Families pick up homemade candy canes and other holiday treats at Giambri's Quality Sweets in New Jersey
CLEMENTON, N.J. (CBS) — As people crowded the malls and stores on Christmas Eve, some families were also racing out to pick up sweet treats for the dessert table.
For more than 80 years, the machines have been humming inside Giambri's Quality Sweets in Clementon, New Jersey. At Christmastime, it's a mad dash to the finish filling orders as thousands of pretzels are covered in milk chocolate and sprinkled with salt.
The third-generation business is best known for its homemade and handspun candy canes.
"We make approximately 40 to 50,000 candy canes a year," said Dave Giambri, who took over the family business about 25 years ago.
Giambri says candy cane orders start coming in at the beginning of September, and they are shipped all across the country.
"It's all done by hand. It's really a dying art, nobody does it anymore. You can see in the pictures it's very labor intensive," he said.
The candy shop opened in 1942, and ever since picking up the chocolate-covered pretzels and candy canes has become a tradition for many families.
"Giambri's has always been at Christmas for both of our families, so we got to stop if you're going to be seeing everybody," said Brooke Krisch, who was shopping with her husband and two boys.
"The goodness and the quality of the candies, that they're homemade," said Paula Street.
Giambri says it's a labor of love each season, but he enjoys making Christmas a bit sweeter for families not only in South Jersey but all across the country.
"It really feels good and that's really what makes me do it every year, the letters, the people coming in the store that remember coming in as a child, and remember my mom being behind the counter," Giambri said.
After the Christmas rush, Giambri has two days off to rest and recharge, then the focus shifts to Valentine's Day.