denver, Colo., has several unique flavors that aren’t so jarring. Among the flavors are Milk and Cookie, Cranberry, Sugar Plum, Pumpkin Pie, Gingerbread, Root Beer and Birthday Cake. Hammond’s also offers chocolate-filled candy canes, which come in Peppermint and Cherry.
 
And Spangler Candy Co. in Bryan, Ohio, provides other varieties, such as Cherry Candy Canes, Dum Dums Candy Canes, Smarties Candy Canes, and Jelly Belly Candy Canes.
 
As fun as these all are, I think I might stick with the old-fashioned peppermint ones. It might be safer that way.