Gift Giving Guy

A taste from Chicago’s Navy Pier landed on my door step yesterday. It’s one of my favorite snacks — popcorn from Popcorn Palace. I happily received the red, one-gallon tin as a Christmas gift from my boss. As I type, I am savoring the kernels of Chocolate Drizzle Caramel Corn. You can’t get this chocolate treat from May to October due to the warm weather — unless you ship the popcorn overnight, I suspect. On the other side of the divided snack tin, I’ve been scooping handfuls of tangy cheese popcorn. (I have to wipe the cheddar dust from my fingertips before returning to the keyboard, so the handfuls make it worthwhile.)

Popcorn Palace offers 27 flavors of its gourmet popcorn, including Chicago Style, a sweet-and-savory mix of caramel and cheddar. The company’s “pop artists” make the flavored popcorn fresh, just before it’s packed in tins for shipping. When ordering, you choose from a number of tin styles to fit the occasion. Holiday, birthday, and thank you gift tins are available now. Tin sizes range from the standard one-gallon tin ($18-$25 plus shipping) to the whopping six-and-a-half gallon party size ($40 to $75 plus shipping).

If your giftee absolutely loves popcorn, consider the Kernel of the Month Club, offering 3, 6 or 12 months of munchies. For those who give business gifts, you can send Popcorn Palace to your clients, customizing tins with your corporate logo.

My wife has also enjoyed this fully-popped, fluffy/crunchy popcorn. When we start seeing the bottom of the popcorn tin, I might just order a refill. Popcorn Palace offers “Just the ‘Corn, Please” refills in one-gallon resealable bags ($11 to $21 per bag, plus shipping).