'Tis The Season To Dazzle And Delight With Holiday Gifts From M&M'S® Brand!

MOUNT ARLINGTON, N.J., Dec. 18, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- The holidays are here! And the busy elves at the Mars Retail Group (MRG) have your gift list covered with a sleigh full of sweet surprises.  This year, tickle the fancy of all your M&M'S^® lovers—from hard-to-buy-for teens to grandparents, friends and co-workers—with the perfect pick, just for them.  Check out these sweet M&M'S^® gift ideas at www.holidaygifts2012.com.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121218/CL31680 )

Headed over the river and through the woods? Keep the holiday trip merry and bright with adorable M&M'S^® travel pillows and a new gaming app starring the M&M'S^® Characters -- perfect for long rides.  Need something clever under the tree?  Get ready to collect hugs when you give M&M'S^® ear buds, colorful iPhone cases or an M&M'S^® Chocolate Candies dispenser.

Gift ideas include:

iPhone 4/4S Cases from Incipio -- The gadget guru on your list will love the new M&M'S^® Brand iPhone 4/4S covers. Choose from two whimsical styles. The dotties^® case, available in four background colors, is sprinkled with interchangeable, colorful dots that look like M&M'S^® Candies for $34.99. The feather^® case features a fun, oversized face of an M&M'S^® Character and comes in five colors, including the 2012 star, Ms. Brown. The feather^® case is $29.99. Both styles are available online at https://www.incipio.com/collections/m-and-m-s.html and in retail at IT'SUGAR^® candy and gift shops nationwide.

Ear Buds from Maxell -- It's OK to put this candy in your ears!  Listening to your favorite music has never been so much fun because these colorful ear buds look just like M&M'S^® Chocolate Candies. Everyone can use another set of ear buds – keep a set in the car, office and different rooms of your home -- so it's a great gift or stocking stuffer. Available for $9.99 at select stores nationwide including Toys R Us and at www.shopmaxell.com.

"M&M'S^® Chocolate Factory" Gaming App -- Give the gift of entertainment! Help the adventurous M&M'S^® Characters save candies from melting in the game "M&M'S^® Chocolate Factory." There's even a "gifting button" in the app under the options settings, so you can give it to someone as a unique, virtual gift providing hours of fun. Launched in November, the app is available on iOS, and you can download it for $.99 from www.iTunes.com.

M&M'S^® Decorations from Gemmy -- Hostess gifts are a snap - or a shake - with M&M'S^® Characters in Green, Red and Yellow, which shake merrily and play holiday music. Or choose jolly M&M'S^® Character Red -- wearing a Santa hat – who can stand on the front porch, greeting holiday guests with a smile.  Extend holiday cheer to the yard or balcony with merry M&M'S^® Characters as inflatable yard decorations. Showcasing festive Ms. Green and Red, they range in price from $29.99 to $79.99 in retailers including: Albertsons, Home Depot, K-Mart, Lowe's, Menards, Sears and Wal-Mart.

Travel Accessories from EB Brands -- Put fun back into travel with accessories featuring the world famous M&M'S^® Characters in their best globetrotting gear. Choose from luggage locks, luggage tags, luggage straps, and a travel pillow with pouch. Prices range from $7 to $10 each at M&M'S^® World, Hudson News and Office Max.

Novelties from CandyRific -- May the force be with you!  The Star Wars fan on your gift list will love an "out of this world" candy novelty starring the M&M'S^® Characters dressed as the popular personalities from Lucasfilm's Star Wars. Choose from candy fans, coin banks, key chains and dispensers. Check out your local retailers – from convenience and drug stores to supermarkets – for these items as well as other themes starring the M&M'S^® Characters.

'Tis the season to make gift-giving sweet and simple. You'll find gifts for everyone on your list at www.holidaygifts2012.com. And with so many clever, chocolaty choices from M&M'S^® Brand, your holidays are a wrap!

About Mars Retail Group

Headquartered in Mount Arlington, New Jersey, U.S., the Mars Retail Group (MRG) creates and builds retail businesses that build the brands of Mars, Incorporated.  The iconic M&M'S® World stores, located in New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, and London, currently represent Mars' largest retail business.  MRG also operates the company's Licensing and MY M&M'S® businesses, as well as the gourmet chocolate business that is sold under the ETHEL M® Brand name.

Mars Retail Group is a division of Mars, Incorporated. In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' roots as a confectionery company.  In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of  building a business based on the objective of creating a "mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders" – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 70,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, KITEKAT®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital and NUTRO®; Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints.  Food – UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA™, WISDOM PANEL™ and SERAMIS®. 

For more information, please visit www.mars.com.  Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars.

SOURCE Mars Retail Group