12 Gift Ideas for Your Loved Ones (with a Sweet Tooth)

Flowers and sweets are a popular gift combo. So popular, in fact, that sometimes one stops and wonders, are, say, chocolate candies a good gift to begin with?

It just seems so impersonal. It’s a safe gift option you get when you don’t know what else to buy for someone whose interests you know little about. For a first date, a friend-of-a-friend, or a coworker you never meet up with outside the office.

Well, let me assure you, some cliches are cliches because they’re true. Take it from someone who’s been asking for good coffee and good chocolate for their birthday for years now. Sweets make a fantastic gift! The key is to put a little thought into the gift-giving process. 

Choosing the Right Sweets for a Gift

First of all, have you seen the prices of premium-quality candies? Gourmet desserts are not a luxury most people can allow themselves to enjoy every day. That makes them the best kind of gift: something many people desire they could have but won’t allow themselves to spend money on. 

As with any good present, the trick is to do a little research beforehand. If the person in question has mentioned many times that dark chocolate isn’t their favorite, even the highest-quality premium dark chocolate won’t make a good gift, delicacy or not. You want something to make them happy. If that something is a family-sized pack of Maltesers, get them the family-sized pack of Maltesers, even if that doesn’t seem like a particularly inspired gift.

In fact, the entire gift selection process will be much easier if you know what the person in question loves.

If it’s a friend of yours, throw caution to the wind and ask directly. If not, try asking someone close to the person you’re trying to choose a gift for. And if that’s not an option, go with variety. The more types of candy and sweets you put in your gift box, the higher the chance that the addressee will enjoy some of it.

And one last thing: you can, of course, get a pretty chocolate gift box and leave it at that. But any gift box you assemble yourself will seem 1) infinitely more personal and thoughtful; 2) will have higher chances of 

At Yummy Bazaar’s online store, you’ll find plenty of gourmet desserts you can use to assemble a diverse and unique gift box that’s bound to make any sweet tooth happy. Remember: choice and quality are always the keys to any good present, and sweets are no exception.

Here are the twelve we think you should pay particular attention to:

Gourmet Chocolate Assortment

Gourmet chocolate is always a safe choice. Few people with a sweet tooth don’t enjoy premium-quality chocolate, but most have reservations about overpaying for it. We’d say a gourmet chocolate assortment is the most effective when it’s a good balance between unique and safe. Think Bertie Botts candy from Harry Potter. You want to combine excitement for new with the assurance that there are options they will 100% enjoy. For example, combine some original chocolate flavors like spicy chili, ginger, or candied bacon with something classic and well-loved like milk or whole hazelnut Ritter Sport chocolate bars. 

Chocolate Truffles 

Chocolate truffles fall into a similar category, even if they’re somewhat more limited on the originality front. But if the person in question isn’t much of an experimenter regarding their dessert flavors, then choosing what sweets to gift them becomes… a bit more tedious but also easier.

Your primary focus, in this case, should be on 1) variety; 2) quality. A small selection with a higher variety from brands that are known for quality chocolate truffles will do the trick. Few different flavors of Perugina’s Baci candy or Lindt’s Lindor truffles are bound to do the trick. 

(Also, they’re colorful and pretty to look at, adding a visually pleasant element as a bonus!).

Liquor Filled Candies

Oh, these always add an extra pizzazz. Candies are considered a good gift. Nice alcohol is regarded as a good gift. Combining the two also makes a good gift, especially when added to an already diverse and colorful gift box.

Colorful Candy Drops 

Let’s talk about the colorful part.

There’s no way around it; we get excited when something is visually appealing. If you gift the person in question an exorbitantly priced gourmet chocolate bar wrapped in brown paper, they will be grateful… in the long run. When they Google the brand name and find out it’s an exorbitantly priced gourmet chocolate bar. 

But the moment you hand the gift over, you might catch disappointment on their face because the brown paper is simply not an exciting packaging for a gift.

Adding a color pop with hard candy drops can work wonders on a visual front. And it doesn’t hurt that many companies that manufacture gourmet hard candy know the power of visual messaging and have come up with packages that make their products look exclusive and expensive. Add a glass jar of honey candies or uniquely flavored candies in a solid metal box. They will make your gourmet desserts selection look twice as impressive. Visually, at the very least.

Licorice Candies

We have to mention licorice candies when talking about uniquely flavored candies in impressive packaging. At least licorice candies from Amarelli that look like fine vintage souvenirs in candy form (they might as well be, Amarelli has been producing licorice candy for about 300 years now).

Licorice doesn’t have a great reputation among sweet lovers but remember: variety is the key when it comes to giving sweets as a gift. Taking chances on more unique options and balancing them with safe ones is the entire point. Don’t be afraid to go big (especially when the unique candies come with pretty packaging!).

Milk Candy

While on the topic of unique sweets, we have to give a shoutout to milk candy. Or Asian milk candy, specifically, because the term can be a tad confusing. Milk candy, or Pastillas de Leche as they’re known in the Philippines, is made with a combination of dairy milk, condensed milk, and sugar. 

Traditionally a form of hard candy, chewy milk candy varieties have also become popular. They come in myriad classic (plain, strawberry, chocolate) and unique flavors (matcha, taro, butter) and add an unexpected twist to your selection of gourmet desserts. If you want to really surprise the addressee of your gift box, these candies will likely do the trick.

Marzipan

If you want to make your gift box look truly luxurious, marzipan will do the trick. Firstly, gourmet marzipan (not the kind that’s basically “fondant with a little almond in it”) is an expensive product. Secondly, gourmet marzipan is almost always packaged festively in brightly colored shiny paper. The combination of value and added pizzazz always looks impressive.

Now, if you’re assembling a box for a true marzipan connoisseur you want to impress, you need to up the ante. Adding a small box of calissons might do the trick. These French marzipan candies are not your run-of-the-mill specialty sweets. They’re considered an actual delicacy in the country with a strictly protected status (meaning there’s a specific method all manufacturers need to adhere to) and Protected Geographical Indication. 

Nougat 

The great thing about nougat candy bars is that they check off many of the boxes necessary for making an impressive gift box. They come in various sizes; get a full-size bar to accompany the chocolate bar selection or small nougat candies to add to the chocolate truffle box. They come in multiple flavors: get traditional almond or hazelnut-filled nougat bar, or get a caramel, limoncello, or cappuccino-flavored nougat for a more original gift.

European nougat has a long history. Italian torrone and Spanish turron (especially soft turron Jijona) having acquired a reputation as traditional gourmet desserts. Nougat candy bars may not be anyone’s first thought when they think of a gift, but that’s the point: they’re unexpected and memorable. 

Jelly Candy 

If the person in question isn’t a big fan of hard candies, then try substituting with jelly candies for the additional color pop. You might have trouble finding jellies that are packaged as impressively as hard candies (I’ve not encountered many options for jellies in vintage-looking mental boxes), but they’re no less appealing visually. And you can play to their other strengths. For example, Asian jelly candies come in rather unique flavors like matcha, red bean, lychee, and passion fruit. 

Mochi

These Japanese soft and chewy delights have been amassing a following for the last few years.  But they’re not a fixture of gift boxes, at least not yet. Their addition would bring in a unique and colorful element, so that’s a win on two fronts (also, they’re delicious!).

Chocolate-Covered or Candied Nuts and Fruit

Nut-and-fruit assortment may not make a good present on its own, but they’re a simple and quick way to add an extra twist and variety to a gift box. The significant upside is that most people enjoy nuts and fruits, and enjoy them more when they’re covered in chocolate. That’s why commercially manufactured gift baskets include them so often. It’s a trick to up the appeal factor (and hey, gift boxes of chocolate-covered fruits are popular all by themselves, so there’s obviously something there!)

Glazed Chestnuts

And last, but not least, let's round out the list with a truly unique gourmet dessert: traditional French sweet glazed chestnuts called Marrons Glacés. On the surface, marron glace is pretty straightforward: chestnuts doused in syrup and glazed with sugar. But the technique behind the treat is complicated and time-consuming. Chestnuts need to be cooked to a specific texture and then candied for days to weeks, and finally glazed to attain their final form, so to speak.

Marron Glace is considered a delicacy in Europe and treated as such. It’s typically packaged like high-end gourmet candy (because that’s basically what it is), with each chestnut individually wrapped and placed in sturdy boxes.

Adding Marron Glace to the gourmet desserts selection in your gift box is a surefire way to make an impression. It’s one of the rare sweets most sweet lovers have never even heard of, let alone tried.  

Additional Details to Keep in Mind:

Aesthetics matter when it comes to gifts. Add colorful elements some would consider extra to your gift box. If you find uniquely shaped confections (animals, celestial bodies, other food like fruits and vegetables), consider adding them to your gift box.

A sturdy and thoughtful packaging (a slick box or a basket wrapped in colorful ribbons) that has a designer look will also play a role in how excited the addressee is when receiving your gift.

It may sound a little shallow (it probably is), but the more Instagrammable your gift box looks, the more likely it will be received with enthusiasm. The assortment you’ve selected will no doubt make an impression later, but it’s the first look that makes the gift memorable.