Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, November 11 this year. It is a quieter occasion than the summer holidays, and the gifting that goes with it is quieter too — a table at a ceremony, a thank-you on a desk, a gift shop counter near an exhibit. The gifts that land are small, specific, and obviously chosen rather than grabbed.
Here is a short guide to getting it right, whether you are stocking a store or putting something together yourself.
Start with the label, not the packaging
A patriotic wrapper is easy. What is inside is the part that survives being read.
Three things are worth checking on any candy you are considering, because they are the three that a thoughtful recipient notices:
- Where it was actually made. Origin claims are regulated, and a vague one usually means a complicated answer. Ours is plain: our gummy bears are Made in the USA.
- What the color comes from. Our label lists colors from fruits, vegetables, spirulina and curcumin — no artificial dyes.
- How long the ingredient list is. Ours has ten ingredients, and no high-fructose corn syrup. Short lists are not a health claim; they are just easier to hand to someone without a caveat.
That is the whole check. It takes ten seconds in a store aisle and it is the difference between a gift that gets eaten and one that gets left on the table.
For museum stores: the date you need is earlier than you think
If you run a gift shop — particularly a military, aviation or history museum store, where Veterans Day is one of the year's real traffic days — the shelf date is what matters, not the order date.
Working backward: stock needs to be on the shelf a clear week or two before November 11, because the buying happens in the run-up, not on the day. Allow time to pack and time in transit, and a comfortable order date is mid-to-late October. Later than that and you are relying on everything going right.
If you are planning further out, the same math applies to the winter season: to have stock on the shelf for the end-of-November shopping weekend, an order placed by mid-November is the honest cutoff for a store on the East Coast.
You can see current formats and case quantities on the shop page.
For offices and families: small and specific beats large and generic
A few things that work, in our experience with the people who buy from us:
- One bag per person, handed over, beats a bowl. A bowl is catering. A bag with someone's name on it is a gift.
- Pair it with something that is not food. A bag alongside a card, a challenge coin, or a photo does more than a bigger box of candy.
- Skip the theme overload. If the occasion is already patriotic, the gift does not need to shout. Something well-made and clearly American does the work without a flag on every surface.
A note on what we do not claim
We are careful about this, and you should expect it from anyone selling you a gift.
Our bears are made without artificial dyes and without artificial flavors, and the color comes from the sources listed above. They are not certified gluten-free, and they contain gelatin, so they are not vegetarian or vegan. We say so plainly rather than leaving it for someone to discover after they have handed the gift to a guest.
If that kind of straight answer is what you are after, you can read more about how we think about origin on our American-made candy page, or browse formats on the shop page.
Frequently asked questions
When is Veterans Day 2026? Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
How far ahead should a store order for Veterans Day? Mid-to-late October is comfortable. The goal is stock on the shelf one to two weeks before November 11, since most of the buying happens in the days leading up to the date rather than on it.
Are your gummy bears made in the USA? Yes — our gummy bears are Made in the USA.
Do they contain artificial dyes? No. Our label lists colors from fruits, vegetables, spirulina and curcumin.
Are they gluten-free or vegan? No to both. They are not certified gluten-free, and they contain gelatin.
