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This Valentines Day, think outside the box when shopping for the chocolate fiend in your life with these 19 clever gift ideas.
There is a scientific explanation for the human being's love of chocolate. A rich, complex food that of course tastes great, chocolate contains multiple compounds that can actually elevate the mood and reduce stress. These include the natural neurotransmitter anandamide, similar to a chemical found in cannabis. Eating chocolate also releases dopamine, your brain's feel-good chemical. And then there's the sugar, which our body craves.
So if you have an avowed chocolate lover on your holiday shopping list, it's your job to make sure his or her Valentine's Day is as tasty, happy, and delicious as possible by providing them with lots of chocolate. Or you could go beyond the mere chocolate bar and get your cocoa enthusiast friend or family member a great book all about the sweet stuff, a choco-scented beauty product, or a delectable chocolaty beverage.
Better yet, make up a chocolate care package with all sorts of great gifts for chocolate lovers. That sure would be sweet of you. (Sorry...)
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They'll end every day on a sweet note with this hot chocolate scented candle. The subtle scent is perfect for the cocoa lover who also appreciates a relaxing ritual.
Ditch the drugstore Valentine's Day card and go for this creative option. It looks like a regular card, but inside there's a delicious dark chocolate bar filled with creamy caramel. And of course, room to leave a personal note.
If they wish they could bathe in chocolate, this is probably the next best thing. These luxe soaps are filled with natural, hydrating ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. Each one is infused with cocoa powder and oils made to smell like delicious chocolate bars.
Rich chocolate and creamy nut butter is the perfect combination. Upgrade them from Reese's to these handcrafted, organic chocolates filled with all sorts of nut butters and other unique flavors, like birthday cake, matcha cashew, and pink chocolate cherry-chai almond butter.
Milk Bar's unique, sugary treats make a great gift for anyone with a sweet tooth. These truffles are made of fudgy chocolate cake with extra chocolate chips and crunchy rainbow sprinkles inside. Each bite is seriously indulgent, perfect for a Valentine's Day nightcap.
With so many companies making great chocolate bars, it's hard to choose just one to recommend. I'm going with Alter Eco first and foremost because I've tried about a half dozen of their bars, from the Dark Blackout Organic Chocolate Bar to the Deep Dark Salted Burnt Caramel Bar and beyond, and they are all amazing.
What sets this company apart is how they make their sweets. Alter Eco products are made with cacao exclusively harvested in Ecuador from sustainable, Fair Trade farms, and all of their chocolate is gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan, and purchases help direct funds to reforestation.
Chocolate fountains are great, but they tend to make a mess, are hard to clean, and can't be used with cheese for traditional fondue. So give the melted chocolate aficionado a trusty (and affordable) classic fondue pot and you're giving the gift of chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate dipped marshmallows, and more.
Few companies know their way around chocolate like Ghirardelli. If you want to give the gift of perfect cups of hot chocolate, give them a can of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa Gourmet Powder. Mixed into warmed milk, it makes a heavenly beverage, but this sweet stuff can also be used in baking or to decorate confections.
If there's one thing that goes great with chocolate, it's wine. If there's another, it's coffee. Ah, but when you blend the flavors of chocolate and coffee into one tasty beverage, you have a real winner. (Not quite so with the vino, FYI.) Crazy Cups Coffee Chocolate Lovers Cups work with most single-serve coffee makers (Keurig, e.g.) and come in flavors ranging from Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup to Peppermint Chocolate Mocha. Get your cocoa-and-coffee-loving buddy a mixed pack and they can try them all.
Giving someone the gift of a chocolate bar is great, but it's also fleeting. A few chomps later, and it's gone. Ah, but give the gift of a custom chocolate bar mold, and your friend can make their own delightful chocolate bars at home just by melting some of the sweet stuff and pouring it into these molds. You can order a custom chocolate bar mold with a name, a logo, a message, or a basic graphic, whatever you think your sweet-toothed friend will love the most.
The true chocolate aficionado can appreciate not just the taste of the sweet eat but also its rich history and its place in culture. "Bean-to-Bar Chocolate" is jam-packed with information about all things chocolate. Along with the gripping text, the book is filled with lavish images.
There's nothing like a relaxing, warm beverage. And there's really nothing like a cup of Chocolate Hazelnut Black Tea from Stash for warming you up and calming you down at the end of a long day. This decaffeinated tea is flavored with natural cocoa, hazelnut, and vanilla extracts, and makes a delightful hot beverage with just a few minutes of steeping. When served over ice, it's an invigorating drink that will pep you up sans sugar or caffeine.
Just because a person can't eat chocolate every minute of the day doesn't mean he or she can't enjoy its essence at all times. With a large 13-ounce hot chocolate-scented candle from Our Own Candle Company, the home (or office or spa) will be filled with the luscious aroma of chocolate for hours on end. In fact, this candle has a 100-hour burn time, so it can last for weeks even if burned for an hour or two daily.
The gift of sweet, sweet relaxation is close at hand. Get a Hot Chocolate Bath Bomb and you can give your friend or special someone soft skin thanks to ingredients like cocoa butter and shea butter. Each bath bomb is a bit pricey, but your gift-getter will appreciate their quality.
For the uncultured choco-fanatic, the original "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory" with Gene Wilder blows the Johnny Depp version out of the chocolate river. Gift them a remastered Blu-ray version of the movie so they can gain a true appreciation for the wonderful world of Wonka.
Don't worry, the 80 recipes included in the cookbook "Chocolate Covered Katie" aren't a one-way ticket to a larger pant size; in fact, it's quite the opposite. Chef and author Katie Higgins has put together a book filled with foods that are sweet and tasty and chocolaty but actually (pretty) healthy, too. So go ahead and get a copy for your friend. Maybe they'll make you some Peanut Butter Pudding Pops.
The Brits are known for some fine candies, and many of their finest can be found in this Great British Treats box from Cadbury. In it, your gift-getter will get candy bars including a Flake, a Twirl, a Crunchie, and other sweets beloved in the UK but harder to find on the American side of the pond.
Chocolate is delicious, but it's not exactly a health food. Like at all. This Base Culture Raspberry Cocoa Brownie almost is, though, as are all the other flavors of brownie (and blondie) this women-owned, paleo-friendly company makes. This 270-calorie brownie has 5 grams of protein, zero trans fats, and it's free of grain, soy, and dairy and approved for paleo diets.
This Too Faced makeup palette that's shaped like a chocolate bar looks and smells like the real deal. That's in large part because the eye shadows are pigmented with pure, antioxidant-rich cocoa powder.
Check out even more of our Valentine's Day gift ideas
