“There is a country . . . where the children have everything their own way. It is a most delightful country to live in. The grown-up people are obliged to obey the children, and are never allowed to sit up to supper, except on their birthdays. The children order them to make jam and jelly and marmalade, and tarts and pies and puddings, and all manner of pastry. If they say they won’t, they are put in the corner till (sic) they do. They are sometimes allowed to have some; but when they have some, they generally have powders given them afterwards.”

—Charles Dickens, Holiday Romance and Other Writings for Children

Dickens’ idea of holiday romance has little in common with Hallmark Channel movies, and many adults today inhabit virtual corners by choice, scrolling on smartphones. We might well wonder, as Dickens once did, whether grownups in our community are doing their best to provide children with the holiday treats they deserve.

This reporter resolved to investigate.

The menu at Elevated Ice Cream in Port Townsend reflects the notion that sweets inspire affection — even unswerving devotion. How else to explain the name of a Dutch cocoa and chocolate swirl ice cream, Blind Love? Having accepted that premise, the Water Street ice cream parlor stands behind its brand of delight, offering Port Townsend-made candy in an adjacent space. Christmas specials at the shop include “chocolate Santa faces that are really cute,” according to manager Annalise Washburn. “I am a marzipan girl,” says Washburn, “but our caramel cane is the most popular gift item we have.” The candy-cane shaped box is filled with caramels in various flavors.

It quickly became clear that holiday sweets are widely available in our area, and are purchased in quantity.

Wild Redhead Confections, a Chimacum candy maker, sells chocolates “made with love” at area craft fairs. Demand has been steady at this year’s Holiday Arts and Crafts Market at Chimacum High School, according to Sarah Dexter, daughter of Wild Redhead founder, Linda Dexter. “I had a customer buy nine boxes of the chocolate-covered cherries yesterday,” Sarah said. She added that repeat customers seemed anxious about finding them this year, as the booth is in a new location in the busy gymnasium. At midday Sunday, Wild Redhead had sold out of the chocolate cherries.

Hanukkah gelt are chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil that children receive during Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, celebrated over eight December nights. Locally, the coins are available at See’s Candies Seasonal Pop-up Shop at the Silverdale mall. There has recently been attention to the value of fair trade chocolate in Hanukkah festivities. According to chocolate scholar, Rabbi Deborah Prinz, buying fair-trade chocolate gelt is “a reminder of the freedom our people won many years ago.”

Asked about candy purchases for the holidays, adult shoppers interviewed by this reporter tended to dismiss the idea of candy as a gift for children, while admitting to their own childhood memories of specific, favored sweets. One grandmother, perusing a display of Necco wafers and PEZ Santa dispensers, recalled her parents as having been appropriately disapproving of candy, while her grandmother had been more indulgent. Still, she said, for now, she was “on the fence.”

Nostalgia seems to drive the selection of European holiday foods at Marina Market in Poulsbo, where German stollen, Swedish ginger cookies and Austrian marzipan candies are sold. The most popular holiday items are Dutch chocolate letters, confections that customers send “all over the country,” according to market manager Ari Rowe. The Dutch custom is part of the Sinterklaas celebration of December 5. A gift of edible letters has origins in the third century, when children were given bread letters at birth as a symbol of good fortune. But Marina Market is best known for its licorice shrine. Rowe said, “I can’t say for sure how many varieties of licorice we have right now, but we have at least 500 types of licorice at any given time.” Three shoppers dressed as Vikings admitted their preference for licorice, a Scandinavian favorite with origins in early botanical remedies.

Fudge is the specialty at Poulsbo Candy Shoppe on Front Street. An American dairy confection invented in the 1880s, fudge has a base of butter, cream and sugar, stirred as it cools to yield a soft texture. Fudge may or may not have chocolate flavoring. Of the 28 flavors of fudge at the shop, brown sugar penuche, crème brulée and butterbeer (inspired by Harry Potter) may draw in those who don’t like chocolate. But, according to Ava McClung, who was serving fudge, the most popular holiday flavors are marshmallow nougat divinity, peppermint and Grinch, a butterscotch-chocolate flavor in green with a touch of red.

This reporter was about to abandon the search for indulgent grownups when Tiffany Innocenti piped up from behind the counter of the Poulsbo Candy Shoppe. According to Innocenti, the current project of the store’s owner, Marsha Harris, is to bring holiday candy to children in foster care. In cooperation with Washington state agencies, the shop will provide holiday stockings. A donation of $10 fills a stocking with $30 worth of holiday treats, including candy and a small stuffed bear. The effort is presently halfway toward its goal of 300 stockings. Donations can be made both online and in the store.

Charles Dickens himself would likely approve such a plan for holiday cheer.