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.

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.

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.