I admit it – I have a dangerous sweet tooth at Christmas.

Cap’n Crunch Christmas Crunch. Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. Candy Cane Hershey Kisses. Starbucks Peppermint Mocha.

When Christmas comes around my appetite and my dessert budget get a little out of control.

There’s something about seasonal sweets which makes my mouth water. For some reason a cookie shaped like an ornament seems like it tastes than your standard circular cookie.

Here’s the shocking truth about Christmas desserts: these holiday treats really aren’t that different from their non-Christmas counterparts.

Christmas Crunch is the same as Crunchberries cereal, just with red and green shapes. Christmas Tree Cakes are just repackaged Zebra Cakes. And even though it’s not on the menu you can get a Peppermint Mocha anytime of the year.

These are the same desserts, just in different packaging. If we really like what we’re eating and not just swept up in the season then we can actually enjoy these same great tastes year round.

Maybe the same is true for the spirit of Christmas.

When December rolls around you can’t deny there’s a wonderful spirit in the air. Even those who don’t celebrate Christmas for religious reasons get swept up in the generosity. Random Acts Of Kindness like Secret Santas paying off customer’s layaway abound.

It’s easy to forget we can be generous and selfless throughout the year too – we don’t have to wait for the snow to start falling.

The spirit of giving, the spirit of abundant and selfless love, can be had all year long. It doesn’t have to be seasonal.

Keeping the true spirit of Christmas becomes a little harder when the rest of the world is not on your side. Without Christmas music blaring and Christmas specials airing, we tend to let this spirit go out of season.

The colors may be different but the spirit is always on the menu. It’s always available. We just don’t always recognize it.

Some years, if I’m smart enough, I’ll stockpile on the Christmas sweets. I’ll buy a few extra boxes of Christmas Crunch and Christmas Tree Cakes so I can enjoy the flavor into January and February.

Maybe this year, instead of hoarding sweets, we can store up some of the Christmas spirit. Maybe if we try hard enough we can make it last all the way to next December.

And even when our supply runs out, let’s remember that the Christmas spirit is always in season, available in abundance to anyone willing to keep it in stock throughout the year. 

What’s your favorite Christmas sweet? How can you keep the Christmas spirit in season year-round?