You can’t miss Peeps on store shelves – those rows of bright yellow, purple and blue marshmallow creatures with their simple dot eyes and rounded forms. Their distinctive, minimalist design makes Peeps blank canvases for creative exploration.
These marshmallow chicks and bunnies have hopped into Easter baskets for more than seven decades. Created in 1953 by the Just Born candy company, Peeps have become synonymous with spring celebrations.
Why Peeps inspire creativity
Americans have a unique creative relationship with these marshmallow treats that extends well beyond simply eating them. The squishy texture of Peeps allows you to pinch, pull and easily reshape them. You can flatten them for mosaics, stack them for sculptures or manipulate them into entirely new forms without special tools or skills.
The nostalgia factor also drives experimentation, with many adults revisiting the candy not as a treat but as a medium for expression. In addition, their low price makes Peeps an accessible crafting material. This combination of accessibility, bright aesthetics and emotional connection has turned a simple marshmallow candy into one of America’s most unexpected art supplies.
The Peeps diorama movement
The Washington Post launched the Peeps diorama in 2007, which became a cultural phenomenon. What began as a small feature in the Style section quickly exploded into an annual contest that received thousands of entries before ending its 10-year run in 2017.
Some winning entries pushed the boundaries of marshmallow manipulation. Occupy Wall Street featured Peeps protesters with tiny cardboard signs facing off against business-suited Peeps. “The Peeple vs. O.J. Simpson” recreated the famous trial with a judge Peep wearing a cotton-ball wig and a defendant Peep sporting a miniature glove.
The concept didn’t die when the Post ended its contest. Instead, it multiplied. Now you’ll find Peeps diorama competitions sponsored by newspapers and libraries nationwide, as people everywhere express their creativity and fascination with Peeps.
Peeps’ scientific experimentation and education
You haven’t truly explored the world of Peeps until you’ve witnessed a Peep jousting tournament. Two marshmallow warriors face off in a microwave, each armed with a toothpick lance. As they heat up, they expand dramatically before one impales the other – a surprisingly intense spectacle that’s captivated science classrooms nationwide.
This experiment demonstrates states of matter, air pockets, sugar structures and heat transfer in ways that will keep students riveted. Beyond jousting, Peeps are subjected to many different scientific experiments for kids.
In dissolution tests, students submerge Peeps in water, vinegar, soda and other liquids to observe different reaction rates. The sugar-coated marshmallows become participants in acid-base experiments, solubility demonstrations and density calculations. There’s something about using an object students don’t associate with learning that helps break down barriers.
Peeps in home crafts
Your Easter table centerpiece might feature a ring of Peeps surrounding a candle or flowers. This is one of the simplest ways these marshmallow treats have hopped from Easter baskets to home decor. Crafters across America have embraced Peeps as affordable, colorful design elements for seasonal displays.
Preservation techniques have emerged for those wanting their creations to last beyond Easter. If you leave Peeps unwrapped in the open air for one to two weeks, they become stale and firm, making them surprisingly durable craft materials. Some dedicated crafters coat them with polyurethane spray for permanent decorations.
The social media explosion
Social media feeds explode with Peeps content each spring. After retiring their Peeps diorama contest in 2017, the Washington Posts reintroduced it in 2021 – this time on TikTok. Now, you submit your entry by tagging your video on TikTok.
Peeps’ bright colors pop on the screen and their immediately recognizable shapes just help increase their popularity. On YouTube, destruction videos are popular. Around Easter, you can’t scroll far without encountering Peeps being crushed in hydraulic presses, dissolved in chemicals or exploded in vacuum chambers.
Behind the obsession
The satisfaction you get from repurposing Peeps connects to broader trends in American culture. The upcycling movement – transforming objects into something of greater value – has gained significant momentum in recent years.
Nostalgia also plays an important role in the Peeps phenomenon. These marshmallow treats connect you to childhood memories of Easter baskets and family traditions. What makes the Peeps case unique is that nostalgia isn’t just about remembering; it’s also about reimagining something familiar in new ways.
This combination of childhood association and creative possibility creates a perfect storm for engagement. You’re not just buying candy but purchasing a connection to your past and a canvas for creativity – a powerful emotional proposition that explains why Americans can’t get enough of these simple marshmallow shapes.
Peeps phenomenon
This Peeps phenomenon reveals something uniquely American about our relationship with tradition. Rather than simply preserving Easter traditions intact, we’ve reimagined and expanded them. What began as a sweet treat has become a unique art form accessible to anyone with a few dollars and some imagination.
Anne Jolly is a seasoned writer and creator of Upstate Ramblings blog which explores America’s unique food culture. Her work on culinary trends and food traditions has appeared in major publications including MSN, Fortune, The Mercury News, The Seattle Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Education Week. When not writing, she experiments with new recipes and discovers local food gems in upstate New York.