Guys, There Will Be No Halloween Or Christmas Peeps This Year. Thanks, 2020.

Halloween may look markedly different this year thanks to social distancing and an abundance of health and safety precautions, but there will still be candy, right? Right? Of course there will be candy, but notably missing from your kids' candy buckets however will be pumpkin-shaped or ghost Peeps. Yes, Peeps production has been halted thanks to COVID-19 and there will now be a giant marshmallow-shaped void for several upcoming holidays.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed more in a mere 6 months than I ever imagined possible. My kids didn't step foot in a school building for 194 days, and today they returned masked up and toting buckets full of hand sanitizer. I knew the holidays this year would be different as well, but coronavirus restrictions now mean that Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day will be devoid of Peeps and you guys, I'm not OK.

Just Born Quality Confections, the company that manufactures all variety of Peeps products, temporarily suspended operations at their Bethlehem and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania facilities in March, according to their website. In addition to Peeps, the company also produces several other iconic candy brands like Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales. Although Just Born re-started limited production in early May, in accordance with local health and safety guidelines, multiple media outlets including The New York Post and CNN have reported that the company will not produce Peeps for the Halloween, Christmas, or Valentine's Day holidays.

Say it ain't so! I'm not sure how I will ever get through the next three major candy-forward holidays without scavenging the sugar-filled confections out of my kids' stash. I need gobs of misshapen ghost Peeps like I need my kids to be done with distance learning forever. And honestly, will it even be Christmas without a pack of green tree-shaped marshmallows in my stocking? Why, 2020?

“In early May, we resumed limited production after making extensive changes in our plant that ensure the safety of our associates. This situation resulted in us having to make the difficult decision to forego production of our seasonal candies for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day in order to focus on meeting the expected overwhelming demand for Peeps for next Easter season, as well as our everyday candies," the company said in an official media statement received by Romper.

I know what you're thinking. This year has been such a blur, but it couldn't possibly be time for Easter already, could it? Fortunately, no. The time warp that is 2020 hasn't gone that far off the rails. But, the next time you'll be able to get your hands on the iconic Peeps marshmallow treats will in fact be the 2021 Easter season.

Easter 2021 will fall on Sunday, April 4, and with that date in mind, the company's production schedule should allow for plenty of the candy-colored puffs of fluffy sugar to be made in time to fill your kiddos' Easter baskets for the holiday. I guess if going without Peeps for a few holidays means that we can have an abundance of the treats ready by the time Easter rolls around, it will all be worth it in the end.

But, will the other holiday Peeps shapes return in time for next year's celebrations? "We look forward to offering our fun seasonal shapes and packaging at all major seasons again beginning with Halloween of 2021," the company's statement noted. So, it looks like ghost and pumpkin-shaped Peeps will be back after this year's hiatus, and I, for one, cannot wait to rip open a giant package of sugary blobs next year.