Christmas meal rejects

We ran a few errands tonight and stopped to laugh in the holiday aisles at the mass quantities of Christmas rejects - you know - the items available in ample supply that consumers for reasons unknown didn't purchase. It's rather fun to browse the aisles to see which products were NOT fond menu items. Case in point:

Sweet Potato Casserole. I'm sure it's not as nasty as it sounds, or looks. Surely someone out there likes it. However, with three shelves stacked several boxes wide and just as many deep, I'm thinking there are a lot less sweet potato aficionados than the store anticipated. And look at that box. They didn't even top it off with a pile of marshmallows like all the other baked sweet potato dishes I've ever seen. Maybe that's why no one bought this. Wrong topping. Next year Betty Crocker should include marshmallows. Then see how many people buy their sweet potato casserole mix. (Between you and me, it'll still be none - just don't tell my mother 'cause I think she might actually like sweet potatoes...not sure...on second thought, maybe it's my dad who does...I can't remember).

The next holiday meal reject contender is Pumpkin Spice pudding mix. Don't get me wrong, pumpkin pie is very, very good and I am a big fan - however pumpkin pudding is a bit of a stretch, especially when the largest letters on the package are "JELLO" and so my first thought was that this was instead a box of pumpkin-flavored gelatin. *gag* And judging by the large piles of boxes still left on the shelves, perhaps this wasn't their most successful seasonal option. Better luck next time!

Oh wait! Someone DID remember the marshmallows - but I think I know why these are still left, or why no one thought to use these on top of their baked sweet potato casserole. Gingerbread flavored marshmallows? Really?

Now, I know I really shouldn't knock something until I've actually tried it, so for all those fans of sweet potato casserole sans the marshmallows, pumpkin-flavored JELLO, and gingerbread marshmallows please enjoy your affliction even more, 'cause the stores would really appreciate moving truckloads of this stuff off their shelves to make room for the Valentine candy.