There’s no such thing as Christmas without a chocolatey treat or two, and is one of the number one places I head every year to stock up on gifts. Whether I’m after a little stocking filler, something grand to add to the present pile, or an advent calendar (this one might be just for me), it’s one of my must-shop places for Christmas gifts.
With the festive season rapidly approaching, I took a sneak peek at this year, and I’ve got four favourites that came straight home with me. My top choices included a luxury advent calendar, two stocking stuffer-sized boxes, and some adorable Christmas crackers to go on my table setting this year – and I’m already counting down until December to enjoy them.
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The biggest and priciest thing on my list of favourites is The Grand Advent Calendar. It might be a bit of a splurge, but it’s more than worth it in terms of both value and the sheer joy that it’s going to bring me opening up the doors each day. There are 24 doors to open, and mind you these doors are not small. Each one is super generously sized and features things from all corners of Hotel Chocolat’s chocolate goodies.
You’ll get chocolat slabs, individual filled chocolates, sachets of the brand’s signature hot chocolate, mini crackers and even a couple of bottles of velvetised cream liqueurs. Many of the flavours are inspired by Christmas, too, including salted caramel, mulled wine, gingerbread and champagne. This is a mega-sized advent calendar, and feels luxurious enough to make the price tag well worth it in my opinion.
If you’re sick of the usual contents of your Christmas crackers, these Hotel Chocolat mini ones are the perfect way to give your Christmas dinner table setting an upgrade. You get 10 in a box, although you can buy smaller sized boxes if needed, and each one contains a festive chocolate treat. There’s even space to write your guests’ names, so they can double up as place settings too. Although they’re ideal of your table, their small size also makes them perfect for decorating your tree with instead, so you can help yourself throughout the lead up to Christmas.
Ok full disclosure, these didn’t even last long enough to be photographed for this article. I couldn’t help but tuck into them, but that does mean I can confirm they are absolutely delicious. They’re the perfect size for a stocking filler, and their bargain price means they make a great option for secret santas too. You get five chocolates included in the box and they’re a decent size, making them perfect for a little indulgent evening – as I can clearly attest to. Although the salted caramel filling gets top marks from me, if it’s not your flavour of choice you can also get plenty of other flavours too, including champagne, coffee, praline and dark chocolate.
These were too adorable to leave behind, and have firmly cemented their place on my must-have list. Arriving in a keepsake metal tin, the Waddle of Penguins gift set is a gorgeous stocking filler for kids and big kids alike. It’s the perfect size to fit into a stocking or as a smaller gift, and contains nine individually wrapped penguin-shaped chocolates which are stuffed full of runny caramel. Rather than being a simple chocolate cast, the penguins each have brightly coloured yellow wellies which gives them an extra adorable touch. You can even re-use the tin once you’re done to store everything from crafty bits to Christmas decorations ready for next year.
As well as Hotel Chocolat, has also launched its ready to be stocked up on in time for the festive season. From icons like tins of Roses and selection boxes to winter-themed chocolate bars and treats, we’re already starting to get into the Christams spirit.
