The Story of the Tastykake

When I was little, my dad worked nights for Conrail.
Yes there was a time where I thought my father was an engineer. Not the type that designs things, the type that sits in the front of a train and gets to pull the whistle and wear this hat. But no, that wasn't his job. He was "Network Control", whatever that means.
Anyway, as usual, I'm off the topic.
So my dad would work 11 pm to 7 am. On our birthdays he developed his own tradition. I know some families have pancakes or french toast or eggs for breakfast. I bet a few of those out there reading this would have their mother (or father) make them their favorite breakfast for their birthday. That was not the case in our home. On his way home from work, my dad would stop at Wawa and pick up our favorite Tastykake. We then would sit at our dining room table, place a candle or two into the dessert, and sing happy birthday. Then it was off to school or to play for the day.
Each one of us had our favorite. I loved the peanut butter Kandy Kake. Unfortunately, they were often too hard and the chocolate would crack. On occasion, the candle would fall out. My brother was a fan of the krimpets, I think or was it the cupcakes. My dad and my mom really didn't care too much. My sister, however, was another story. The only Tastykake she would eat were the jelly krimpets. No cupcakes, no butterscotch icing, and no peanut butter.
As we got older, my dad left Conrail and so went his night hours. He still would get us the Tastykake for our birthday. I think sometime when I was in college, that tradition stopped with me. I'm assuming it stopped with the other members of my family too. That is, until this past January.
My dad turned sixty on January 20. I was racking my brain with some gift for him. My mom, brother, sister and I talked about throwing him a surprise party. Money was tight and so that option was put on hold until 65 or his retirement. (Whichever comes first!). I thought about getting him tickets to a Phillies game or something else related to his beloved team, but that to me wasn't too original. And then, it dawned on me as I was walking through the grocery store and saw a display.
Tastykakes would be the perfect gift! At first I was going to mail 60 actual packs of Tastykakes (Not boxes, packs). After some thought and discussion with Bryan over how ridiculously much 60 packs (that would 120 cupcakes/krimpets/kandykakes) would be. I decided to do five boxes of cupcakes.
Follow my math: Five boxes of cupcakes = 60 cupcakes
1 box = 6 packs of cupcakes, 1 pack = 2 cupcakes
I boxed up the boxes of tastykakes, with 60 candles and a little card explaining the gift.
I told my mom to have my dad open the box in the morning. Unfortunately, he didn't get the box until close to noon, but he loved the idea behind it. He was a little pissed that I spent $7.00 to ship them. But hey, it was worth it!
For Moira's first birthday, I made a point of getting her her birthday Tastykake. I ended up settling on Butterscotch krimpets.
She seemed to enjoy them!

Taking the candle out before she dives in.


So yummy she can't keep her eyes open!

Krimpet is TRASHED!

I hope to keep this tradition up with my own family now. So, if you see me at Wawa on April 1, February 18, or September 2, you know to point me in the direction of the Tastykake display.