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Happy Fruitcake Toss Day: What To Do With Fruitcakes After Christmas? [Videos, Photos]

By Charisse Van Horn
Published on: 00:59 PST, Jan 2, 2016

Happy Fruitcake Toss day! You’ve had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year; now, it’s time to clean up the last remnants of the holiday. Ugly Christmas sweaters are being packed in boxes, Christmas decorations and ornaments are gingerly placed in tissue paper and returned to storage and the fruitcake…ah yes, the fruitcake. Just what should be done with the fruitcake that everyone gives yet no one eats? If you’re wondering what to do with that harder than steel slab of multi-colored bits that may or may not be edible, have no worries. Today is national “Happy Fruitcake Toss” day and you’re perfectly welcome to chuck that fruitcake as far as your arm can throw. Or, maybe just toss it in the garbage instead. However, if you do actually want to make a competitive sport out of tossing your fruitcake, head on over to Manitou Springs, Colorado where you can take part in the annual “Fruitcake Toss” that is also believed to be the origin of “Fruitcake Toss day.”

Manitou Springs, Colorado shared a bit about the history of “Fruitcake Toss Day.” The city has turned the “Fruitcake Toss” into a charity event.

“This one-of-a-kind event, where enthusiasts traveled from all over to compete for trophies and bragging rights, has been a community highlight for more than 22 years. The great fruitcake toss is the event of the winter season as the hapless dessert is launched into space with a variety of mechanical and pneumatic devices.

“Competitions have included the Hand Toss, Kid’s Toss, Launch, Pneumatic Gun or Canon, Team Catch or Accuracy division. The cost of competing is simply a non-perishable food item, to be donated to the Westside Cares food bank.”

While Manitou Springs will hold their 2016 Fruitcake Toss competitive event on Jan 31, Jan 2 is the official day this holiday is celebrated. If you want to hold on to your fruitcakes until the end of January, feel free. We’re certain your fruitcake can last without suffering blight, damage or mold. Fruitcakes are unbelievably sturdy, durable and hard. They have an amazing ability to withstand most natural elements, so keeping your fruitcake for several more weeks shouldn’t hurt anything.

Check out this video from Manitou Springs’ 2015 “Fruitcake Toss” event.

Check out the video below for footage from a 2008 “Fruitcake Toss” event in Manitou Springs.

Though Manitou Springs is credited with the event, other fruitcake tosses have sprung up in other cities. It’s not only a way to put the neglected fruitcake to use, but it also promotes community spirit.

What should you do with your fruitcake if you don’t have a local event available and traveling to Colorado is out of the question? Well, you might want to check with your local city or community planning organization and see if you can start a fruitcake toss. You can also look for ways to repurpose your fruitcake.

Some people have recipes for turning their fruitcakes into delicious edible treats.

While it’s true that fruitcake gets a bad rap, it might be time to simply update the recipe. Fruitcake is actually incredibly old; not literally, though it does have a very long shelf life due to the practice of soaking the cake in an alcohol-lined paper before storage. The actual recipe for fruitcake dates back to the ancient Romans. As fruitcake is essentially a cake baked with chopped fruits and nuts, the recipe combinations are endless.

But are there actually delicious fruitcakes that are so good no one would dare consider tossing it?

Here are some creative twists on the classic fruitcake, for those who are convinced there is no better gift at Christmas than festive fruitcake.

What are you going to do with your fruitcake? Are you going to toss it, recook it or use at as a bookend?

[Photo by Chaloner Woods/Getty Images]

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