| December 2025 |
Thinking
Outside The Dispenser Since 2001
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Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor | top Hello and Happy December from Pezhead Monthly! To quote that one dude from the Throne Games, Winter is coming. But, as always, so is new Pez! So we got that going for us, which is nice. November brought us the Fall 2025 Virtual Pez Convention (VPC), and I was pleased to attend this event and read one of my Pez poems. Hosts Landon Proctor and Morgan Rhinehart always ensure we Pezheads have a great time at the VPC. They announced that starting next year, the VPC will become an annual event rather than twice a year. I thank them both for their continued dedication and commitment to the Pez community and I look forward to seeing them (and many more of my Pez pals) again next year at Pezamania 35 in July. November also brought us new Christmas Pez from a variety of places. In addition to the new Ugly Sweater that is available in tubes in many different stores, there were also new exclusive Christmas dispensers at Walmart, Target, Wawa, and Pez.com. I was lucky enough to pick up all of these and go into more detail later in this issue. I also made a silly meme in November, which is not included as a separate feature in this month’s issue, but which I thought I’d share here. And yes, that is me dressed up as Prince in the picture! If you read later into this issue, you’ll understand why.
The December issue kicks off with a cover image that is a Pez take on a scene from the classic Christmas movie “Scrooged.” The main feature this month is a recap of my time at the Fall 2025 VPC, including a video of my performance of a Pez poem (and in costume!). Also in this issue is some Christmas Pez Poetry, a new Pez Almost-Quote, and a rundown of my November scores. And lastly, be sure to check out the Pezhead Monthly Christmas page, which has been updated with content from this month's issue, as well as some content from previous issues that had been mistakenly left out. There's a lot going on at this page, so don't miss it! Thanks as always for reading Pezhead Monthly. Take care and see you soon! Joe Durrant P.S. Did you miss last month's issue? You can still read it here. To search the full Pezhead Monthly archives, hop on over to the archive page, where you can browse by feature, Pez Poetry Slam, or issue. There's also a Google search bar to help you search the content across the site. And hey, maybe you would like to submit some words, photos, artwork, or videos to Pezhead Monthly to be featured in an upcoming issue? That would be great! Check out the submission details here.
From Pez.com, I picked up the exclusive Reindeer Ugly Sweater. This is the second year in a row that Pez has released the Ugly Sweater as an exclusive; the one last year was the OG and then the mold was brought back as NHL hockey jerseys and also as a Hogwarts jersey for the Harry Potter set. I also picked up the exclusive Bronze Nutcracker. Both of these exclusives were surprises to most of us, and were released from Pez.com one week apart. It would have been much better if these were released simultaneously so that us Pezheads could have saved on shipping, but as the kids say, it is what it is. Also from Pez.com, I picked up the new Kitty Fairy from the Gabby’s Dollhouse set and the My Melody with blue bow for the ever-growing Hello Kitty set. Speaking of Hello Kitty, I picked up the new Hello Kitty 2-pack of the newer Hello Kitty and full body Hello Kitty. This may be my last Pez 2-pack of 2025 and trust me, I am not complaining about that! It marks the 12th Pez 2-pack I picked up in 2025 (and even the third Hello Kitty 2-pack from this year), compared to the 6 total I picked up in 2024. I’ve talked before about stopping and/or paring down my 2-pack collection. Maybe 2026 will be the year I finally get around to doing it! Out in the wild, I picked up Pez from a number of places. First off, from Kroger, where the savings never stop, I found the new Christmas Ugly Sweater in the tube. (TWO Pez Ugly Sweaters in one month!? Yeah, that happened!) I was quite surprised to come across this at that particular Kroger, because it is easily the smallest one that I’ve been to, and with its fairly limited selection, I did not expect it to be there. This Ugly Sweater is slightly different from the 2024 Pez.com exclusive Ugly Sweater (and not to be confused with the 2025 Pez.com exclusive Ugly Sweater I mentioned above), swapping the Santa graphic with the word “PEZ” and also swapping the green sweater color for a red one. Here is a picture of the 2024 Pez.com exclusive, the 2025 version found in stores, and the 2025 Pez.com exclusive.
From Target, I found the new exclusive Bullseye dog with a Christmas hat. This was one of those surprise drops for sure. It’s always fun when someone discovers an unannounced Pez find and it always sets off a mad rush by everyone else to track it down. It only took me a few tries to find it in a store. Others who ordered it online were not so lucky, as there were multiple accounts of people receiving incorrect Pez dispensers in the mail (mostly something from the Treats line of Taco, Pizza, etc.) From Wawa, I found the new 2025 Hauler, which marks the 10th in the series. This was a nice find because, with Wawa only having recently opened in my area earlier this year, this was the first time I was able to pick it up in person instead of online or at a convention. It took a few tries, and I was beginning to lose a bit of hope, but a quick check before my haircut appointment provided “shear” satisfaction (oh yes, I went there). From Walmart, I picked up the new exclusive Pikachu with “Happy Holidays” green stem and THREE versions of the exclusive Hello Kitty with green bow. Like Target, these were also unannounced surprises. Pikachu was also a Walmart exclusive last year, but with a different head design (both eyes open instead of this year’s winking version) and a red stem (although with the same printed “Happy Holidays” and candy canes on the stem). As for Walmart’s Hello Kitty, what a wild ride this was! Not only was the initial find a surprise for Pezheads, but then it was soon discovered that there were two different versions: one with thicker whiskers and one with thinner whiskers (as well as other, smaller variations in eye shape and bow color). The thinner whisker version was harder to find, but I found it about a week after the thicker whisker version. THEN, on top of this, it was discovered that there are two different versions of the thicker whisker variations! One variation is on a Hungary Stem and the other one on a Vietnam stem. The differences include a slight collar on the back of the Vietnam variation (as opposed to no collar on the Hungary version), a thicker, more rounded bow on the Vietnam version, and different trademarks on the back of the heads. I was going to go back to Walmart to hunt for the Vietnam variation, but it turns out I had already bought it (along with the Hungary version) before even knowing of the differences. My habit of getting extras actually paid off pretty big this time! Here is a picture of the different Hello Kitty variations.
From my Pez pal Topher Yarrison, I picked up a custom painted Orange Mushroom Pal with a mustache. It’s very well done and will make another fine addition to my Topher shelves! From the Pez Outlaw himself, Steve Glew, and the brilliant (and may I add 2025 Pezhead of the Year) Larry Mason, I picked up 2 more of his “Not-a-Pez” custom pieces: Smiley Pez Outlaw and Frowny Pez Outlaw. Steve shared the news that this will mark the last of his Outlaw Pez series, unless the planned London musical and/or limited TV series ever come to fruition. I look forward to adding them to my Pez Outlaw display, where space is running a little tight. From my friend Katy, who knows very well about my Pez obsession (having witnessed it from its very early days in college at Niagara University), I picked up two new Zuru miniatures: a mini Pez Pal on orange card and a mini Pez tin. Thanks for thinking of me, Katy. This was a nice surprise in my mailbox! These 2 minis are in the picture below, in the bottom center of the picture, and here is a closer look at them. And lastly, from eBay and the wonderful Robert Samolewski, I picked up some more custom Batman capes. I’ve actually gotten a whole bunch of custom capes from Robert over the past few months, but I’ve been pretty mum about them here on Pezhead Monthly. This is because I’m hoping to start pairing the capes with custom Batman Pez that are either in my collection now or that I can get from other talented artists in the Pez community. (This has been one of my Pez goals for a while, but it’s been on the back burner.) Then, after I get several of the assembled custom capes and dispensers, I will have a grand unveiling here on Pezhead Monthly. So for now, while I will still hold off on pictures of the capes, I will say that these capes have amazing colors ranging from monochrome to color changing, with some really fun multicolor prints. And there are even 2 entirely different cape designs! I also picked up a different, non-cape design from Robert in November. It’s an insanely awesome design that fits on most standard dispensers. And it’s such a brilliant idea! And, like the capes… I’ll leave it at that for now with no pictures. While I know that’s incredibly vague and teasing, stay tuned because I am planning on showing it off much sooner than the capes, hopefully in the next issue of Pezhead Monthly. And just as the
month ended, I received a final item from Robert: a Pez display stand
in the classic black and yellow colors of Batman (which will eventually
be filled with some of my Batman Pez, as luck would have it). The display
holds 5 dispensers. The band of yellow bricks along the bottom brings
to mind both Pez candy bricks and a Batman utility belt. Robert has
these display stands in a few other colors on eBay and they are all
very well designed!
On November 1, Pezheads once again gathered virtually for the Fall 2025 Virtual PEZ Convention (VPC) and Charity Auction. Since April 2020, when COVID forced a pause in in-person Pez conventions, hosts Morgan Rhinehart and Landon Proctor have given us the VPC, which has provided Pezheads a chance to meet, check out some great Pez room tours, play games, bid on auctions, win giveaways, and more. I was glad to be among the attendees for the Fall 2025 VPC. I think I counted as many as 110 people online at one point, which included multiple people on the same camera in some cases. As for the title of this piece? Well, I’ll get to that in a little bit. As usual, the VPC contained some truly excellent room tours. This time around, the room tours were by Adam Meyer, Robert Dapp, and Dane Johnsen. These tours are always so cool. For one, you’re bound to see some Pez item that you’ve never seen before, whether it’s unique vintage pieces, a variation that you maybe only heard about in passing, or some random piece from out of left field. The room tours are also great because they show how different Pezheads display their collections and I always learn something new to maybe try in my own Pez display. For example, Adam placed hooks in the holes in his bookcase walls (for adjustable shelves) and displayed things such as keychains on the hooks. I thought this was a great idea! Another thing the VPC has started in recent years is spotlighting a collection of something other than Pez. In the past, this included action figures, music memorabilia, Wizard of Oz stuff, and even Crocs. For the Fall VPC, the featured non-Pez collection was pro wrestling figures and our trusty tour guide was none other than 11-year-old Gary Hicks. Gary blew us all away, not only with his massive collection of figures, but also with his encyclopedic knowledge of the modern era of pro wrestling. Just by picking up a particular wrestling figure, Gary would go into impressive detail about the wrestler’s storylines, allies and enemies, notable matches, and more. This kid really knows his stuff and I’m sure that his parents Jon and Rachel are very proud of him! There were also a bunch of giveaways mixed in between all of the fun, and I was fortunate enough to win one of them. Although I already had each of the 3 Pez.com exclusive limited edition dispensers I won, I am still very grateful to have won them. And who knows, they may make appearances in some custom Pez down the road. The VPC ended with a charity auction of items made by artists in the Pez community, including custom dispensers, artwork, convention packs, and more. I bid on a few items but was outbid on each of them. No complaints here, as the money all goes to a great cause: the VPC Scholarship Fund. The auctions alone raised $3400 for the charity. On top of this, there was also a convention dispenser made available for purchases during the convention that will raise more money for the VPC scholarship fund. (I will share a picture of the dispenser in the next issue if it arrives in my mailbox before then.) And finally, Landon and Morgan once again graciously allowed me to come on the VPC and read one of my Pez poems. This is always a fun time where I get to not only share a Pez poem that I wrote, but also rattle off groan-worthy jokes and wear silly costumes. And this brings us all the way back to the title of this piece. Yes, it’s true that the VPC took place on a Saturday night. But more than that, music fans may recognize “It was Saturday night, I guess that makes it alright” as a lyric from the song “Little Red Corvette” performed by none other than Prince. And that is exactly who I dressed as for the Fall VPC! This was both a celebration of Pez dispensers with “prints” on the stem (did I mention “groan-worthy jokes”?) and a manifestation of the poem itself. The poem, “Flipping Back to the 1980s,” was included in last month’s issue of Pezhead Monthly. It covers not only Pez in the 1980s, but also various people and moments in pop culture from that decade, including the man himself, Prince. What’s that, you asked? Is there a video of this performance? Well, don’t let that elevator bring you down, because I’ve got it right here, preceded by a number of Prince-related jokes and callbacks that spawned this animated gif. I'm having some technical problems embedding the YouTube video here, so just click on the title card below and it will take you right to the video on YouTube in a new tab.
For some more of my VPC Pez Poetry performances, check out this playlist on YouTube. (On a related note, I wrote a Prince Pez song parody in 2021, titled “On a Pez High.” You can check it out here.) The VPC wrapped up with the announcement that, moving forward, it will only be an annual event, instead of twice a year. Since its inception, the VPC has had both Spring and Fall events. But now that hosts Morgan and Landon also host Pezamania, which just so happens to be the world’s largest in-person Pez convention, their time has become increasingly and extremely busy, throughout the year but especially in the months directly preceding Pezamania. For this reason, the VPC will now only be taking place in the Fall, with the next VPC being Fall 2026. This is completely understandable and I hope it gives Morgan and Landon a bit of room to breathe and relax. They put so much time, effort, and thought into the VPC, and to a greater extent Pezamania, and it really shows. The Pez community is so lucky to have these 2 people who have given us so many opportunities to connect with each other, have fun, grow our Pez knowledge, and share our love of Pez. Thanks again to Morgan and Landon for another great VPC! Thanks also for having me be a part of this event. It was so nice to see so many Pez pals, and the presenters, giveaways, and auctions were all groovy. I look forward to the chance to meet again down the road, at Pezamania 35 if not sooner, when perhaps we’ll party like it‘s 1999!
It’s Christmas Pez All Over Again That time of year
is here once more, And in the aisles
of the stores, Perhaps new reindeer
or an elf, And you may try
to tell yourself, So make some time
and cash to spend,
I don’t want
a lot
There once was a
Pezhead named Cupid
This month’s Pez Almost-Quote comes from the movie “Say Anything.” The word “Pez” replaces the word “pen” in the original quote. In the movie, this was a sad line about unrequited love. But in the Pez Almost-Quote, I don’t see it that way. Instead, giving Pez to someone seems like a nice gesture after they gave their heart to you! It could very well be the start of a beautiful relationship. Well, almost anyway.
A little touch in this picture is that the Pez dispenser tucked in the jacket, the Hamburger dispenser, is an ode to another of actor John Cusack’s movies, “Better Off Dead,” where he worked at the restaurant “Pig Burgers.” Perhaps I could have had John sign my Hamburger Pez when I met him in Chicago, but that was 4 years before the Hamburger Pez was released so that would have been a little difficult. You can check out
all of Pezhead Monthly's Pez Almost-Quotes here.
Lastly, be sure to check out the Pezhead Monthly Christmas page, which has extensive Christmas Pez features from the archives, and has been updated to include the Pez photo parody and poems from this month’s issue. I’ve also included on this page some more Christmas content from the archives that I had mistakenly left out previously. Here’s one
of my favorite Christmas Pez photo parodies from the archives, a Pez
take on a scene from the classic Christmas movie “A Christmas Story.”
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