Dots are one of my favorite sweets of all time, so I was like a kid in a candy store—literally—when Tootsie introduced new holiday varieties of the addictive, stick-in-your-teeth, sugary sweet orbs. I first discovered Holiday Dots last October when I saw three new Halloween-inspired flavors on shelves: blood orange black Bats, yellow and orange Candy Corn (look and taste just like the real thing but chewier), and assorted fruit flavored green Ghosts (similar in concept to mystery Dum Dums, each Ghost Dot is a greenish glow-in-the-dark color, but tastes like one of the classic Dots flavors).

At this point, I wasn’t sure if Holiday Dots were a one-time thing, but definitely hoped  there were more varieties to come. Low and behold, I received the sweetest stuffer for my stocking when I came across red and green Christmas Dots, followed by red and pink Valentine’s Day Dots and then vibrant Easter Dots—each variety bringing new tastes and colors to the Dots family.

Holiday Dots have become a playful joke between my sisters, Mom and I, and we love to try each new flavor as soon as it hits shelves. My Mom found these Patriotic Dots and they soon became my fave of all the holiday varieties—blueberry and strawberry with a vanilla topper. Nothing pays tribute to July 4th like a true All-American classic candy (Dots have been around since 1940!) in patriotic red, white and blue. Happy 4th of July everyone!