{"id":183383,"date":"2025-12-09T18:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/183383\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:43:13","slug":"childhood-christmas-treats-can-hold-a-lot-of-emotion-but-these-festive-finds-are-worth-a-swap-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/183383\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood Christmas treats can hold a lot of emotion, but these festive finds are worth a swap \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cThey don\u2019t make them like they used to\u201d is a familiar exclamation at this time of year, as we start to tuck into our tried and tested festive treats. Beloved treats from our childhood hold a lot of emotion but let\u2019s face it, most of them end up disappointing us now. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Nostalgic confectionery is piled high in shops and our trolleys but online we\u2019re lamenting shrinking sizes, missing flavours, and changes in packaging. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">So this year why not swap out some of the tired treats you know you\u2019ll give out about and instead opt for something more grown-up and indulgent? Sure, the price tag might be bigger but I guarantee the taste will more than make up for it.<\/p>\n<p>Jellystar biscuits<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Hasset's Jelly Stars\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/NIHAX262TRBZHKTHC7EDESLLZM.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"1066\"\/>Hasset&#8217;s Jelly Stars <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The Chocolate Jellystar biscuits from Hassett\u2019s Bakery, priced from \u20ac4.95, are ones to add to your shopping list. They are available in artisan food shops nationwide and at <a href=\"https:\/\/hassettsbakery.ie\/hassetts-products\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hassettsbakery.ie<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">But it\u2019s not just biscuits that have grown up; artisan swaps for many childhood favourites now exist. <\/p>\n<p>Chocolate Santas<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Clo chocolate Santa\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP2PIWTKNNGU7GEMERRIZJFK3Y.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Clo chocolate Santa <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">A chocolate Santa is always a joy, but why not step it up with this plush version, from award-winning Sligo-based Clo Chocolates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Priced at \u20ac12 each, these Santas are available online at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.clochocolates.ie\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">clochocolates.ie<\/a>, at Le Fournil Bakery in Sligo and select retailers across Ireland.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Cocoa by Judit Christmas chocolates\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/A3DYFIWGLBETFMSNP7O4W6XOLY.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"1200\"\/>Cocoa by Judit Christmas chocolates <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Another festive treat comes from Cocoa by Judit, whose Christmas trees are priced at \u20ac13 each.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Chocolate Rocher<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Tara Gartlan hazelnut rochers\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/O7Q4QOMX25FIXJECKHLSIEX3BU.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Tara Gartlan hazelnut rochers <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">To really impress the ambassador, or anyone else, skip the supermarket rocher and instead opt for Tara Gartlan\u2019s gorgeous version: a hazelnut ganache centre, coated in three alternating layers of milk chocolate and caramelised hazelnuts, with just a sprinkling of sea salt. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall b-it-article-body__text--left\">Available online at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taragartlan.com\/products\/hazelnut-rochers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">taragartlan.com<\/a> for nationwide delivery, these rocher are priced at \u20ac24.<\/p>\n<p>Selection boxes<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Bon Chocolatiers Rockin' Robin\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/7Z6XH3JQCNGMLP72F7CLMJUVOY.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"600\"\/>Bon Chocolatiers Rockin&#8217; Robin <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The Irish artisan chocolatiers are not slacking when it comes to making festive selections of their creations, and they are a decadent swap for disappointing supermarket selection boxes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Bon Chocolatiers in Athlone won gold at the Blas na h\u00c9ireann Food Awards this year for their Festive Treats Box, and they also do adorable Rockin\u2019 Robins chocolates with fillings like Christmas Spiced S\u2019mores and the grown-up Irish Cream Liqueur &amp; Caramel. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Festive Treats Box for \u20ac31.50 and Rockin\u2019 Robins for \u20ac16 each are available at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bonchocolatiers.ie\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">bonchocolatiers.ie<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Midleton gift pack\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/YMDUAL3GV5ANBCRBXZMM7UC3Q4.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Midleton gift pack <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Or why not skip the chocolate altogether and give a mini pack of delicious whiskeys instead? Midleton Distillery Single Pot Still Miniature Pack is priced at \u20ac44.99 from <a href=\"https:\/\/midletondistillerycollection.com\/unknown\/single-pot-still-miniature-pack-product\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">midletondistillerycollection.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThey don\u2019t make them like they used to\u201d is a familiar exclamation at this time of year, as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9484,72,64219,61,60,71184],"class_list":["post-183383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-christmas","tag-business","tag-christmas-gifts","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-it-s-christmas-magazine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}