on the pros and cons of purchasing holiday candy ahead of time.

As I sit here and write this, I'm munching on early-season candy corns -- those wonderful treats that only materialize this time of year.
They're way more sophisticated than they used to be, coming in several flavors and even shapes. You can get candy pumpkins now, too. I'm a traditional candy corn girl, though I do enjoy those orange and chocolate ones, too. 
This is not a new problem. When I was a kid, and on some fine summer evening my dad would say we were having sweet corn for dinner, I'd get all excited and look for the pumpkin bowl filled with candy corn, thinking Halloween had come in August.

Now, while candy corn is a fat free food (yeah!) it isn't sugar free, folks. Sorry. And it isn't real corn, either, so it won't fulfill a serving of fruits and veggies.
I won't trouble you with the number of calories in a serving...suffice to say it's more than 10.
So, are you a pre-season holiday candy-muncher?
Do all the candy canes disappear from the Christmas tree weeks before the Yule? Do the all the chocolates in the red, heart-shaped box have bites taken out of them by February 12? Do the marshmallow peeps still have their heads come Easter morning? And if you optimistically purchase eight or 10 bags of mini candy bars for Halloween distribution, how many do the neighborhood kiddies actually get?
Come on, be honest.
I know darned well that if I buy Halloween candy before October 29 I'd better have some pretty good tricks up my sleeves, cause there aren't gonna be any treats left. Sorry, kids!
I have very little self-control when it comes to sugary sweets. My kids think I disapprove of chocolate Santas and Easter Bunnies because as far as they know, I've never bought them any.
Well . . . let's just say I don't disapprove. Any chocolate characters that enter my home are in grave, grave and imminent peril.

And no love of my life has ever received those cute, little candy hearts with messages inside, let alone a box of chocolates. Hah! As if.
I thought about you while I was eating them, my love!
So, the cons of purchasing holiday candy early are obvious: You'll get fat and your teeth will fall out. And nobody will like you.
I can live with all that.
The pros are also obvious: You'll get to eat it all yourself!
Hey, I'm out of candy corns. See you in the holiday aisle at the store!