Buy This: 3 holiday gift ideas for sweets lovers

The holidays are upon us. And as you organize your gift list, chances are that someone on the list – a friend, a neighbor, your kid’s grade school teacher – loves candies and confections. Don’t just stock up on boxes of Russell Stover chocolates from the aisles of CVS. Show you care with one of these distinctive sweet treats made right here in the South.

Xocolatl chocolate gift sets

Atlanta’s small-batch, bean-to-chocolate bar maker Xocolatl has you covered with it comes to all things cocoa. A Drinking Chocolate Box contains everything needed to make a ritzy cup of hot cocoa while the Tea Lover’s Box does the same for those who go for herbal sips. The highlight of the Dark Chocolate Lover’s Box is six different bars of intense chocolate. And for the chocoholic baker, there’s the Chef’s Chocolate Box full of baking chocolate, vanilla cacao extract and more. $52 to $100. Xocolatl, Krog Street Market, 99 Krog St. N.E., Atlanta. 470-231-9563, xocolatlchocolate.com.

Give the fudge lover in your life a tin of Iva Jean's Fudge. The Charlotte, N.C. confectionery makes more than a dozen flavors, including peppermint bark (pictured).

Iva Jean’s Fudge

Iva Jean's, a small-batch confectionery based in Charlotte, N.C., uses only fresh, natural ingredients to makes its more than two dozen flavors of creamy fudge that are poured right into the decorative tin to set. Options include classics like Rocky Road and Chocolate Walnut, seasonals such as Peppermint Bark and Salted Pecan Pumpkin and doubly decadent options like Brown Sugar Bourbon and Bacon Chili Chocolate. Tins vary between 8 and 10 ounces. $15 per tin. ivajeansfudge.com/shop.

The Southern sampler gift box from Savannah-based candy store River Street Sweets includes bear claws, pralines, peanut brittle and glazed pecans.

River Street Sweets Southern sampler gift box

This sampler includes the most popular items from Savannah-based candy store River Street Sweets. Packed with pralines, milk chocolate and white chocolate bear claws, glazed pecans and peanut brittle, this sweet package is guaranteed to bring a smile – and a sugar rush. $20.95. River Street Sweets at Phipps Plaza, 3500 Peachtree St., Atlanta, 404-364-0810 and River Street Sweets at Mall of Georgia, 3333 Buford Drive, Buford, 678-546-3804, riverstreetsweets.com.

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