Hotel Chocolat’s Christmas 2011 Collection
Christmas isn’t too far away, I still get far too excited about it, and even though it is still almost two months away that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning, getting organised and even shopping!
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.