Cold Stone Creamery Cocoa Basket

Did you know Cold Stone – the ice cream folks – have a line of Cocoa? In Wal-Mart?

I didn’t.

Not until I learned about it on my new favorite hangout – Collective Bias.

I was lucky enough to be selected to sample Cold Stone Cocoa. But not only that – I was asked to make a gift basket that incorporated the cocoa into it. There was no way I was going to give any away though without trying it first!

I bought the Marshmallow variety. In fact, I can’t even consider anything BUT a marshmallow variety. Who looks at cocoa and think – nah, I’ll skip the good stuff? I mean, even if you intend to make whipped cream to go on top – don’t you STILL want the marshmallows? Okay, maybe it’s just me. But anyway – I made a packet of it for quality control.

I used milk versus water. I always do – it’s better no matter which brand of cocoa you buy. The Cold Stone, surprisingly, was the exact same cost as similar brands – $1.98. I expected with a name like Cold Stone the price would be higher. Just assumed…and you know where that gets you. I also assumed that it would taste similar to other brands. But I was wrong again. It is by far the creamiest store bought cocoa I have ever had…and ALMOST as good as the hot chocolate you get in Italy, but that’s not even a fair comparison. It is very rich and smooth – pretty unbelievable. It’s excellent, and would be perfect in my gift basket!

I opted for a “Girls Night In Basket” – filled with everything warm and fuzzy and comfy. Something perfect for lazing around on a cold winters day (assuming you can get all the kids and men out of the house for a few hours, that is.)

I found a nice wooden/twiggy basket – one that didn’t appear all holiday-ish so that it could be used throughout the year. To that I added crinkle paper, and then started filling it with lots of girly goodies.

• Super fuzzy socks – I bought some in both white and baby blue. They even have little rubber grips on the bottoms to keep you from sliding all over the floor.
• Kettle Corn. because you don’t always feel like popping your own.
• A Gift Card with enough credit to buy the movie of her choice.
• A bag of “Just add water” soup – it encourages more laziness but is at least sustenance.
• A homemade jar of cookie mix – in case she is motivated for long enough to get off the couch and needs chocolate chippers – these are premeasured and good to go with a couple of additions like eggs and butter. I used the good stuff – Ghirardelli chips and cocoa powder.
• A Snowman themed mug…for the cocoa, of course!
• And finally – A box of Cold Stone Cocoa Mix – with Marshmallows!

I think the basket looks great, in fact, i almost don’t want to give it as a gift.

But I will! To one of YOU!

Just comment here, telling me the best Gift Basket idea you’ve ever given or received. What was in it? Why was it the best?

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Contest is open to US Addresses only, and will remain open until December 7th at 11:00am EST.

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Disclaimer – I was compensated for my time by Collective Bias, but the thoughts and opinions are my own. And this giveaway is from ME!