Give the best of both worlds with chocolate roses

Trying to decide between giving some chocolate or giving roses?  Agonise no more; you can get beautiful chocolate roses for all occasions and give the best of both worlds at once!

Pink, red, white, milk or dark chocolate roses, chocolate flowers such as tulips and lilies, long stemmed chocolate roses, foil wrapped chocolate roses, chocolate clay roses, wholesale and gift boxed chocolate roses, there is a type for every occasion - you will not be stuck for a gift again when you combine the two timeless presents of the rose and the chocolate.

Pink and red chocolate roses are always a surprise.  Made from varying ingredients ranging from chocolate fondue, coloured white chocolate or a mixture called “chocolate plastic” - definitely no actual plastic in them, so don’t worry! - they are coloured the desired shade of blushing pink or red and then carefully moulded, usually by hand, into fine-shaped roses and other flowers.  Some chocolate roses are instead poured into moulds and set, these may come packaged in a box a little like the chocolate seashells that are so popular today also.  The rose delicacies are then either wrapped carefully in foil, inserted onto long elegant stems to be used in a chocolate rose arrangement, or presented in a beautiful box.

Just imagine surprising a loved one with a tasteful arrangement of both chocolate roses and real roses.  The scent is heavenly and makes for a slightly different gift to the everyday normal box of chocolates, or a regular bunch of flowers.  The delight of being able to actually eat some of the flowers will make it a memorable and fun present.

Some chocolate roses are so unbelievably lifelike that you will have difficulty telling the actual flowers from the chocolate flowers.  The will have subtlety of colour in the petals and bud and they will be attached to lifelike stems with very convincing leaves with real-looking veins.

Some chocolate rose makers even go so far as to imbue the chocolate itself with edible essential oils of rose (a very highly prized essential oil) to make a true connoiseur’s chocolate!  Others will include chocolate cream in the centre of the rose that is flavoured with rose essence or sometimes violet essence, a delicate flavour that adds a floral note to chocolate.

Chocolate roses often come as a dozen in a presentation vase, so that the receiver of your lovely gift will not need to find a vase to put them in.  They might even say, “Oh, thank you - a bunch of roses, how delightful!” and when they go to sniff the roses, they will be greeted with the surprise of a chocolate scent instead!  Perfect for a birthday or Christmas treat.

Thanks to Sister72 for the image.

25 occasions for giving chocolate roses

When someone has...
    1.    had a baby
    2.    become engaged
    3.    graduated
    4.    been accepted for a promotion
    5.    found their first job
    6.    celebrated an anniversary without their spouse
    7.    just helped their last child leave home
    8.    had a hard time lately and could use some inspirational gifts
    9.    finished their PhD
    10.    won a competition
    11.    got home from holiday in Spain
    12.    moved house
    13.    paid off their mortgage
    14.    got a new car
    15.    lost their long-loved pet
    16.    turned 21
    17.    found a girlfriend/boyfriend
    18.    to say Happy Easter
    19.    to say Merry Christmas
    20.    got a new hairstyle
    21.    sung at their first concert
    22.    finished renovating their house
    23.    just to say “I love you”
    24.    to put in a vase in their house before they get home from their honeymoon
    25.    to celebrate having sold their house

Why not even consider getting yourself a set of wholesale chocolate roses, I’m not joking.  They are cheaper to buy in bulk, they keep for a reasonably long time and they do make an ideal gift for all sorts of occasions.  Paired with a tasteful greeting card with a pre-written message or a hand-written message composed by yourself, a chocolate rose can really say “thinking of you” in a surprising and an unusual way.

See if you can come up with some more reasons for giving a chocolate rose.  You might want to include one in a small gift basket to make up for a friend who is in hospital, or for your grandmother to take home (she comes to visit only once a year).  Can you put a chocolate rose in a bunch of real flowers as a bit of a surprise?  (Maybe mention it to the recipient so that he/she doensn’t overlook it and leave the “bunch” in the sun!)

A nice idea to put forward if you work on the board of a school, to arrange for each graduate this year to receive a chocolate rose along with their graduation certificate.  Alternatively, if you are a student of an institution, could you arrange for the student counsel board to give a chocolate rose to each member of teaching staff at the end of year assembly?  They would surely not be expecting it, and it would be a sweet (literally) way to round off the year and have everyone leave on a good note.

A neighbour who has just moved in could appreciate a “Welcome to the neighbourhood” notecard along with a few groceries they may have overlooked in the house move such as milk, bread, butter and a bunch of lettuce or other fresh vegetable or fruit perhaps from your own garden.  A chocolate rose tied to the handle of the basket is sure to show your neighbours that you want to be on good terms and get the “consequential relationship” off to a good start.

Many ways to say many things with a simple chocolate rose.  I hope you try out one of these ideas, or one of your own, today!

Pairing chocolate roses with another item to make a personalised gift

• Chocolate roses along with personalised chocolates for the ultimate gift for a chocoholic friend
• Placed with a book on gardening for a friend with a green thumb and a love of reading.
• Tucked inside a rolled-up baby blanket for a baby shower gift.
• Placed in the arms of a homemade doll for a memorable and well-received little girl’s birthday present.
• Thrown at the wedding instead of a bunch of flowers: for those who don’t want to follow the tradition of saying that the one who catches the bouquet will be the next to be married - instead those who catch the roses can eat them and be free and merry instead!  (There will be plenty of food around on the day so nobody need be jealous!)
• A single long-stemmed chocolate rose with an iTunes gift card tied to the stem.
• A chocolate rose tucked inside a map of the world for a budding new student at high school or university.
• Stuck through an Advent wreath on the door of a loved friend, along with a Christmas card, when they were out of the house.
• Along with a greeting card as a way of thanking the neighbour who helped you take your sick child in to A&E when your spouse was away and you were beside yourself.
• A small box of chocolate roses mixed in with other nostalgic items such as a leather-bound notebook, hand-knitted socks, a little photo album, a nice pen, an envelope full of hand-written going-away letters from friends and family a for a son or daughter leaving home to join the navy or army.
• A gift for your spouse on a Friday evening after the kids have gone to bed - paired with a kiss (or something more)!  ;)