What are the best summer gifts?

It might be a summer birthday, or maybe someone has invited you to a garden party or barbeque to take advantage of the warm weather, but how do you choose a good summer gift?

Gifts can often be a difficult thing to get right, especially if you don’t know the person in question very well. But if you’re on the hunt for the perfect summer gift, then we can help you find a present that they’ll love.

Summer gifts for garden parties

If you want to make a splash at a summer garden party, then bring a gift that will be used straight away! A chocolate fondue set is always going to go down a treat, but make sure you bring chocolate – our Chocolate Drops melt quickly and evenly – and some fresh fruit to dip in it! If you don’t want the faff of setting it up, then our Chocolate Dipping Adventure is a crowd-pleasing tray of sweet and savoury treats to dunk into pots of milk, dark, white and caramel chocolate. 

British summer garden parties are always a good excuse to have a tipple, and bringing a bottle of our  Italian Prosecco is always going to be a winner. Buy why not be a little more inventive? Turn up with our Little Tipples Liqueur Gift Set and a recipe card for the perfect cocktails that use Salted Caramel Vodka, Cacao Gin and Chocolate Cream Liqueur. Have a look at our summer drinks blog for more inspiration, or watch the video of our Executive Development Chef David Demaison making his “Sneaky” Chocolate Daiquiri.

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David is the inventive mind behind everything that isn’t obviously chocolate. From perfecting our Chocolat Cream Liqueur to velvetising Hot Chocolat, he’s also the chef behind the cacao cuisine served @hotelchocolatstlucia . Here he shares how to make a ‘Sneaky’ Chocolate Daiquiri in your Velvetiser. You’ll need: 75ml Water 2x Tbsp Chocolate Flakes 50ml Rum (Saint Lucian ideally, David’s favourite @chairmansreserveuk) 12.5ml Lime Juice 12.5ml Triple Sec . #chocolatedaiquiri #daiquiri #chocolatecocktail #chocolatecocktails #cocktailsathome #athomecocktails #cocktailtime #cocktailhour #cocktails

A post shared by hotelchocolat (@hotelchocolat) on Apr 19, 2020 at 5:49am PDT

If you’re off the booze or you know a crowd of children will be attending the garden party, skip the alcohol and try our Chilled Chocolat milkshakes. Our Velvetiser machine is the perfect present to give at any time of the year, as it creates velvety-smooth hot chocolate, but it also makes an equally luxurious chocolate milkshake for the summer months.

Summer gifts for birthdays

For birthday summer gifts, think about what they might need when the warm weather comes around – combine both style and practicality for the ideal present. For example, a reusable water bottle is good to carry for long walks in the sunshine and means you don’t have to buy single-use plastic bottles. Brands like Chilly’s have a variety of designs, so you can pick a bottle that suits their personality. The insulated ones have the added bonus of keeping drinks cold for up to 24 hours – perfect for a picnic or a trip to the beach. If you need a more luxurious drink to quench your thirst, you can even keep cocktails or chocolate milkshakes in the flask to keep them ice-cold!

As summer fruits come into season, why not go foraging and make a delicious fresh jam to give as a present? Find a stylish mason jar and wrap a bow around it to give it an elegant touch: this home-made gift highlights your domestic skills, and shows you’ve put real thought and care into giving them a present they’re sure to love.

Give an experience as a summer gift

People are increasingly moving away from material gifts to something more experiential. Take the opportunity to spend some time with your loved ones by taking them to their favourite place, or book them into a workshop so that they can earn something new in an interesting and creative environment.

At Hotel Chocolat, we have a range of chocolate experiences, from bean to bar experiences, where you discover how to make chocolate from scratch, to tasting adventures, where you learn to discern the varied, nuanced flavours of the cocoa bean. Served with a glass of house prosecco, it’s a great way to spend a summer’s afternoon!

We hope we’ve given you some inspiration for summer gifts, but remember if you can’t think of anything, check out our summer gift collection – you can never go wrong with a chocolate present!