Cotton candy has been a longtime favorite treat at carnivals, fairs, and other special events. Available in an array of flavors ranging from strawberry, to lemon to root beer, it has become quite versatile in appearance and variety. With the availability of homemade cotton candy makers many families now have the option of creating their own memorable experience at home. Using an at home cotton candy maker not only offers a fun family activity, but also provides a favorite treat not readily available at just any local store.

Cotton candy could provide a unique family home evening treat, or flavor up a birthday party. Kids love pulling apart the stringy fibers, fingering the web like textured candy before popping a handful in their mouth. There's nothing quite like watching a two-year-old’s face light up as they grab a bright pink or blue blob of feathery sugar and seeing them lick the stringy fluff. It is done gingerly at first, and then more confidently as they begin biting and tearing away chunks, discovering the sweet sugary taste as it melts in and around their little mouth.

Cotton candy machines certainly can be fascinating to watch at any age, as sugar granules are poured in the top and are then heated by the machine as the sugar is melted into a liquid form. The machine quickly spins the liquid around and around and then blows the substance out through small little holes in the sides of the doughnut-shaped pan called a floss pan. As the strings of floss-like sugar are forced outward, they cool and stick to one another much like the web of a spider. Once the stringy webs are forming around the ring of the maker, a cone-shaped stick is placed down into the floss pan with a quick motion to break through the stringy fibers, and then quickly twirled as it is moved clockwise around the inside edge of the cotton candy machine.

This twirling, spinning motion of the stick allows the fibers of sugar to attach onto the stick and as more fibers are wound about the stick, the more sugar sticks to it and the thicker the cone becomes. If the fibers do not start sticking right away, a damp sponge or cloth could be used to moisten the stick, which will immediately cause the fibers to cling to it. As the cone becomes thick with several layers, the stick should be removed out of the floss pan with an upward scooping motion, the end result is ready-to-eat mouth-watering filament on a stick.