The Candy Dish

I’m not much of a shopper.
I don’t love buying clothes—even when I need them. I don’t enjoy wandering stores or looking for that one special something. I really don’t like spending money on much of anything... especially seasonal decorations that I know I might not even take the time to put out. It is frustrating to me that while Christmas decorations are still being boxed up, the stores have already moved on—Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter—all stacked on the shelves like time is sprinting ahead of us. 

Maybe that is why I choose not to decorate for every season. It seems the seasons come and go so quickly. However, I do find myself drawn to the holiday consumable aisles with a desire  to put out a bowl of seasonal candy. Whether it's a Christmas tree shaped Reese or a Cadbury egg... I find the holiday candies especially tempting. 

Years ago, I always had a bowl of cherries on the table. It felt elegant. Thoughtful. Something I’d seen done before when hosting dinners or holidays. But cherries aren’t always in season—and honestly, most of the time I’m not hosting a dinner party. Most of the time, it’s just… people. A lot of the time, it’s teenagers. The cherries didn’t make the same impact as the candy bowl. The variety of the candies and colors became part of the fun! Kids remember it. They come back, time after time, checking to see what’s in the candy dish this time. Most of the time, I keep a small bowl near the front door. But for months now it's been a gumball machine sitting on the coffee table. I've filled it with whatever seasonal candy happens to fit through the dispenser. 
Right now, it’s a mix of leftover red and green Christmas M&Ms, pink and white Valentine’s ones, and it’s about to be topped off with Easter-colored peanut M&Ms and Cadbury mini eggs. 

It’s chaos.
It’s imperfect.
It’s kind of perfect.

My littlest visitors love the penny jar that sits next to the gumball machine. They stand cross-legged leaning against the coffee table, carefully placing their penny in and turning the knob waiting to hear the drop. My heart leaps every single time to watch the joy when they reach in with their little fingers for 1 piece of candy
To them, it’s not just an M&M.
It’s the M&M they get when they come to my house.
The teenagers? They grab by the handful. Sometimes they don’t even bother with the pennies, the lid comes off the machine entirely. I notice… but I don’t mind. It’s just something that’s always there and I'm grateful they feel welcome and expect the treat! 

It makes me remember my great-grandmother. We called her Mimi. I don’t have many memories of her—just flashes, really—but I remember her candy dish with hard fruit candies dusted in white powdered sugar. I can still picture the room it sat in. To this day, when I see those candies, they feel like treasure. I intentionally don’t buy them for myself. I want them to stay special.

I’m nowhere near being a grandmother—much less a great-grandmother—and I definitely don’t see myself as the little old lady with a candy dish. But I do believe this:
The staples in your home anchor memories.


Everything we place in our homes says something about us. From the handful of low-effort, year-round decorations with interchangeable seasonal pieces… to the simple wrought iron cross with Jesus hanging quietly on the wall.
My decorating style is neutral. My best friend would say, "subdued." I don’t love color everywhere. I have a hard time committing to things on the walls. And outside of Christmas, I like simplicity and order. 
But I won’t hesitate to spend $10 on a small bag of candy. I don’t mind investing in the memory that someone will have of my home. That they were welcome.... expected even if unannounced. I don't mind the joy that it brings my own kids to feed the gumball machine the same coins over and over and revel in the feeling of getting something for free. If I'm honest, I don’t mind having a handful of seasonal candy at the end of a long week, when it feels like they might have been placed there just for me to indulge in my own moment of comfort.
That’s part of the joy of hospitality.... It is joyful for me too! So I buy the Cadbury eggs during their short, glorious window of availability and trade out the M&Ms for the new color on the shelf. I don’t miss the moment or rush past the season. 

I remind myself not to overlook the small, joyful things that make people feel at home. And while frugal and simple... I remember that all good blessings come from above and we are to be both generous and joyful in our hospitality to others. 

1 Peter 4:9 commands
"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."

1 Timothy 6:18 instructs
".... do good, be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share..."

It's not always the invitation to annual events or the fully prepared holiday meals that bring people to your home time after time.... Sometimes, it’s the just a simple candy dish. 


What small, everyday thing in your home might God be using to make family or friends feel welcomed, remembered, or loved?


Lord, thank You for the simple ways You invite us to practice hospitality — not through perfection, but through presence. Help me open my home and my heart without grumbling, and to be generous with what You’ve given me, big or small. Teach me to notice the quiet moments where love is being lived out... Even if it is just 1 M&M at a time. Amen.


Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all. 💛

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