Our favourite time of year

Only 8 days to go till Christmas and Cocoa is bursting at the seams. There are lots of beautiful new gifts in the Cocoa lounge and I just wanted to show you a few.



I love this time of year for many reasons. In the shop we get to see children pointing out everything they want for Christmas- which is everything!




It's so funny to watch the women spend hours deciding which is the best chocolate for their loved ones & then watch the men come in on Christmas eve and say 'what have you got then' buying all their shopping in the space of 10 minutes!



On Christmas day I always get the satisfaction of knowing people will be opening our chocolates and indulging in a treat or two.

COCOA IN CYBERLAND ONLINE SHOP NOW OPEN

www.cocoawonderland.co.uk/shop

Just in time for Christmas...we have finally got with the times and have opened our online shop in cyberspace! So all the unfortunate folks who aren't lucky enough to live in the splendid city of Sheffield can have Cocoa treats sent right to their doors yipppeee!

Here is a taster of what we're selling...

See more on the website.................

www.cocoawonderland.co.uk/shop

CHISTMAS LATE NIGHT OPENING...EVERY WEEKDAY In DECEMBER UNTIL 7pm!!

Twinkle Twinkle Chocolate Bar...............

Christmas is coming.... it is the time of year when Cocoa is her most magical...we are getting more and more festive day by day!!!



Our cupboards are bursting and the shelves are piled high to the ceilings! Everyday we receive dozens of brown paper packages packed with all sorts of Christmas delights, each time we wonder where we are going to put them all. Anne and I always say it is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, we're getting quite good at them now after years of experience! We order all the Christmas stock in August so each time the delivery man calls we never know what's in store for us.. we like the surprise it is a bit like Christmas day for us! Excitedly we tear open the parcels and get giddy every time at all the beautifully packaged delights awww!


This year we are expecting more stock than ever and we have been searching all year for the best chocolates and sweeties for all our cherished customers!


Because we have soooo much to sell this year we are extending our opening hours. We will be opening EVERY WEEKDAY UNTIL 7pm!! As a thank you to all those late night shoppers we will giving away FREE HOTCHOCOLATE to anyone who spends over £20.



We are only closing the obvious days Christmas day & Boxing Day, New Years Eve and Day. So pop in during the festive season for all your Christmas needs whether it be a chocolate scrabble for your Dad or a candy cane for the tree (we have something for everyone we think you could practically do your entire Christmas shopping here) or a Thick Hot Chocolate to warm your cockles - Cocoa will sort you out!! Yipppeeeeee!

ELEVENSES Cocoa's version of Happy Hour!

Set your alarm clocks please!!!

Come to Cocoa between the hours of 11am and 12pm for a well deserved cuppa (and a delightful offer to tempt your taste buds)!

We Cocoa ladies believe elevenses is a very important time, a sort of celebration of the space in the day between lunchtime and breakfast. It is an opportunity for one to enjoy a drink and a bite to eat, preferably sweet and special. This is where Cocoa comes to mind... There is always an excuse for Elevenses, especially when there's a bargain to be bagged!!

Halloweeeeen!

When Witches go riding,
And black cats are seen,
The moon laughs and whispers,
It's nearly Halloween.....

Come to Cocoa Coven if you dare....
Ghastly Gouls frozen in sugar for your delight.....
Pick a piece of cursed candy if you dare!
Sinful Sweets.. A selection of the most sinful sweets selected and packaged by witchery...



Scary biscuits!!!Sleep well tonight!!

At last the search is over! NEW Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Wheat Free Creamy organic chocolate!

Anne and I were utterly delighted when we stumbled upon 'Moo Free' Chocolates in September whilst wandering round the Chocolate Fayre in London. We were even more thrilled when we tasted it!

ingredients

Dairy free chocolate buttons Fair Trade Sugar, Fair Trade Cocoa Butter, Rice Powder, Fair Trade Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin) & Natural Flavouring. Contains cocoa solids 42% minimum.

Allergy Advice Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Wheat Free

The very clever people at Moo Free have developed a secret dairy free, organic, vegan chocolate recipe that does actually taste just like quality milk chocolate!

There seem to be a huge amount of people with food allergies nowadays. We have many customers who are dairy intolerant, many of whom are children. Unfortunately up until now we haven't been able to source a suitable product for younger palates. Many children find dark chocolate too bitter and most dairy free milk chocolate alternatives we have tasted are vile with unimaginative packaging. Christmas and Easter are the most difficult times for us and dairy free customers. These are very chocolaty times of the year, so naturally everybody wants to enjoy a yummy chocolaty treat. The amount of times we have turned away disappointed customers because we hadn't got what they were looking for - we at Cocoa HATE unsatisfied customers, it makes us very sad indeed!!



Our dreams came true when we set our eyes on Moo Free Chocolates, not only was their chocolate just as tasty as some of our best milk chocolates, the brand was fun and inviting - just what we love!

They do solid chocolate in all sorts of shapes and sizes for everyday AND Christmas AND Easter yippppeee! This is their advent calendar, we shall be getting these in for Christmas...

At Easter the Moo free Bunny will drop in with some dairy free eggs...


We shall be selling Moo Free Pralines too! This is a box of 12 delicious, creamy, dairy free chocolate pralines. All the taste of delicious milk chocolates but made without any milk. This box of chocolates make the perfect gift or indulgent treat for anyone with a dairy allergy, lactose intolerance, who are Vegan or simply enjoy quality chocolates. This is what a delighted customer has said about them:

"Do you know how long I have waited to capture the joy of Christmas day receiving boxes and boxes of standard Guylian chocolate seashells and pigging out on the most amazing taste of praline, and you recreated it, cruelty free!!! And in a snazzy box!"

Ok so we are due for our first delivery this week, we are going to be giving out free samples so you can try them for yourself! We are expecting them to sell like hot cakes so I suggest you come see us ASAP if you want some!

THE DAISY PROJECT & FRIENDS

A few weeks ago Cocoa was the location for a photoshoot for The Daisy Project (created by a lovely and very gifted lady named Maria Terry.)

The photographers,
Russell Skidmore Photography (www.russell-skidmore-photography.co.uk) & India Hobson (Fashion Photographer www.indiahobsonphotography.co.uk) took some wonderful photos.



'The Daisy Project is my personal attempt to rescue old beautiful textiles and upcycle them into something wearable in the 21st century.
I want to take the tablecloths languishing in cupboards and give them a new life with modern women.' - Maria Terry

'As a little girl I watched my mother create the most gorgeous evening gowns and benefited from her skills by having the loveliest dresses. Mum taught me to sew using the left over fabrics and demanding small, neat and even stitches. I made lovely clothes for Samantha my favourite doll.' - Maria Terry (above)

Maria asked Anne and I if we would like to model some of her garments. We were a bit hesitant at first (the thought of getting chocolate on her clean white creations scared us!) but Maria assured us that the dresses were fully washable.


We were very careful and kept our chocolates well away!




Each item is made from carefully chosen vintage cotton embellished with embroidery and/or lace. No two garments will ever be the same.




This dress was one of my favourites, I love the lace detail around the shoulders (I think this was the collar of a Victorian blouse).



'With a vintage garment signs of age and wear are inevitable and are part of the story. With gentle handwashing and careful ironing they should give long and lovely wear.' - Maria Terry



They are made by me on a domestic sewing machine, hand sewn and with at least one embroidered daisy.