No storybook ending for Life Savers fans this Christmas

CBC
·4 min read
16
Recently, the makers of Life Savers Sweet Storybooks reduced the number of rolls inside each box to six. This Christmas, even those have disappeared from store shelves in Canada. (amazon.ca - image credit)
Recently, the makers of Life Savers Sweet Storybooks reduced the number of rolls inside each box to six. This Christmas, even those have disappeared from store shelves in Canada. (amazon.ca - image credit)

Each Christmas for the past four decades, Mel Campbell, 71, has bought the Life Savers Sweet Storybook for his daughters' stockings. When his three grandchildren were born, he started doing it for them too.

Now, for the first time in all those years, Campbell hasn't been able to find the rolls of hard candy packaged in a little cardboard book — in recent years sold in Canada under the name "Fun Books" — and he's worried it will mark the end of a longstanding holiday tradition.

"This year for the first time, it's been very difficult to find them," he said. "Past years, I've even been able to find them after Christmas."

Campbell's search for the hard, ring-shaped candy has taken him and his daughters to more than a dozen stores, but they've come up dry.

"We can't find them anywhere," said daughter Melinda Campbell, 44, who even posted on Facebook about it, hoping someone had eyes on the beloved holiday treat.

Melinda Campbell posted this message on Facebook this week for her father whose attempts to maintain a 40 year old tradition have so far been thwarted.
Melinda Campbell posted this message on Facebook this week for her father whose attempts to maintain a 40 year old tradition have so far been thwarted.

Melinda Campbell posted this message on Facebook this week for her father, whose attempts to maintain a 40-year-old tradition have so far been thwarted. (Facebook)

The Campbells aren't imagining things.

"We discontinued the Life Saver Fun Books in 2023," confirmed Tarm Nersesian, director of external communications and affairs for Mars Canada. The Life Savers Sweet Storybook has been discontinued in Canada but it is still available in the United States.

In recent years, there's been some grumbling among candy fans over the size of the books, and there's even an online petition decrying the dwindling number of rolls in each book from 12 to 10, then eight and now six.

"The original, now a collectors item it seems, had 12 Life Savers rolls in them, and a variety of flavors: Pep-o-mint, Spear-o-mint, Butterscotch, Orange, Lemon, Wild Cherry, Wint-o-green, Clove, Stik-o-Pep, Butter Rum, Crist-o-mint, and Five Flavor," reads the petition.

This ad for The Life Savers Sweet Story Book was featured in The Saturday Evening Post in 1941.
This ad for The Life Savers Sweet Story Book was featured in The Saturday Evening Post in 1941.

This ad for a vintage version of the Sweet Storybook was featured in The Saturday Evening Post in 1941. (eBay)

"When I first started the books, you would get 12 rolls of Life Savers," said Mel Campbell, who still works full time as a shipper-receiver for a small local machine shop.

"But over the years, you know with shrinkflation, it went down to 10 rolls in books, now for quite a few years it's down to six rolls."

A quick Google search reveals you can still purchase the Life Savers Sweet Storybook online, but at a steep price. "They're $49 for two. As much as I'm tempted to do it, that would be crazy," Campbell said.

There's just something about keeping a "corny" tradition alive, though.

"I always put them at the bottom of their stocking. It was always the last thing that they pulled out and even now, as old as my daughters are and as old as my grandchildren are, I still get a kick when they get to the bottom of their stocking and they pull out that Life Savers book and I can still see a smile come across their face," a choked-up Campbell said over the phone.

Mel Cambpell holds at bag of LifeSavers, the best alternative he's found to the LifeSaver Sweet Storybook he's handed out to his children and grandchildren for more than 40 years.
Mel Cambpell holds at bag of LifeSavers, the best alternative he's found to the LifeSaver Sweet Storybook he's handed out to his children and grandchildren for more than 40 years.

Mel Cambpell holds at bag of Life Savers, the best alternative he's found to the Sweet Storybooks he's handed out to his children and grandchildren for more than 40 years. (Submitted by Mel Campbell)

"It used to be a big thing with my sister and I after we opened our gifts, we'd sit and open our Life Saver books," Melinda Campbell said. "We would trade and barter for the kind that we liked."

She liked butterscotch and spearmint, but her sister hated the mint ones, she recalled.

According to Mars Canada, the candy company now puts M&M's in their Fun Books.

"To continue this long-standing family tradition, we'd be happy to provide the M&M Fun Book in both peanut and milk chocolate," Nersesian offered.

Sisters Melinda and Sonya sit on Santa's lap in the early 1980s. Mel Campbell started giving his daughters Life Savers books in their stockings when Sonya, the older daughter, was 2.
Sisters Melinda and Sonya sit on Santa's lap in the early 1980s. Mel Campbell started giving his daughters Life Savers books in their stockings when Sonya, the older daughter, was 2.

Sisters Melinda, left, and Sonya, right, sit on Santa's lap in the early 1980s. Mel Campbell started giving his daughters Life Savers books in their stockings when Sonya was two. (Submitted by Mel Campbell)

Mel Campbell's not interested — and he's upset the holiday treats were discontinued without warning.

"I'm just so disappointed," he said. "I know other people must be looking for them as well."

So what's everyone getting instead this year?

"Between you and me, I'm going to probably just buy a bunch of Life Saver rolls and throw them in the bottom of their stockings. I'm still looking but not having any luck," Campbell said.