A hamper of fun novelty chocolate shapes and figures for Christmas, ideal for children big and small.

Filled with a selection of chocolate novelties and presented in a ribbon tied hamper with a Jolly Santa on the front the kids chocolate hamper contains;

Three chocolate figures, decorated with coloured, white chocolate:

• A large milk chocolate Santa, carrying a sack and teddy bear.
• A grinning white chocolate snowman, dressed for Winter and carrying a broom.
• A very cute milk chocolate reindeer, playing in Santa’s sack.

And two bags of foil wrapped chocolate treats:

• A bag of milk chocolate stars, ribbon tied
• Santa tree decorations, also in a ribbon tied bag.

Each of these chocolates are also available individually, along with similar novelties, from the Chocolate Trading Company as part of their Christmas range.

£29.95

Labelled: Alcohol Free, Nut Free, Vegetarian, Wheat & Gluten Free.

The three different “packages”, as they call them, include chocolates from right across the Christmas chocolate range grouped together by theme, the Kids’ Gift Package is aimed at children with cute, fun and novelty chocolates, the Finishing Touches Package has a selection of chocolate decorations for the table and Christmas tree and the Family Package contains Christmas chocolates for the whole family to share.

The Free Chocolates

Each of the chocolate packages has a different free gift, to compliment the different chocolates in the set.

The Chocolate Santa is free with the children’s package, included in the Finishing Touches Package is the decorative Mini Chocolate Wreath and in the family Christmas chocolate to share set are the Christmas Dinner chocolates.

Both the Santa and wreath are £6.50 and the small box of chocolates is £7.50, or £6.50 when you buy four or more, and each completely free when you buy the chocolate package.

Children’s Chritsmas Chocolate Set

The very cute Kids’ Gift Package has lots of little individual chocolates featuring the adorable Christmas chocolate characters; Jolly Santa, Dasher the Reindeer and Cool Penguin.

Inside the kids’ chocolate package is;

• Christmas at Santa’s House, a children’s gift box filled with fifteen chocolate shapes in 40% milk chocolate.
• Dasher the Reindeer Gift Basket, A really appealing gift basket featuring Dasher the Reindeer filled with two small boxes of chocolate shapes, a chocolate lolly and a mini chocolate slab.
• Christmas Stocking, a traditional Christmas stocking filled with Christmas chocolate treats; a box of white chocolate Santa, milk chocolate drops, a reindeer chocolate lolly and a mini chocolate slab.

And the FREE Chocolate Santa worth £6.50.

£56.00.

Labelled: Vegetarian and Alcohol Free.

Christmas Chocolate Decorations Set

In the finishing touches package are chocolate the bits and pieces for the home to make it a little more festive.

• Rather Large Christmas Cracker, possibly the largest chocolate filled Christmas cracker you can buy, this huge table decoration is filled with enough hats and jokes for twelve people and a massive forty individual chocolates.
• Chocolate Christmas Tree Decorations, a pack of ten little boxes with gold ribbons, for hanging from the tree, each on has a single chocolate inside.

And the free chocolate is the mini chocolate wreath worth £6.50.

£53.00.

Labelled: Vegetarian.

Christmas Chocolate Gift Set

A Christmas chocolate box and smaller chocolate gifts are included in the family pack;

• Christmas Chocolate Box, Hotel Chocolat’s bestselling Christmas chocolate box the Classic Christmas Sleekster filled with a selection of twenty-eight festive chocolates and Christmassy recipes.
• Nutty Noel Pick Me Up Gift Bag, a chocolate gift bag filled with a Selector of Cinnamon Almonds, a Selector Six of Gingerbread Truffles and a dark chocolate penguin bar.
• Christmas Mini Wreath, a rather wonderful wreath of luxury fruit and nut and milk and dark chocolate.

And a free box of chocolates worth £7.50.

£40.50.

Labelled: Vegetarian.

All available from the Hotel Chocolat website.

With so many beautiful chocolate Christmas tree decorations available to buy from lots of different online shops, this is a quick list of some of them and the three main types of chocolate decorations for the tree; chocolate baubles, chocolate shapes and tree chocolates.

Chocolate Baubles

There are two different types of chocolate baubles, chocolate filled baubles and baubles made from chocolate either wrapped in foil or clear wrappers. Both types of bauble hang from the branches of the Christmas tree, either by a ribbon or cord already attached to the decoration.

Chocolate filled baubles tend to be a little pricier that normal baubles, but they can be refilled and reused year after year.

Heidel’s chocolate filled Christmas bauble features a jolly Santa Claus, the same design which matches the rest of the Heidel range, and is filled with mini chocolate bars. Thorntons bauble tin is bright red with silver and black detailing and also celebrates their centenary and inside are chocolate praline Melts. The Christmas Tree Baubles from Plush Chocolate each contain a bag of Belgium fairtrade milk chocolate caramels and are decorated in red and gold.

Chef Marshall at John Lewis has two chocolate baubles in ribbon tied clear wrappers, both in with the same Christmas tree design and in two different sizes; the Chef Marshall Chocolate Bauble and the Mini Chef Marshall Chocolate Bauble.

Foil wrapped chocolate baubles; Rita Farhi chocolate baubles come in a range of different coloured foils; reds, golds and blues, some with stars and some plain, presented in a clear box. The chocolate Christmas tree baubles from Montezumas are a mixture of milk, white and dark chocolate. Rita Farhi Chocolate Christmas Tree Decorations, similar to the chocolate baubles but with different shapes and colours.

The classic Christmas colours, red and gold, are used for almost all of the Christmas baubles meaning you can mix and match between brands and they will work well with each other and look fabulous.

Chocolate Shapes

Chocolate shapes are very similar to the Christmas tree baubles, they also hang from the tree with either a ribbon or cord, but they are different shapes and sizes.

The Chocolate Trading Company has a wonderful selection of chocolate novelties some of which hang from the tree, these solid milk chocolates are wrapped in festive foil with gold cords attached and are available in three different designs; Angel, Nutcracker Soliders and Santa.

chocolatebuttons stock the wonderful Christmas tree decorations from Plush Chocolates, along with the chocolate filled baubles, all of the chocolate from Plush is fairtrade and organic.

The Plush Chocolate Filled Christmas Tree Decorations are festive boxes filled with chocolate buttons, featuring cute designs with Santa, snowmen and reindeer, the Plush Chocolate Star Christmas Tree Decorations are solid star shaped chocolates, in milk, white and dark chocolate and the Plush Chocolate Filled Christmas Stockings are red and white fabric stockings which also have chocolate buttons inside.

Hotel Chocolat’s Chocolate Christmas Tree Decorations are individual chocolates in little boxes which hang from ribbons, in red, gold and purple in a pack of ten and Thorntons Chocolate Santa Christmas Tree Decorations are hollow milk chocolate Santas with cords in a box of nine.

Chocolate shapes are more novelty and fun chocolates; they work well with most themes and add some festive joy to a tree.

Tree Chocolates

Tree chocolates are chocolates which are not necessarily meant to be used as Christmas tree decorations, but ever since I was young we have always has chocolates in the tree, normally chocolate Santas or other foil wrapped chocolates, but you can use anything which is light enough to sit in the branches of the tree.

The Lindt Gold chocolate figures are ideal for decorating a tree, light enough not to bend larger branches and they add a splash of gold, along with the classic Lindt Gold Bell and Lindt Gold Reindeer is the Lindt Gold Bear, each of the Lindt chocolates are in gold foil with red ribbons round them.

Christmas crackers are always fun to put in a Christmas tree and two of Hotel Chocolat’s crackers will work perfectly; Hotel Chocolat Mini Christmas Crackers and Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Filled Christmas Cracker.

If you are decorating your tree with crackers, it would be a good idea to finish your tree first and then add the crackers after – this way when you take the crackers off it won’t look bare.

Green & Black’s Christmas Chocolate Table Collection, bundles of miniature chocolates bars, Christmas favours for the table, tree decorations or mini stocking fillers.

Twenty four miniature chocolate bars from Green & Black’s tied up with ribbons into twelve little parcels each with two bars and presented in a gift box.

The mini bars cover most of the flavours available from Green & Black’s, dark chocolate, milk, creamy milk chocolate, white, milk with almonds and milk with butterscotch, dark with cherry and dark with ginger, a tasting collection for Christmas.

£16.50, 24 15g mini chocolate bars.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Oragnic and GM Free.

If you love a perfectly laid out Christmas table with coordinating table cloth, runner, napkins and Christmas crackers you may need to rethink you colour theme to make sure it matches Hotel Chocolat’s Rather Large Christmas Cracker.

This stunning Christmas cracker is decorated in Hotel Chocolat’s 2011 Christmas colours, matching perfectly with the rest of their Christmas chocolate collection, white with vintage gold detailing and motifs on the outside and deep purple inside, tied with ribbons to add that finishing touch. Making the perfect Christmas table centre piece, either by itself or with the smaller chocolate filled Christmas crackers.

Crammed with 40 chocolates, a balanced selection of dark, white and milk chocolates, some with alcohol and some without, each one individually wrapped. And the Christmas cracker essentials, 12 party hats and jokes.

64cm across, that’s a massive 25inches, the Rather Large Christmas Cracker by Hotel Chocolat is easily the largest Christmas cracker available.

£38.00, 12 Luxury Christmas Crackers in one.

A set of ten chocolate Christmas tree decorations with very cute milk chocolate shapes in elegant little boxes, each with a ribbon so you can hang them from the tree.

Cast in milk 40% chocolate, the chocolates inside, are some of the adorable characters seen throughout Hotel Chocolat’s range; a chubby Santa, Dasher the Reindeer and the sweet Cool Penguin.

The little decorative boxes are in the 2011 Hotel Chocolat Christmas colours; red, gold and purple, so they will match any other Hotel Chocolat chocolate decorations perfectly.

Because the chocolates are inside boxes there is always the temptation to “sample” them, luckily Santa’s House is filled with fifteen of the same chocolates and can be used are replacements.

£15.00, for ten chocolate filled Christmas tree decorations.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Gluten Free and Alcohol Free.

One of the best things about Hotel Chocolat, apart from the fantastic chocolate of course, is the amount if effort they seem to put into their seasonal chocolate collections and Christmas 2011 is no exception.

Their colour scheme for this year is festive red, deep purple and vintage gold mixed in with Hotel Chocolat’s signature black and white, the range is brought together with an intricate star motif which features on, almost all, of the Christmas chocolates.

Most of the range is available to buy now; some hampers and some gifts will be ready closer to Christmas. You can see all of the Christmas chocolate on Hotel Chocolat’s site here. These are some of the wonderful chocolates ready at the moment.

Chocolate Boxes

At the heart of the Christmas range is a chocolate box called the Classic Christmas collection; milk, dark and white chocolates with and without alcohol in Christmassy shapes and flavours presented a seasonal Sleekster box.

The Classic Christmas Sleekster is always very popular and sells out fast.

The Classic Sleekster comes in three sizes; Double Layer (only available online), Luxe and Sleekster with fifty-six, forty and twenty-eight individual chocolates respectively. The Double Layer Classic is the largest chocolate box in the Christmas collection. The Classic collection is also available without alcohol, also with thirty chocolates but with the recipes containing booze removed.

The two Christmas Sleeksters, Classic and Without Alcohol, also come in H-Box size; the same flavours and recipes as the larger versions but in a smaller box containing thirteen chocolates, and colour coordinated.

For anyone familiar with the Simple Thanks mini chocolate box, you will be very pleased to know Classic collection also comes in the “eight” box and the even cuter “four” size, these miniature boxes make great gifts (and table favours).

So that is most tastes and budgets catered for in just the boxed chocolate selection, and one of two of my Christmas gifts bought already – they make great gifts in any size.

Chocolate Decorations

Simple calling the chocolate decorations is quite simply doing them an injustice. These decorative chocolates not only taste fantastic but look wonderful too, intricate chocolate wreaths and chocolate filled Christmas crackers, all in a variety of sizes.

Probably my favourite are the Christmas chocolate wreaths, chocolate beautifully sculpted into dramatic Victorian style wreaths, thick chocolate packed with a luxury fruit and nut in milk and dark chocolate.

The chocolate wreaths come in two sizes, large and the very cute but just as beautiful and delicious, mini wreath. The Purist Christmas Wreath is made from Hotel Chocolat’s award-winning 66% Rabot Estate dark chocolate and is dairy free/vegan. The other two wreaths are a mixture of both milk and dark chocolate.

For a more traditional Christmas look and feel, Hotel Chocolat have created their own Christmas crackers, mini cracker chocolate tree decorations and the very impressive Rather Large Christmas Cracker filled with chocolates, party hats and favours for all to share.

The large chocolate wreaths and the large Christmas crackers make wonderful centre pieces for a Christmas table and are complimented flawlessly by the mini wreaths, used as table favours, or the mini cracker tree decorations as they are all in matching colours.

Christmas Themed Novelty Chocolates

Fun shaped novelty chocolate slabs and figures, probably meant to be chocolate for kids, but I love them – I just think they are so cute they would make anyone of any age smile!

The milk chocolate 3D figures are hollow and come as two different characters, Dasher the Reindeer and Jolly Santa,

Both Dasher and Santa are part of the Christmas chocolate slabs line-up and are joined by the white chocolate Snowman. Santa and the Snowman have berry flavoured chocolate scarves and Dasher is all dark chocolate and dairy free.

Chocolate Stocking Fillers

Gorgeous little boxes of scrummy chocolates, perfect stocking fillers, handy little chocolate gifts or treats for you!

The Tiddly chocolate boxes are one of the cheapest chocolate gifts from the Hotel Chocolat Christmas range, they are available in four flavours; milk chocolate, caramel, white and vegan/diary free dark chocolate.

The three different shapes, snowman, reindeer and Santa Claus are the same charming characters as the chocolate slabs and novelty chocolates – perfect for children.

Slightly larger than the Tiddly chocolate boxes are the Chocolate shapes, in slim elegant boxes in three Christmas varieties; dark chocolate chilli penguins, Angel shaped caramels and “Christmas Dinner” shaped chocs.

Chocolate Yule Logs

Hotel Chocolat’s take on a Christmas tradition a chocolate version on the Yule Log, a choice of three flavours; chilli and orange, ginger and hazelnut or simply nutty.

Bars of gianduja studded with candied fruits and nuts, perfect stocking fillers for a foodie, a chocolate gift or dessert.

Children’s Christmas Chocolate

Quite a lot of the chocolates from Hotel Chocolat are ideal for children, especially the fun shapes and characters, but they have also created some gifts just for kids.

The Children’s Gift Box, Santa’s House, is a box filled with fifteen milk chocolates in fun shapes and Dasher the Reindeers Gift Basket has a selection of chocolate boxes and a mini chocolate slab in a very cute reindeer basket.

Giant Chocolate Slabs

And of course the giant chocolate slabs, festive versions of the famous huge chocolate bars weighing in at an impressive 500g, half a kilo. Wonderful Christmas gifts and perfect for sharing.

That’s quite a lot of chocolate and there is still more to come for Christmas 2011 including; flavoured hot chocolate, chocolate covered fruits, winter chocolates, chocolate hampers, gift sets, gift bags and a Christmas stocking! You can see everything on their website here.

cocoapod’s Chocolate Christmas Tree Kit, a fun and creative build your own chocolate Christmas tree gift/decoration.

This imaginative kit contains all the chocolate pieces you need to create a, 3D, standing Christmas tree made from Belgian chocolate.

Inside the kit you get all the tree sections with a chocolate star to top the tree off, a bear and two presents to go under the tree and the base to stand it all on. An easy to follow instruction sheet, chocolate buttons; the chocolate “glue”, a brush and even the bag and bows to wrap it with when you have put it together.

The chocolate pieces are hand made and decorated using white and milk Belgian chocolate and all the sections are solid chocolate, including the very chunky Christmas tree pot.

The kit is very easy, and fun, to assemble you simply melt the chocolate buttons and use them to stick the tree branches to the pot, starting with the largest first, and then add the star and presents under the tree, more specific and useful instructions are included in the kit!

When it is finished chocolate Christmas tree stands approximately 130mm tall, depending on how much chocolate you use to stick it together and if you use the base.

Because absolutely everything you need to make the chocolate Christmas tree is included in the kit, you can either choose to buy the kit as a gift itself or buy it and make the tree to give as a gift or keep for yourself to use as a decoration, the size makes it perfect for the top of a Christmas cake.

I have to say this is one of my favourite chocolate gifts for Christmas 2010, not only is it entertaining to put together but you get a wonderful sense of achievement when you finish it, even though cocoapod did most (OK all) of the hard work…

£10.00, 250g of fun chocolate.

Labelled: Vegetarian and Gluten Free.

A fun and festive chocolate stocking filler made from white and milk, Belgian, chocolate by cocoapod.

The Candy Cane disc is a 33% cocoa milk chocolate disc decorated with an edible transfer with little holly leaves and berries and twinkling stars, on top of the disc a striped candy cane tied with a bow shaped from white chocolate and hand painted with bright Christmassy, natural, colours.

At its widest the milk chocolate disc 92mm and with the white chocolate on top 10mm deep, there are five other designs which are the same size and four smaller design. You can see the in the Christmas discs section on the cocoapod site.

Although it does come in a clear box, making it very simple to wrap – it did seem rather a shame to cover up all the bright colours, so I thought it would make a fun Christmas tree decoration.

To do this I simple made a hole in the top of the disc and tied a ribbon to the top, giving me something to hang it from the tree. I used red ribbon to compliment the colours in the design, green or white would have worked too.

Now all I have to do is guard the tree until Christmas day…

£4.00, 62g of fun Belgian chocolate.

Labelled: Gluten Free.

A stunning chocolate Christmas tree, luxury fruit & nut milk chocolate beautifully shaped into a giant tree and decorated with dark chocolate and truffles, a mouth-watering centrepiece for the Christmas table.

Smooth 40% milk chocolate with cranberries, caramel Florentines and crunchy roasted almonds; luxury fruit and nut chocolate, finished with smooth Gianduja truffles and chocolate decorations.

This gorgeous chocolate truffle tree is a chunky 2cm deep, 22cm across at its widest point and 35cm tall, and weighting in at a massive 580g (over half a kilo!) – a very impressive chocolate creation.

£22.00, 580g of Christmassy Hotel Chocolat chocolate.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Alcohol Free and Gluten Free.

Fruit and nut chocolate wreath from Hotel Chocolat, 50% cocoa milk chocolate and luxury fruit and nut beautifully crafted into a Christmas wreath.

This stunning chocolate creation is perfect to slice and share, great as a dessert after a meal or just a treat for the family and friends.

Deliciously smooth milk chocolate packed with cranberries and raisins for moist texture and pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts for that nutty crunch, shaped into an exquisitely designed Christmas wreath.

The fruit and nut chocolate Christmas wreath is 20cm round and a chunky 2cm deep.

£15.00, 450g.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Gluten Free and Alcohol Free.

Three Christmas themed chocolate tins each beautifully decorated and filled with individually wrapped Lindt chocolates.

Each tin opens to reveal fifteen individually wrapped Lindt chocolates inside, the same shape and design as the tin itself.

You get all three tins; the snowman tin, a snowball tin and the Babushka, Russian doll, tin.

The tins make great gifts and Christmas decorations, the snowball has a ribbon attached so it can be a hung from a tree, and once you have shared the Lindt chocolates inside you have a keepsake tin, which can be reused and refilled.

£27.00, 450g.

A gorgeous dark chocolate Christmas tree, from French chocolate expert Michel Cluizel, decorated with dried fruits and nuts.

The dried fruits and nuts; candied orange, almonds and pistachios, give this delightful chocolate creation a rustic charm.

Michel Cluizel produces high quality chocolate by choosing the best cocoa beans from around the world and this chocolate Christmas tree is no exception.

Presented in a Michel Cluizel branded clear bag, the dark chocolate treat makes an enchanting chocolate Christmas gift or stocking filler, the top of the tree also has a whole through it so it can also be used as a hanging chocolate Christmas tree decoration simply by threading it with ribbon.

£5.95, 70g.

Luxury fruit and nut surrounded in irresistible dark chocolate, sculpted into a stunning chocolate wreath.

A classic combination of fruit and nuts with chocolate, with added luxury.

The contrast of colourful fruit and whole roasted nuts against the deep dark chocolate is simply mouth watering. Pistachios, cranberries, hazelnuts, raisins and almonds peep through the 72% cocoa chocolate tempting you in.

The dark chocolate fruit and nut wreath not only a beautiful chocolate gift for Christmas, but also makes a rather dramatic table decoration which can then be shared out to your dinner guests for dessert.

£15.00, 450g.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free and Alcohol Free.