Your guide to choosing the best Christmas chocolate gift

19 Oct 2023

Gift Ideas Winter

Unwrap our ultimate guide on choosing the best Christmas chocolate gift for your loved ones

  • Is chocolate a good Christmas gift idea?
  • What do you get a chocolate lover for Christmas?
  • How to choose the right boxed chocolate gift
  • Make it special with a personalised chocolate gift

From finding a dinky one hidden behind a paper advent calendar door to tearing open a beautifully wrapped chocolate gift box that’s poking out from beneath the tree – a chocolate gift at Christmas is sure to make even the Scrooges feel merry!

However, with an abundance of choice around, it’s easy to get stuck on finding the right Christmas chocolate gift for them. We like to think we know a thing or two about chocolate, which is why we’ve put together a Christmas chocolate gift guide to help you tick them off your gift list.

Is chocolate a good Christmas gift idea?

Giving a chocolate gift is often the easiest and most obvious option when thinking of the perfect Christmas gift. Despite the fact that it is a regularly received gift, Christmas chocolate is simply something we’ll never get tired of.

During the Victorian times, gift-giving became much more popular as people began to exchange small toys, treats and chocolate on Christmas Day.

As chocolate production became more widespread towards the end of the 19th century, it became the gift of choice for many families. We can’t imagine a life without chocolate, but if you’d like to know more about the rise of chocolate in Britain then click here.

The tradition of giving chocolate gifts at Christmas has only grown since then – in fact, according to research carried out by Sainsbury’s, one fifth of Britons will eat chocolate for breakfast on Christmas morning.

Our insatiable appetite for chocolate during the festive season can only suggest one thing – although it might be a fairly common present to receive, it’s something difficult to grow tired of. And, because of its versatility, chocolate can be enjoyed in more than one way: perfect for those chocoholics who need a little extra surprise during this time of year.

For example, we think that there’s nothing better than snuggling down on a Winter’s eve with a warming mug of cocoa. However, we think hot chocolate should always be rich and creamy, never watery. That’s why our range of hot chocolates make the ideal treat for someone who needs a warming mug of cocoa which is magically moreish – we make ours with shaved pieces of real chocolate. For the complete hot chocolate tasting experience, treat them to The Everything Hot Chocolate Selection and let them countdown the days till Crimbo in an indulgent way.

Chocolate is also a great gift for those who like to get creative in the kitchen – buy a baker some chocolate drops for them to melt down and use as a ganache, or treat them to a collection of our cooking chocolate items.

Whilst a lot of chocolate will probably be consumed throughout the month of December, you may want to give them something special to keep that smile on their face from December to the new year.

Winter blues – which we’ve discussed in further depth here – can affect all of us, which is why a chocolate gift which will last until January might be the perfect pick me up. We suggest treating them to a chocolate hamper, filled with chocolate goodies and boozy tipples, perfect for helping them start the coming year on a positive (and maybe slightly tipsy) note.

What do you get a chocolate lover for Christmas?

Don’t be deterred from buying a chocoholic a Christmas chocolate gift just because you’re worried their cocoa expertise puts them above you in the chocolate world. We’ve put our heads together to come up with the most mouth-watering creative chocolate gift ideas that even our expert chocolatiers would be happy to receive.

Dark chocolate lovers

Deep, dark cocoa flavours are the reason behind our love of dark chocolate. For those who tend to lean on the dark side, dark chocolate is the perfect way to get that cocoa hit, without it being too sweet. If you know a dark chocolate devotee, why not test their expectations of what makes a dark and buy them something out of the ordinary – our 100% dark batons have a uniquely savoury taste, allowing you to explore the multi-layered notes of the cocoa bean in a few bites.

Don’t worry if you think this may be too intense for them – we’ve included lighter options in our Mellow Baton Library, filled with 40% milk, white, and caramel chocolate sticks. Perfect for nibbling on whilst you read a book or sink into your favourite TV show.

We love how the rich flavours of dark add a depth of flavour to different tastes: we like to experiment with our dark creations, which is why The Dark Signature is a magical gift for those who are daring. Expect a gentle heat from our Chilli Praline, the lip-smacking tang of our Lime Baby Truffle and more.

Milk chocolate lovers

A more mellow option than our dark, we find milk chocolate the most moreish treat. When we’re talking about milk chocolate, we don’t want you to think about that crumbly, cardboard-like stuff you find behind cheap advent calendars; instead picture rich and creamy chocolate, high in cocoa with just enough sweetness.

We make our milk chocolate with 40% cocoa – that’s twice the minimum amount specified by EU regulations. For those who never know what they want, we think the Milk to Caramel H-Box is the best way to sample some of our most-loved chocolate creations – twelve to help you count down the twelve days of Christmas. Our All-Time Favourites Classic Collection also makes a delicious Christmas chocolate gift – just don’t expect any to be left over for Santa!

For those who need a little bit of extra festive fun, our Posse of Penguins makes the most adorable Christmas chocolate gift – we’d say that they’re too good to eat, but their sumptuously smooth milk chocolate has an irresistible melt and a moreish taste! If Christmas is coming a little earlier to them this year, we suggest buying them an indulgent advent calendar so that they don’t have to resort to the pound shop stuff: ours come in a variety of flavours, and we’ve even included a few tipples, perfect for everyone to enjoy.

White chocolate lovers

Don’t worry white chocolate lovers – we haven’t forgotten about you. Our Advent Calendar – White Chocolate comes in creamy 36% white chocolate. We use a high percentage of cocoa butter to give our white chocolate an incredible melt and delicate taste, making it subtly sweet but never sickly. 

Don’t think they’re trusty enough to open just one door at a time? Take away some of the guilt with our Sleigh Team: we won’t mind if they polish the whole box off in less than a week!

How to choose the right boxed chocolate gift

A boxed chocolate gift is a wonderful thing to receive, but what if they disappoint? At Hotel Chocolat, we’re confident that we’ve put together a ready-to-go boxed chocolate gift that can’t fail to delight. If they enjoy festive flavours, then treat them to the likes of a lightly spiced chocolate Carrot Cake, a celebratory Champagne truffle or the tart cranberry notes of our Christmas Mess and more, all decking out The Chocolate Wreath Box.

If that doesn’t quite tick all the boxes, we’ve got something to give them the best festive feast you can imagine – The Festive Feast Hamper is filled with hot chocolates, biscuits, booze, and of course, chocolates. Everything they (or you) could need to have a holly jolly Christmas!

If you’re after a stocking filler, secret Santa, or simply a small treat for yourself, our Merry Christmas Signature Chocolate Box contains 12 chocolates and six of our best Christmas creations.

Make it special with a personalised chocolate gift

There’s nothing better than receiving a Christmas chocolate gift which shows you’ve really thought about what they like. Whilst we’re sure that our Christmas chocolate gifts selection has more than enough to please them, sometimes there’s nothing like a personal touch with a personalised chocolate gift.

At Hotel Chocolat, go wild with our Gift Creator – fill a chocolate box with decadent darks, mellow milks or wonderful whites, or simply include everything you know they love best. If you can’t quite decide – or they just always know what they want – our gift card makes the surprise last for however long they want it to.

Whatever Christmas chocolate gift you surprise them with this year, we want you to remember that you should always make sure there’s a chocolate gift around for you to enjoy – even if you’re gifting yourself. Christmas deserves a little self-indulgence, after all.