Unique Chocolate Gift Ideas for Holidays and Special Occasions

The Maya Indians referred to cacao as "food of the gods." In 1868, Richard Cadbury decorated a box with a picture of his daughter holding a kitten. Inside the box were chocolate candies and the first "chocolate box" was born. Chocolate candy boxes have since become one of the most popular gift items for holidays like Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Mother's Day.

In fact, according to a survey reported by the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (CMA), 68% of men aged 50 and over would rather receive chocolates over flowers for Valentine's Day. Marshall Field's in Chicago, Illinois made the largest box of chocolates in history: the chocolate box contained 90,090 Frango mints and weighed 3,226 pounds. According to Datamonitor, Americans consume 12.31 pounds of chocolate each year, so the Frango chocolate mint box could feed 262 of your holiday guests!

You may be searching for a unique chocolate gift for business parties, weddings, birthdays, holiday parties, baby showers, anniversaries, thank you gifts or hostess gifts. If you are looking for an impressive delicacy to offer your holiday or special occasion guests, you may want to consider some of these unique chocolate candy ideas:

Custom Printed M&M's

Guests at special holiday events and occasions will love these custom printed classic chocolate candies that you can order from mymms.com. You can make your holiday or special occasion selection from 22 different colors or bundles of holiday colors. Your message can be two lines with up to 8 characters on each line that will be printed on one side of the M&M. The other side will have the famous "M" logo. You can also select an option second message that can be printed in your batch. For example, for a wedding occasion, you may want the bride's name of half the order and the groom's name on the other half of the order. Prices vary depending on the quantity ordered, but your guests will be sure to love these treats.

Build-A-Box of Chocolates

Instead of buying a box of chocolates that include selections that guests leave in the box (like those funny fruit-flavored cream ones), you can build your own selection of favorites for your holiday or special occasion entertainment. Two of the best chocolate candy companies in the U.S. both offer the build-a-box holiday and special occasion options, Russell Stover and See's Candies. At Russell Stover, you can build a box from half a pound to 5 pounds of their traditional chocolate favorites like nuts, fudge, caramels, truffles, toffees, and creams. At See's Candies, you can build a box of chocolates from one pound for $17.50 to 5 pounds for $87.50. One of the best selections from See's Candies is the Cashew Brittle with hard toffee, cashews, and shredded coconut.

Russell Stover Chocolate Fondue Fountain

Every hostess who serves chocolate will love the Russell Stover Chocolate Fondue Fountain as a table centerpiece. Imagine the Chocolate Fondue Fountain on the holiday table surrounded by all the chocolate dipping favorites like strawberries, raspberries, pretzels, bananas, nuts, cookies, and popcorn. The Chocolate Fondue Fountain can hold 2.5 pounds of milk chocolate or dark chocolate and fountain refill packs are sold separately. As of this writing, the Chocolate Fondue Fountain is on sale for $29.99.

Frango Gourmet Chocolate Mints

Frango chocolate mints have been a holiday delicacy in America since the early days of the Marshall Fields store in Chicago. Frango chocolate mints can now be purchased at Macy's stores and come in a variety of holiday gift boxes. The Frango brand chocolates come in a variety of flavors including dark chocolate, double chocolate, Grandma's Goodies, candy cane mint, holiday traditions, decorative rounds, hazelnut chocolates, and sugar-free mint chocolates. As of this writing, a one-pound box of Frango mint chocolates with a Christmas ornament is on sale for $15.99. These are the best chocolate mints that will ever adorn your holiday table.

Godiva Gourmet Chocolate Gifts

Godiva offers custom ribbons for your chocolate candy boxes. There are 12 colors of ribbons to choose from, and they will also include your own holiday gift card with the box. You can select party favor gift boxes with 2 pieces to 4 pieces of chocolates or choose larger gift boxes with personalized ribbons for holidays and special occasions.

Sources:

History of Chocolate
http://www.chocolateusa.org/Story-of-Chocolate/history-of-chocolate.asp

Chocolate Consumption Increases
http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/food-stores/4489016-1.html