Make it Sweeter: Guide to Gifting

Get creative about pairing candy with a gift to make it more memorable (and delicious!). Here are some ideas to get started.

Pamper a loved one with a spa service like a facial or fancy pedicure
Wrap the spa certificate inside a luxurious towel along with a relaxing CD, a gourmet dark chocolate bar and an aromatherapy candle.

Give a membership to the local gym
Tuck the membership card inside a sports duffel bag – don’t forget a water bottle, new sneakers, energy gum or mints and a portable music player for those high-energy tunes.

Treat a movie lover to a gift certificate to the local theater or movie store
Place the card inside an empty popcorn bucket with a few boxes of movie-theater style candy and a film trivia book or encyclopedia.

Serve up a themed gift to the coffee lover
A fancy coffee maker (maybe one of those new one-cup-at-a time models) will be appreciated even more when it comes with a couple of large coffee mugs, a pound of beans, a small grinder and some chocolate-covered espresso beans or coffee-flavored chocolates. For a personal touch, hand-dip heavy-weight, clear plastic spoons in melted chocolate and place on wax paper to dry. Remove from wax people and wrap in a glassine bag or envelope you've made from more wax paper.

Pair a gift of travel with regional foods and gifts
Planning to give someone a trip for the holidays? Offer the recipient clues and make them guess the destination. For example, if you're going to San Francisco, you can include chop sticks (the city boasts the largest Chinatown in the U.S.), a box of Rice-a-Roni (the San Francisco treat) and a few Ghiradelli Chocolate squares (and be sure to visit Ghiradelli Square once you get to town). A little Internet research should yield regional candies for just about any location.

Indulge the explorer
Pair binoculars and a globe or atlas with candies from around the world, or get more specific and focus on one country with maps, foods and crafts native that culture. Look online to find out what foods are enjoyed in the location you chose and what kinds of handmade items they have.

Give to the green-thumbed gardener
In a big flower pot, assemble flower or vegetable seeds, gardening gloves and tools, gummi worms, and chocolate-covered seeds, nuts or berries. Tuck in some foil-wrapped chocolate flowers and tell the recipient that even though it might be too cold outside for flowers, there's no reason not to enjoy them inside this winter.