Burlington, Vermont, based Lake Champlain Chocolates has introduced a variety of new Christmas chocolates and Hanukkah chocolates this year.

Made in small batches from the finest local ingredients, Lake Champlain Chocolates are carefully crafted by chocolatiers fanatical about creating chocolates with charm, quality, and freshness that has come to be expected from Vermont products.

This year’s packaging features a day in Vermont’s great snowy outdoors – playing pond hockey, gathering boughs, building snowmen, and watching winter birds at play. The colors are bright and festive; the designs fanciful yet sophisticated.

Brand new for 2008 is the Organic Truffle Holiday Gift Box. The 6 piece box of truffles – a completely new line of chocolates coming in Summer 2008 – includes Honey Fig, Ginger Lemon, Milk, Aztec, 70% Dark, and Vanilla. The option of organic chocolates packaged in a delightful holiday design and ready to give will make for a popular gift this holiday season.

“In developing this line of organic chocolate truffles, we’ve created a line extension that appeals to consumers seeking organic alternatives with no loss of flavor or experience.” said Allyson Myers, Director of Sales for LCC. “A new triangle shaped box of Organic Truffles wrapped in festive packaging for the holidays is just the answer and at a suggested retail price of $10.95, it offers affordable luxury.”

Also new for 2008 is the Nuts and Raisin’ Star box -- green and yellow swirls decorate an indigo lopsided star-shaped box with a clear pane window -- filled to the brim with dark chocolate almonds and milk chocolate raisins, all tied up with a green ribbon.

Longtime offerings like chocolate Santas, snowmen and other chocolate novelty figures are back. Gourmet Hot Chocolate is available in traditional flavors as well as the more exotic Mocha or the spicy cayenne-and-cinnamon Aztec Hot Chocolate. Hanukkah chocolate coins are available, as are several smaller items perfect for stocking stuffers.

Ideal as a stocking stuffer or Hanukah gift is the new Winter Hot Chocolate Keepsake Tin featuring snowy winter landscape graphics and containing 6 ounces of Lake Champlain Chocolates’ Traditional Hot Chocolate, Kosher certified.

Tree Box Truffles nestles eleven luxurious milk and dark chocolate truffles in a keepsake tree-shaped box. Also newly packaged are 18-piece Holiday Chocolates of Vermont and 5-piece Truffles. The Tower of Treasures houses three customer favorites -- Chocolates of Vermont, chocolate coins, and chocolate covered almonds -- in three stacked boxes tied with a red ribbon – our most popular corporate gift. 15- and 30-piece Chocolate Assortments collect the most-sought-after chocolates, including hazelnut pralines and handmade peanut butter cups.

The 14-inch Giant Santa adds drama to retail displays, towering over a line of holiday novelties including 4-inch-tall handcrafted dark and milk chocolate Snowmen and an 8-inch chocolate Santa, all wonderful as stocking stuffers or stand-alone gifts. Milk and dark chocolate Placesetting Snowmen are also available.

Hazelnut Praline & Raspberry Snowflakes Gift Bags and Christmas & Golden Coins Gift Boxes contain chocolates in shiny holiday foils, as do the Christmas, Winter, and Hanukah Coins boxes. Additional gifts include Holiday Square Medallions, Christmas Coins Gift Bag, and Stocking Stuffer Squares.

For those special loved ones, the Chocolate of the Month Club is a popular gift option that keeps giving. Three, six and nine month gift programs are available.

Another favorite holiday season option are chocolate gift baskets, which this year range in price from an affordable $49 to an unforgettably lavish $195.