Never underestimate the power of a good stocking filler! Nothing says Christmas like some festive treats, and we’ve written up a tailored list of the best stocking fillers, whether your loved one is a foodie or not (and we hope these gifts convert them!)
These artisan gifts are all from small Irish businesses and will put you on Santa’s good list this year. We’ve got gifts for the coffee connoisseur in your life, the chocaholics, or the cocktail lovers. These gifts won’t burn a hole in your wallet but they’ll create a Santa-shaped hole in your loved ones’ heart. There’s something for everyone, and a good stocking filler is the best start to an array of brilliant gifts to follow.
The best part is that you’ll be supporting 12 different artisan Irish producers this Christmas, which is the best gift anyone can ask for this festive time of year. It is the season of giving after all!
Sweet Treats:
Carters Chocolate Café: Milk Chocolate Buttons
Carters Chocolate, based in Waterford, serves some of the best hot chocolate around. What better way to treat the chocolate lover in your life than getting them some chocolate buttons to recreate a delicious hot chocolate!
Make it more festive by melting a candy cane into your mug, topping with some whipped cream & marshmallows. Delish!
Price: €6.95
Caboose: Luxury Marshmallow Toasting Box
Speaking of, what better combination than hot chocolate and marshmallows, especially if they’re luxury marshmallows. Caboose have created a wonderful marshmallow toasting box with Mallow Mia marshmallows, which includes 3 different marshmallow flavours of your choice (pink gin and lemon mallows, anyone?), 12 bamboo skewers and a reusable marshmallow table top burner, so you can get all the campfire feels without standing out in the freezing cold! It’s a great festive activity for a group get together, you can get cosied up on the couch with your toasty marshmallows and a Christmas film.
Price: €25
Grá Chocolate: Christmas Spirit Bauble
These stunning chocolate balls double as Christmas baubles (if you think they’ll survive on the tree before someone eats them!). Grá, with sweet genius Grainne Mullins at the helm, sell handmade artisan chocolates, and a bauble like this is *almost* too beautiful to devour. Find slightly smoky Connemara Whiskey Fudge pieces within, carefully balanced with sumptuous candied orange pieces in the striking green bauble. Your chocaholic recipient will absolutely love you for this one!
Price: €18
Hadji Bey: Original Rose Turkish delight
If you want your recipient to feel like they’re in Narnia, this is the gift for them. Edmund sold everyone out for Turkish delight, and Hadji Bey will have you on that level!
Hadji Bey has been part of Ireland’s food scene since 1902 when a young Armenian named Harutun Batmazian set up a Turkish delight stall at the Great Cork International Exhibition. They use minimal ingredients of the highest quality for these cubes of joy, and Hadji Bey pride themselves on the superior quality of their product. 250g of fluffy clouds of pink all bundled up in a quaint box, making a wonderful stocking filler for anyone with a sweet tooth.
Harry’s Nut Butter: Chocolate Truffles
Harry’s are known for their nut butters, but their new chocolate truffles look absolutely delectable. Harry’s Nut Butter have collaborated with Magic Mayan, based in West Clare, to produce their newest delicious addition to the range. These are totally vegan and come in three different flavours – Salted Almonds, Pure Peanut and Hazelnut & Cacao. A wonderful addition to a Christmas stocking, these will certainly have everyone itching to try a piece.
You can buy these at a number of stockists across the country, including Hens Teeth, Lilliput Stores and Nourish Ireland soon. See a full list of the stockists here.
Gather: Sea Salted Caramel Sauce
The perfect addition to any dessert lovers’ collection, because what could be better than dessert covered in salted caramel sauce? Gather, who are based in Galway, have used Achill Island Sea Salt to make these delectable little jars which come with serious credentials, with a Star from the Guild of Fine Food at the Great Taste Awards in 2021, and a finalist place at the Blas na hEireann awards! It’s so good you could and perhaps should just eat it with a spoon straight out the jar, no manners necessary here.
Price: €5.50
Braw: Hand-designed Chocolate Christmas Trees
Braw is an ethical producer known for their incredible chocolates and brownies and your chocaholic loved one will be bowled over with their stunning, hand-painted Chocolate Christmas trees. These come in milk chocolate, stuffed with white chocolate truffles filled with vanilla ganache and a berry jelly, or dark chocolate containing dark chocolate truffles filled with a whiskey ganache and rolled in roasted almond nibs.
If you’re looking to splurge for a full chocaholic’s dream gift, you can even get them a 6 month supply of Braw brownies too.
Price: €25
Savoury
Builín Blasta: Smoked onion mayo
Switch things up on the foodie gift front with this incredible Smoked Onion Mayo, which has people all over the country hooked. This flavour packed mayo is insanely delicious on just about everything and we’re convinced everyone’s Christmas sandwich needs a dollop of it. Mix with some fresh herbs and serve as a festive party dip for crudités or tortilla chips if you’re willing to share.
Builín Blasta have an array of dips and chutneys available so there’s plenty of options if you want to make a full gift out of their products. They even sell gorgeous hampers if you want to buy their range as a present for the condiment lover in your life.
Price: €3.69
Roasted brown: Coffee beans
For the coffee connoisseur, this is the perfect gift. Roasted Brown is an independent single origin coffee roaster based in Wicklow that provides beans to a number of different coffee shops across Ireland. You can go further than buying coffee beans and splash out on full coffee kits, including coffee hand grinders or an AeroPress. Even throw in a milk pitcher and see if your recipient can make you some fancy latte art this Christmas, they might impress you!
Price: €13.80
Burren Balsamic Bundle
For the person who loves to say the phrase: ‘Drizzle some balsamic over that!’ – this gift is perfect. Balsamic can go brilliantly with more than just a salad – strawberries, mozzarella, burratta, bruschetta – the list goes on. For the balsamic lover in your life, this trio gives them a taster of three different flavours: Chilli and Honey, Blackberry and Thyme, Armagh Bramley Apple. The Armagh Bramley Apple infused vinegar has won Great Taste and Blas na hÉireann food awards, so you know it’s going to be good.
Originating in Armagh, Burren Balsamic has an array of condiments to choose from, and any condiment lover or keen chef would love to find these in their stocking.
Price: €20
Make it boozy
Ballykeefe: Tasting Collection
This is the perfect kit for anyone who fancies themselves as a cocktail maestro. These award winning spirits by Ballykeefe are a great addition to any Christmas stocking and are sure to impress your aspiring mixologist friends. Within the collection are an Extra Dry Irish Gin, a Super Premium Irish Poitín and a Potato Irish Vodka. See if you can convince your loved one to put their bartender skills to the test with this trio.
Price: €15
Craft Cocktails: Festive cocktails
If your giftee doesn’t take themselves as much of a bartender but still loves a good cocktail, these festive Craft Cocktails are ready to drink and enjoy. Choose from a Yuletide Negroni, Gingerbread Punch or a Festive Old Fashioned – there’s something for everyone to enjoy a boujie Christmas tipple at home.
Craft Cocktails have a number of ready-made cocktails available beyond their festival collection, all handmade using natural, 100% Irish ingredients. For a stocking filler, a cocktail for 2 is perfect, but you can splurge on the cocktails for 7 as a larger gift. Both options are available on their website, and you can even personalise the bottles, so go ahead and treat your loved ones!
Price: €12.50
I’m a Palestinian who grew up in Cyprus and moved to Dublin in 2013, so I’ve had a mishmash of different cultures and cuisines surrounding me my whole life. I’m an avid foodie, and after realising that life as a lawyer was not for me, I studied media and became a radio host for Dublin City FM. I’m now writing for TheTaste full time, but I also have my own food blog where you can find a mixture of restaurant reviews and the occasional recipe. I talk a lot about being Palestinian; to be honest, I talk a lot in general. That’s why I did radio!
