It's the second day on our Advent Calendar... and as the door opens, something sparkly is revealed, something glittering:

Free Snowflake Toppings!

You can find the Snowflake Decoration in our Holiday topping section on this site - and turn your chocolate bar into a Winter Wonderland. For all orders, it's free today, instead of the regular $1.50.

Did you know that every snowflake is completely unique? Starting in 1885, a man called Wilson Alwyn Bentley started photographing snowflakes to find a perfect match - but he never did. Today we know that it is pretty much impossible for two snowflakes to be exactly the same, since there are about 10^18 water molecules in everyone one of them. That's just like our chocolate bars! Every one is completely unique from the next!

Enjoy creating your own chocolate bars - remember, they make great gifts!

Since this is our first Holiday Season at chocri ever, we've thought up something really unique. Not only do we have great holiday chocolate concoctions, but we are also launching our Advent Calendar today with a bang:

25% off your customized chocolate bars

The coupon code is "ADVENTCHOCRI", and you can use it at checkout to get 25% off your customized chocolate bars - but only today! (expires midnight EST)

If you're not ready to order yet, don't fret - we'll have nice surprises and deals every day from now on until December 25 (although we'll never have such a big discount again!).

Today is Black Friday, a day in which you probably know that bricks and mortar retailers brace themselves for a deluge of bargain-hungry shoppers seeking crazy-good deals.

We didn't have to brace ourselves at 4am, because you can buy chocri 24 hours a day year round! But, we would like to remind you that you can get 20% off your order if you become a fan of chocri on Facebook. We've climbed to over a thousand fans this week, and it's our way of saying thanks for your Facebook support!

Now, on to this week's top five- as the holidays draw nearer, picking just five of the many clever bar names is getting so much harder. You guys rock!

• Mallorina Ballorina Bar (Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut Brittle and Holiday Bear) Awwww...

• Peppermint Bear Hugs for Christopher (Milk Chocolate with Holiday Bear and Candy Cane)

• For My Suga Suga Suga 143 -For My Juicyfruit Boo Boo (White Chocolate with Mango Cubes, Strawberry Chocolate Drops, Toasted Hazelnuts and Writing 'I Love You') The sentiment that carries so much more weight when presented via chocolate rather than text message.

• Sweetness for my sweetie - love you pretty legs xo's (Milk Chocolate with Strawberry, Pecans, Smiley (female), Writing 'I Love You' and Candy Cane)

• Gilded Oranges for Papa (Dark Chocolate with Real Gold Flakes and Orange) Doesn't that sound like a kids' book about Christmas presents?

Did you snag any epic deals today? Tell us in the comments!

Curiosity piqued for next week? Stay tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you!

• Thank you to our customers who buy from us, recommend us, and contribute to our success with their creativity. We wouldn't be here without you!
• Thank you to our employees and colleagues, both in Germany and here in the States - you're making it all happen!
• Thank you to our partners for delivering the chocolate to our customers, for supplying us with the best toppings and chocolate out there, and for helping us run everything smoothly *Thank you to other customization companies that make mass customization a trend in the US and beyond
• Thank you to the press that spreads the good news about customized chocolate
• Thank you to DIV Kinder for turning our donations into a better place for children
• Thanks to everyone who is giving us advice, supports us, and cheers us on in our quest to bring customized chocolate bars to the world!

Although a nice bottle of red wine is, let's face it, always welcome- sometimes you get a bit of vino fatigue. Walking into a dinner party or Thanksgiving gathering with the tenth bottle of wine of the evening can feel a bit anticlimactic. People love getting gifts, but giving gifts is something people really enjoy, too. Finding the perfect gift for someone who has done you a kindness is a great feeling, and what's more fun than the look on someone's face when you present them with something unique and perfect for that particular individual?

If you're reading this blog, you know that customized chocolate is what chocri is all about. Our chocolate is of excellent quality, but our vast range of toppings means that we literally have something for everyone- well, everyone who loves chocolate. (Which is pretty much everyone.) Our recommended creations do very well, but there's something people love about selecting their own one-of-a-kind gift to their exact specifications.

You also probably know by now that custom chocolate takes a bit of time to assemble- we want to get it just right to your specifications! And Thanksgiving is tomorrow! However, one of our most popular gifting options year round are our customized chocolate gift certificates, allowing your recipient to visit our site and create their very own personalized chocolate.

If you're looking ahead, you can always create a bar for your hosts or hostesses. But if you've only got a day, an hour or five minutes and don't feel like hitting up the crowded liquor store or bakery on a holiday, we have two other options in which you might be interested.

Our printable gift certificates, like our chocolate, are customizable. If you have a printer or prefer to give something tangible, this is an excellent option.

However, not everyone has a printer. Some people are a bit more data oriented, too, and we have gift codes so you can even bypass the printing step. When you place your gift certificate order, you will immediately receive a gift code in your email so you can pass it on to the recipient through email. (Or inscribed in a card if you want to be all fancy.)

If you're looking for a quick, unique and reasonably priced gift option for your host or hostess and you're short on time, you can find our gift certificates page here. And if you need help with your order, you can find us on Twitter!.

Unsurprisingly, chocolate fountains have risen in popularity sharply as they've become available on the consumer market. Formerly the domain of party rentals sphere and only generally found at fancy events, more and more people have added chocolate fountains to their arsenal of home entertaining tools. But how do you use a chocolate fountain?

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the official kick-off of the holidays, many people are whipping out chocolate fountains, perhaps received as gifts last season, for the very first time. And why not? Can you think of a tastier treat than pumpkin pie bites dipped in white chocolate or pecan pie, also a Thanksgiving staple, enrobed in dark or milk? Fruits, marshmallows, cookie bits and even savory treats like pretzels and potato chips are also popular "recipes" for chocolate fountains.

We've used a chocolate fountain at events like Maker Faire, and the process can be a little daunting if you're a first time chocolate fountain user. But the process is fairly easy- we've compiled a few helpful hints on how to use your chocolate fountain:

Cocoa butter or oil makes the chocolate go round: Couverture chocolate, with a cocoa butter percentage of between 33%-45% is recommended to ensure smooth chocolate flow. If your chocolate has a lower percentage, you can add a bit of oil during the melting phase. One recommended ratio is a half cup of oil to five pounds of good quality chocolate.

Melt first, dip chocolate later: A chocolate fountain can melt chocolate, but using a microwave or double boiler speeds up the process and ensures even melting and less fuss.

Crumbs and fountains don't mix: If possible, avoid crumbly dippers like dry cookies or cakes. They'll get unsightly bits in your smooth, flowy chocolate.

Chocolate's like a Gremlin- don't get it wet! Inadvertent introduction of water can cause chocolate to 'seize' and get lumpy. Keep water away from the fountain!

You are what you heat: Better quality chocolate leads to better quality fondue parties. Less well made chocolates won't harm your fountain, but good chocolate=good chocolate covered strawberries.

Got questions? Let us know in the comments and we might be able to help out- or if it's a holiday party emergency, you can try reaching out to us on Twitter. Are you dusting off the chocolate fountain for Turkey Day? Got any suggestions for delicious dippables?

While we celebrate Thanksgiving later this week, today is a much less commonly honored day- National Cashew Day.

Cashews and Chocolate are a beloved combination, but they're a bit trickier to find than the more common chocolate-covered peanuts, walnuts or even pecans. You may know them as lending a wonderful flavor to Indian restaurant favorite Chicken Korma, and in Brazil, the juice of the cashew nut is popular drink.

This multi-tasking nut also has some medicinal properties. Even its scientific name, Anacardium, refers to its heart-like shape. But the cashew has been used to treat dental abscesses and parts of the plant have been culled to alleviate stomach upset and help with snake bites.

Luckily for us, cashew consumption is generally more for fun than associated with errant cobra attacks or toothaches. We tend to take our cashews combined with milk chocolate and sour cherries, or with a dusting of fleur de sel in a dark bar. Got a craving for cashews? Or even better, stocking up on cashew chocolate treats for the holidays? Today's your lucky day- cashews are free, just for National Cashew Day, in our chocri shop.

What's your ideal cashew and chocolate combination? Tell us in the comments!

[Image: ZOMG Candy]

Thanksgiving is almost here, but judging by this week's orders, y'all have been thinking even further ahead to Christmas and Hanukkah. (Although the Gobble, Gobble bar remains popular.) At chocri, we've been wrapping up some prep (no shaking the presents, chocri fans!) for all the holiday fun we have planned and we're about as busy as Santa's elves.

Still, we managed to cobble together (ha, ha) this week's top five bar names!

• Just Married Muesli Madness (Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut Brittle, Organic Salt Pretzels, mymuesli - Organic Muesli and Toffee in Holiday Packaging) Because breakfast is one of the highlights of honeymooning.

• nom nom nom :D I love you =D (Milk and White Chocolate with Ginger, Caramel Chocolate Drops and Cinnamon) Because the internet is for love and romance!

• Its Laura's World Bar (Dark Chocolate with Strawberry, Toasted Hazelnuts, Sprinkles, Christmas Cookies and Apple Bits in Holiday Packaging) Party time! Excellent!

• Santa Bob (Dark Chocolate with Cappuccino Chocolate Drops, Sprinkles, Bourbon Vanilla, Almonds and Mini Snowflakes in Holiday Packaging) Santa Claus's lesser known, epicurious little brother.

And a tie!

• ... wouldn't a slideshow about customized food... (Dark Chocolate with Cashews, Ground Chili and Real Gold Flakes)

• ... be so awesome? (White Chocolate with Hazelnut Brittle, Rice Crispies in Chocolate Coating and Raspberry in Holiday Packaging) Yes, yes it would.

Curiosity piqued for next week? Stay tuned!

The holidays are approaching! Hanukkah is going to be here in a few days (need a last minute gift? Our gift cards are e-mailed instantly), and you should start ordering holiday gifts now to avoid a rush in December. Plus, personalized gifts are not only shipped to you, they are also made for you - so give them a bit more time!

Below are three ideas for personalized gifts that men will love:

Personalized Soda

Jones Soda Company is famous for exotic flavors like Bacon Soda, but what they do very well, too, is personalizing a soda bottle with image and text of your choice. So grab one of those manly flavors, and put a somewhat embarrassing picture of your buddy, boyfriend, husband or son on it, and enjoy the bursting of bubbles and laughter. You can get a six pack (hah!) for $16.99 plus shipping. Personalize a soda bottle.

Personalized Cufflinks

Ok, I admit, this is an old one, - but still a good one! If you're looking for a unique gift idea for a man that wears a lot of dress shirts, you can be sure that he'll wear personalized cufflinks from you proudly. There are a number of websites that offer them, with a large variety of prices. Try American Bridal for very reasonable prices but long delivery times, Target for a pricier version (around $50) but faster and free shipping, and Cufflinks for Him for higher quality cufflinks starting at around $100 per gift.

Customized Laptop Sleeves

This company actually only just launched their website to the general public a few days ago, so you can be sure to surprise your beau with this gift! With caseable, you can customize a laptop sleeve by uploading images and texts to a variety of soft cases, which are promptly made and sent to you. I was actually able to visit the production when they made the customized laptop sleeve I had ordered a few days before, and I was very impressed by the image quality on the neoprene material. Considering how much I depend on my laptop and how often I'll get to see the sleeve, a price tag of $70 doesn't seem terribly steep. They also have free shipping right now! Customize a laptop sleeve.

Oh, and by the way, the Cosmopolitan just wrote that our customized chocolate bars are a "gift that makes him love you more!" - hint, hint ;)

Have you started your holiday gift shopping yet?

For all the flak associated with Christmas shopping, usually it's a pretty smooth process. But oftentimes, there's that one person on your list that is incredibly difficult to shop for. Whether they're picky, or they "have everything they need," or you just want to find the perfect gift, a challenge looms. To ease the process, we've created this handy chocri gift guide to help find a present for that special someone...

Mom: Moms are notoriously hard to shop for, especially since she's probably one of the first people for whom you ever bought a gift. So technically, this particular giftee can take a bit more consideration. That's decades of gift shopping, not counting birthdays and Mother's Day! With that in mind, we've crafted this ode to mommies:

Milk Chocolate, Strawberry, Cinnamon, Writing "I love you," Hazelnut Brittle and Strawberry Chocolate Drops

Think you've found your mom's perfect gift? You can grab this bar for her by going to our "create" page and entering the code p267a1

Dad: Dads are another challenging Christmas gift recipient, and you can only give him so many multitools and pairs of slippers before you want to up the stakes. So for him, we've put together an ode to all things manly man. In our dad's bar, you'll find:

Dark Chocolate, Roasted Peanuts, Real Bacon, Fleur de Sel and Organic Salt Pretzels.

You can order this bar by going to our "create" page and entering the code: d2f6wu

Service Professionals: They bring your mail, deliver your packages, walk your dogs or take out the trash. All year long, service professionals like mailmen, doormen or deliverymen make your life run a little more smoothly. When Christmas comes around, it's often customary to provide a tip or small monetary gift for these hardworking individuals. But what do you get them if you want to add a little something extra?

With service professionals in mind, we've created this bar including White Chocolate, Stollen Spice, Pine Nuts, Goji Berries and Toffee.

Want to give your favorite service professional the gift of smooth, creamy chocolate? Go to our "create" page and enter the code rt0a1l

Teacher: Teachers are another tough spot on the annual gift list. When your kids are in school, teachers spend hours each day teaching them Math, Science, History, Language Arts and wrangle them on field trips. With a couple dozen kids, they probably get some duplicate gifts. Why not check out this one of a kind gift suggestion with educators in mind to ensure your kid has the most unique gift in the class?

In our teacher bar, you'll find Milk Chocolate, Apple Bits, Pecan, Star Decoration, Gingerbread Spice and Mini Cookies. To select this bar, go to our "create" page and enter the code k9txde

Significant Other: Judging by our Facebook feeds, this particular recipient is posing the most pre-shopping stress of all gift list entries. Girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, significant other, life partner, other half or sweetheart, finding a gift that expresses to the one you love that you adore them is no easy feat. Is there anything you can buy that really says "I love you" for that special someone?

Actually, literally, there is. We've created a gift for your special someone that among other things, includes those three meaningful words edibly inscribed. On our significant other holiday chocri, we've included White Chocolate with Raspberry, Bourbon Vanilla, Toasted Hazelnuts, Writing "I love you," and Real Gold Flakes. You can order this bar by going to our create page and entering the code l6zijc

Random Relative: Relatives. You love them, but sometimes you take them for granted. So much so that maybe in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, you left someone important off your list. How embarrassing! Having been there and done that, we've created this bar to spare you the awkward moment when there's one or two gifts missing from Santa's bag.

We recommend keeping one or two extra bars on hand just in case. Because nothing says "I totally didn't forget you this year!" like a customized chocolate bar for Christmas. We won't tell if you don't! This bar has Milk and White Chocolate with Blueberries, Sunflower Seeds, Snowflakes, Cinnamon Cornflakes and Rice Crispies, and you can order it by going to our create page and entering the code xna5yp

Those are just a few of the millions of combinations we offer, enabling you to find the perfect gift for that special someone on your list. What would be on your* ideal chocri gift?

The white chocolate connoisseur is heartily underrepresented in the world of chocolate appreciation, according to this particular white chocolate fan. However, I am not alone in my love of the palest of all chocolates, and I know it can be difficult to find an excellent quality white chocolate option for holiday gifts.

Depending on whether the person you're shopping for is a white chocolate devotee (my father will only consume white chocolate if any chocolate) or just a big fan of the variety in general, you can create the ideal white chocolate gift box for your giftee. Our chocolate gift box in a limited edition holiday design includes two of any bar, which is a perfect gift box option for white chocolate fans in particular because you can customize their chocolate instead of including white in a larger assortment. (Which is how uncustomized chocolate is often sold.)

If you know a picky white chocolate lover, you can always build a bar to their specifications on our "Create Your Own Chocolate" page. If you'd like to choose from a selection of recommended bars, our "Recommended Creations" page has several delicious, unique creations for your white chocolate gift box. (Including the holiday specials "Gobble, Gobble" and "White Christmas.") And if your white chocolate fan has broader tastes, you can include a milk or dark bar in your white chocolate gift box for good measure. (I'll take both in white, please.)

What would be in your ideal white chocolate gift box? Tell us in the comments!

Chocolate is one of those rare foods that is not only really tasty but also has significant health benefits. (You can read some of our previous posts on chocolate and health here.)

Although chocolate is a health powerhouse all on its own, scientists from several companies, universities and research organizations have been working in an "international, multidisciplinary effort" to unlock the genome of the cacao tree. After two years, the genome was sequenced in September, and scientists believe that in the near future, it could lead to increased health benefits in relation to chocolate consumption:

Dr. Howard-Yara Shapiro spoke to the Telegraph about the discovery:

"The idea is that this is something that will become the norm – healthy fats, high levels of flavonols.

"Chocolate will become something quite different in 10-15-20 years and we are on that track now.

"Flavonols have been shown to be good for your heart in many trials. The genome can help us enhance these molecules in cocoa plants. We believe we can increase the quality of the cocoa fat to make it healthier.

"It is not as easy as it sounds but it is one of our key targets.

"It is not something we can deliver tomorrow, but maybe in five years we can. Having the genome will speed up the process because we will be able to locate which genes are responsible for high levels of flavonols and help us select for those plants."

The advances could lead to healthier fats in chocolate, along with higher concentrations of compounds that combat diabetes and increase brain function, for instance. Perhaps the scientists were snacking on chocolate while they worked on the project- it was completed three years ahead of schedule!

It was super exciting to see all the holiday orders rolling in at an increasing frequency this week! Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and we introduced a new bar for Hanukkah called the "Festival of Lights" earlier in the week!

Although a lot of orders were holiday-related, we also got a lot of puns. Here are five of the top bar names we saw this week- as always, in no particular order.

• Annapricot + Crannaberry (Milk Chocolate with Cranberries and Apricot in Holiday Packaging) What, no marzipanna?

• Berry White (White Chocolate with Cranberries, Roasted Almonds, Cinnamon, Pistachios and Raspberry in Holiday Packaging) And baby, that's no lie.

• The Margonaut (Milk Chocolate with Strawberry, Gummy Bears and Colorful Chocolate Dragées in Holiday Packaging) That chocolate looks out of this world.

• [Insert Cool Name Here] (Milk Chocolate with Colorful Chocolate Dragées, Sprinkles and Peanut Butter Drops in Holiday Packaging) I like it, leaving the cool naming up to the recipient.

• May It Snow Roses For You (Milk Chocolate with Candied Rose Petals, Bourbon Vanilla and Mini Snowflakes in Holiday Packaging) Does anyone else think we missed the rest of an epic haiku?

What combination of chocolate and topics would Santa leave you under the tree. Are you on the naughty list? Tell us in the comments!

We've written about personalized gifts that make great stocking stuffers, have selected and looked closely at three personalized corporate gift ideas and blogged about customized gifts for Him, Her and Kids here. And as you know, we're all about gourmet food here at chocri (in our case: chocolate and everything that goes well on top of it), so today we're going to look at three personalized food gifts for the holidays!

Customized Ice Cream from eCreamery

I wish I could say I actually tasted this ice cream before, but what I can say: they sure look tasty! On the eCreamery website, you can customize ice cream, gelato or even sorbet by choosing from various flavors to mix and even more ingredients to add in to create your very own cold treat. For the holidays, they've got neat ice cream gift packs with flavors such as Egg Nog or White Chocolate Peppermint Bark. 4 pints can be had for $49.99. Of course you can personalize the packaging of your custom ice cream creation for a very tasty holiday gift. Or to label it "Finger's off, this is mine!" ;) Design your own ice cream.

Custom Candy from MyM&Ms

With My M&Ms, you can personalize milk chocolate M&Ms by adding an image or text, as well as choosing the (three) colors of the personalized M&Ms you like best. My M&Ms only recently updated their website, and it's much more user friendly now. Keep in mind that you can only add short messages (an M&M is small after all), but it's good for a cute surprise. A 7 ounce bag of personalized M&Ms typically costs $8.49 + shipping, but there's typically a number of coupon codes floating around to lower that price a bit. Personalized candy

Customized Pet Food from Red Moon Pet Food

Not only humans like customized food! With pets, the top reason to create your own pet food is of course nutrition - depending on the age, weight and of course type of dog or cat, there might be different nutrients you want your pet (or a friend's pet) to receive. Unfortunately Red Moon Pet Foods doesn't have gift certificates available, but if you're hoping to give your pet a healthy treat for the holidays, this might be a neat option for you. You can customize pet food for dogs and cats, with prices ranging between $2 and $3 per pound. I love this site because it shows the creativity in mass customization - so many products can be customized! Customized pet food.

Of course, you can always give a customized chocolate bar as well ;) We just launched the Festival of Lights Chocolate Bar which makes a great Hanukkah Gift, and you might have seen our Holiday Gift Box that holds two amazing customized chocolate bars and that is sold for only $14.95.

Hanukkah is.. the Festival of Lights... instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights!

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and it's not too long until Hanukkah (or Chanukah) begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 1st. If you've started your Hanukkah shopping, we've added a special, limited edition chocri for gift-giving. (Or personal enjoyment!)

Here's the description from our recommended creations section:

"In 2010, Hanukkah begins on December 1st. In honor of the holiday, we've created a grown up version of the traditional gold coins of childhood. We've kept the creamy milk chocolate, adding gelt-like gold flakes, sweet-tart figs, tasty pecans and pretty marzipan stars for a more sophisticated Hanukkah treat."

Because Hanukkah lasts eight nights, we've priced this bar at eight dollars. (And if you're curious, our chocolate is kosher, but the end product can't be certified kosher due to the variable toppings.) What would you like to see on a Hanukkah (or Chanukah) chocolate bar? Let us know in the comments!

Chocri fans have spoken, and we listened. It seemed like every day, a request would roll in to the hello@chocri.com account seeking one of humanity's most revered foods- real bacon.

As the hunt for the perfect bacon wore on, we wondered- would we ever find chocri's perfect bacon? We sampled, researched and reached out. Yes, a lot of bacon was consumed. (The sacrifices we make in pursuit of the perfect chocolate experience.) And that day is here! Real bacon is available in the chocri shop!

Our pan-crisp bacon is a buttery, savory contrast to our sweet, creamy chocolate. From our official description:

"We just upgraded our Bacon topping to real bacon! Our real bacon bits come from Oscar Mayer, and are de.licious! We credit the chocolate maker Katrina Markoff from Vosges with popularizing dark chocolate with bacon - although our team actually really liked the combination of bacon with milk chocolate! Try this exotic topping on your customized chocolate bar with Pretzels - the perfect treat!"

While the bacon and chocolate trend began as a novelty, feedback indicates the bacon and chocolate flavor combination is one many chocri fans feel strongly about. And now, with the addition of real bacon to our toppings directory, you can create your own chocolate with bacon and any other combination to sample the real bacon flavor.

(Image)

In the internet era, it's easier than ever to stay in touch- and giving and sending chocolate gifts is also easier than ever.

Chocolate gifts are one of the most popular gift-related search terms on the web. As an almost universally loved treat, chocolate is very popular and almost always appreciated as a gift option- for Christmas, Valentines' Day, birthdays or even corporate gifts.

Chocri offers a lot of options for chocolate gifts, but one of the more convenient options is to get chocolate delivered to a recipient. You can have your chocri order sent to you for in-person giving, or you can have chocolate delivered directly to a recipient if you can't be there in person or just as a nice surprise. If you'd like to give a recipient the option to create their own chocolate, you can send an emailed gift certificate or print and customize your own! (And of course, we arrange having your giftee's chocolate delivered to their doorstep.)

Another option that is a frequently searched query is in regards to sending chocolate anonymously. (Googlers, you are such a romantic bunch!) The premise of receiving a gift of unexpected chocolate seems ever more compelling when the giver remains a secret. If you're one of the legion web surfers seeking to send a gift of anonymous chocolate (especially one customized to your recipient's specific chocolate preferences), chocri orders have the option of being sent anonymously, too.

If you have any questions about having chocolate delivered or sending chocolate anonymously, you can get in touch with us on Twitter or Facebook!

So, this week we gave one lucky chocri fan a whole entire year of free chocolate. But chocolate love was all over the place this week, as evidenced by the huge number of orders rolling in. And while looking at the orders each Friday is always fun, this week's orders were especially cool because you can tell people are starting their holiday shopping! So exciting!

Below are five of our best chocri names this week- see if you can spot the possible presents! :)

• Gilded Holiday Spice (Dark Chocolate with Ginger, Real Gold Flakes, Christmas Cookies, Marzipan Stars and Stollen Spice in Holiday Packaging) OMG, that would be like Christmas in your mouth!

• The Bill (lastname)-Eat It With Your Mouf (Milk Chocolate with Cappuccino Chocolate Drops, Coffee, Real Gold Flakes, Bourbon Vanilla and Soy Bacon in Holiday Packaging) Much more efficient than eating it with, say, your nose.

• Sweet Puppet (Milk Chocolate with Strawberry, Colorful Chocolate Dragées, Marzipan Rose, Smiley (female) and Holiday Bear) From Kermit to Miss Piggy.

• Walter's Banana Bread Dark Chocolate Bar (Dark Chocolate with Banana Chips, Cinnamon, Walnuts, Bourbon Vanilla and Writing 'I Love You') Because recipe bars are the coolest.

• What the Hell, I Had to Buy 2 Chocolate Bars (Milk Chocolate with Cappuccino Chocolate Drops, Organic Salt Pretzels, Nougat, Rice Crispies in Chocolate Coating and Fig Bits) As good a reason as any!

Of course, as you're picking up your holiday loot, keep in mind that if you order five chocri bars, we always add a sixth surprise bar. (Which you can totally keep for yourself and we won't tell!)

For those of you looking for a small, but meaningful gift to stuff into a stocking or to give to a co-worker, teacher or doorman, I'd like to introduce you to three fun companies that make small personalized gifts with a huge effect.

Personalized Watches from ewatchfactory

This [site[(http://www.ewatchfactory.com/) essentially allows you to create your own, affordable watch. You can choose from a view watch styles, and then upload your own image to adorn the background. Maybe you want to give your friend a watch with a picture of the two of you together? Maybe a nice photo that you took or found somewhere that would make a stylish accessory gift? I personally think that the images ewatchfactory shows of its watches are only a small portion of the beauty you could create on their site.
After uploading an image of your choice, you can also change the strap and the hands, as well as how the hours are marked on your custom background. A typical watch comes out to about $30, which I think is a fair price for such a personal gift. Personalize a watch

Custom Beef Jerky from SlantShack Jerky

You've probably heard us mention them before, which is because it's so amazingly delicious -the customized Beef Jerky from SlantShack Jerky that is. You can choose from different marinades, rubs and glazes. And you can add a note "hey, I made this just for you!". It comes in a nice see through pouch that will fit nicely into a stocking. Prices start at $10. Build your own beef jerky.

Customized Gemstone Earrings from Gemkitty

Gemkitty is a wonderful choice if you want something precious (but not too expensive) as the stocking stuffer for a dear one. On their website, you can create beautiful earrings and necklaces. Earrings start at $38, and you can choose from hundreds of gemstones, many different styles and two metal choices to create an earring that is exactly her style. And Gentlemen, here's your chance to score big: Find out what her favorite outfit is (ask her, ask your daughter, ask her sister, pay attention to what she's wearing), and then pick those gemstones that will match that outfit. Outcries guaranteed. Create a customized earring.

You may have read about our biggest contest ever for last week's National Chocolate Day. We asked you, our chocri fans, to submit a text, image or video communicating to us why chocolate is so important to you.

We could write volumes about our love of chocolate, but it's always nice to have a fresh perspective on something we think about, write about and work with every day. (It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!) And our Facebook friends delivered, submitting some wonderfully creative and descriptive entries explaining what chocolate means to them.

One entry, though, captured not only our attention, but that of our Facebook fans. You have to check out this adorable video, where a very articulate young lady named Piper waxes lyrical about her love of chocolate. Piper knows what she likes- mainly Gummi Bears, Gold Flakes, Cookies... and anything else. And "maybe some kind of fruit." Piper would also like you all to know that chocolate is, in fact, made from beans.

Video below- I think you'll agree that Piper and her family definitely would appreciate a monthly chocoriffic infusion!

So, Halloween is a distant memory, and Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching.

Pretty much everyone loves Thanksgiving. It's like Christmas, but without all the gift-giving. Tasty turkey, tart cranberry sauce and an assortment of different desserts. What's not to adore?

In honor of this super delicious holiday, we've added two bars inspired by Thanksgiving. First up is the "Gobble, Gobble" bar, created in part by our fabulous Facebook friends! Starting off with a Milk Chocolate base, it has Cranberry, Cinnamon, Pecans, and Cornflakes. Like a sweet version of Thanksgiving.

Next up we have the "Giving Thanks" bar. On a White Chocolate base, we've added Toffee, Orange, Organic Salt Pretzels, and Bourbon Vanilla. How sweet is that? Each bar is available in our recommended creations section for a limited time.

Let us know in the comments- what are you thankful for?

Rabbit, rabbit!

It's the first of the month again! And if you're a dedicated chocri fan, you know that each month we introduce a limited edition topping of the month so you can try new things and tell us more about what you like. This month's topping, though, is a special case- ahead of Christmas, we've introduced a topping we're sure is going to be a pretty big hit- Amaretto Cookies!

I have it on authority that the first samples of bars with Amaretto Cookies disappeared fairly rapidly in testing at chocri's headquarters, and with good reason. If you haven't tried the match made in heaven that is cookies combined with chocolate, you haven't lived. Okay, perhaps that's a bit dramatic but it's a seriously delicious pairing.

From the official description:

Amaretto cookies are our topping of the month November. They are light as a feather, yet have an intense sweet almond flavour. They are airy, delicate and crunchy and refine every chocolate bar.

Getting your holiday shopping done early? Combine your Amaretto Cookie bar with our holiday packaging!