If you’re looking for a special box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day, head over to the website and take your pick.

Gift boxes filled with heavenly chocolates are available from 2 pieces to 24 pieces, $7.00 to $64.00.

Read our review of Chocolat Céleste.

[2] Or bake and decorate your own. You can dip them in chocolate instead of the fancy icing (photo © Taste of Home)

[3] St. Valentine—Valentinus in Latin (photo © Communio).

For the Valentine whose heart desires two-and-one-half pounds of solid milk chocolate, the creative chocolatiers at Choclatique suggest Chocolate Man (in photo) or Chocolate Girl (she has long eyelashes and a hair bow).

There’s no gingerbread underneath—it’s 100% solid chocolate (plus decorations).

Each Chocolate Man and Girl is custom made and decorated to order.

It can be inscribed with a name (include the information in the special notes section at checkout).

Chocolate Man and Girl are 13″ tall, 10″ wide and 1/2″ thick, and are made of all-natural, premium chocolate. Get yours now:

 
They’re $50.00 each and nicely packaged.
 
 
> The history of Valentine’s Day is below.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of gingerbread.

> The history of gingerbread men.

> The history of gingerbread houses.

> The different types of ginger cookies.

> The history of cookies.

> The year’s 44 cookie holidays. (National Gingerbread Day is June 5th.)

> The year’s 11 ginger-related holidays.

> The 10 basic styles of cookies (gingerbread men are rolled/cutout cookies, whereas gingersnaps/ginger cookies are drop cookies).

> The different varieties of of cookies: a photo glossary.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALENTINE’S DAY

This holiday for lovers has roots in an annual Roman celebration called Lupercalia, held on February 15th.

Men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips and spanked young maidens, with the goal of increasing their fertility.

The pagan celebration remained wildly popular well into the fifth century C.E.—more than 150 years after Emperor Constantine had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Church leaders were unable to put a stop to the celebration, so scholars contend that they converted it into a Christian festival with this story:

The third century C.E. Roman Emperor Claudius II, seeking recruits for his army, forbade young men to marry before serving.

In defiance, the priest Valentine performed marriages in secret (he also helped martyrs at the time of persecution, and when in prison converted guards and their families to Christianity).

He was executed by beheading on February 14, 270 and ultimately became Saint Valentine (his relics repose in the Church of Saint Praxedes in Rome).

Valentine greetings for loved ones were popular as far back as the Middle Ages. According to Wikipedia: “The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.” Poems were written to one’s beloved; in the 19th century, they were replaced by mass-produced greeting cards.

In 1850, Esther Howland, an American printer and artist, was among the first to publish and sell Valentine cards in the United States. In the early 1900s the Norcross card company became one of the first companies to manufacture Valentines. With the exception of Christmas, Americans exchange more cards on Valentine’s Day than any other time of year.

In 1861, chocolate manufacturer Richard Cadbury created the first heart-shaped box of chocolate for Valentine’s Day; and commercialization took over.

2026 Update: Total spending on Valentine’s Day in the USA is projected to reach a record $29.1 billion, up from $27.5 billion in 2025. On average, consumers plan to spend approximately $199.78 per person, with more than 55% of Americans celebrating. Key categories include jewelry ($7 billion), evenings out ($6.3 billion), and the remainder candy/flowers/cards. More than half of shoppers—56%—buy candy.

 

[4] If you prefer gingerbread teddy bears for your Valentine, here’s the recipe (photo © Steve’s Kitchen).
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

One of five alternatives to Valentine
chocolate. Photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma.

Solution: five recommendations for delicious food items that aren’t chocolates.

Our Valentine Top Picks include:

1. Godiva Chocolate Vodkas & Chocolate Liqueurs

2. Patron XO Cafe Dark Cocoa, a chocolate- and coffee-infused tequila.

3. Cakeslider Creations push-up pops filled with buttercream-frosted cake.

4. Richart Chocolate Chocomacs, innovative macarons filled with ganache and topped with a chocolate paillette.

5. Two Hearts Bakery Heart-Shaped Pies On A Stick (a Williams-Sonoma exclusive)