IF you don’t have one in your house already, then perhaps it’s because someone has already delved in and demolished the contents - tins of chocolates have been a feature of Christmas for generations and are now popular as collectibles.

 

Tins are in?

If you grew up with tins of chocolates floating about the house at Christmas, then you will know that they were on the wane for a while, replaced with plastic tubs, but the tin has returned for many brands and sell in their millions annually.

 

They are part of festive fare now?

They have been for a long time. Back in the 1930s, when only the wealthy could afford chocolate, Yorkshire confectioner, Harold Mackintosh, decided to produce chocolates at a reasonable price for working class families.

 

And so?

The first Quality Street tin was produced 85 years ago in 1936 and sold for two shillings, with paper bunting around it to create a sense of a "colourful explosion on opening” and sweets individually wrapped by the world’s first “twist-wrapping machine to create a “vibrant experience for consumers.

 

There’s a Scottish connection?

The sweets were named after Scots writer JM Barrie's play and originally used characters, Miss Sweetly and Major Quality, inspired by the principal characters.

 

Soon after?

Cadbury Roses tins were first introduced in 1938 to compete in the twist-wrapped assortment market and also became a festive feature.

 

The tins have altered over the years?

They certainly shrunk over time, with chocolate fans sharing images of their tins decreasing in size each year online as something of an annual tradition. But this year, Quality Street  - now owned by Nestle - offer a mega tin of the sweets and it's a sizeable 2kg in weight; more than three times what you get in a typical 650g plastic tub, including strawberry delights, toffee pennys, coconut eclairs and orange cremes.

 

Tins are a ‘thing’?

Fan sites exist online, with a healthy online market in vintage tins, while last year, for the first time, Cadbury collaborated with British design firm, Cath Kidston, on their Christmas Roses tin, with two designs featuring hand-painted rose patterns. 

 

As for Quality Street?

They have marked many an occasion with their annual offerings, saying: “Our iconic tins and colourful jewel-like wrappers have always been a favourite at Christmas Time. Our tins tell a history of their own, each having its own place in time and its own story to tell.” These stories include tins marking royal occasions such as the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

 

Tins are environmentally friendly too?

Nestle say: “People buy tins because they’re collectible, amazing for re-use, for storing bits and pieces, collectibles…”

 

So what’s the Christmas connection with chocolate?

Legend has it the tradition of giving chocolate was inspired by the deeds of Saint Nicholas in the fourth century, who gifted chocolate coins to children. Also, back in the Middle Ages, log fites would warm houses on winter days and over time, the logs became decorative and eventually replicated in chocolate.