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The ultimate dilemma if you want to make a lasting impression with a gift – a fragrant, colourful bouquet of the nature’s best or some beautifully presented, sophisticated chocolates. Some people might think that giving flowers and chocolates is an easy option but there are lots of things to consider.
There are lots of reasons and occasions to gift. It could be your mum’s birthday; it might be your anniversary; it maybe Christmas; you could be in the dog house and you’re trying to make it up with you’re better half; it might be a ‘just because’ (in which case you get all the prizes); you could even be meeting a beautiful stranger on a blind date.
Type/Style
It can be hard to know what type of flowers to get your partner, mum or friend. Do you go for a cheap bunch of carnations or for some lilies, red roses, tulips or a mixed bouquet of blooms? The choice can sometimes be endless. English Roses are often a winner and nothing quite beats a box of David Austin roses (our founder James also went to school with Richard Austin!)
Hats off to Brooklyn hipster chocolate-makers the Mast Brothers have certainly made chocolate cool again. Their handmade bean-to-bar chocolate is wrapped in wallpaper style paper, which is beyond pleasing on the eye. They are not cheap at £8 a bar, plus another £7 delivery charge, yet they certainly have made bars the king of chocolate again, move over truffles!
Why not try our British Icons chocolate gift range which consists of Honeycomb & Honey, English Mint, Quintessential English Earl Grey, and Essex’s finest Maldon Sea Salt.
Physical Benefits
Both flowers and chocolate have positive effects on our brains.
Research has linked flowers to stress and anxiety relief, lower blood pressure and increased positivity. Big bold flowers are linked to energising you, while milder colours are more relaxing.
Chocolate has been seen to have different effects. It has been proven to increase working memory, abstract reasoning, and in some cases organisation. It also encourages the body to release the happy hormone dopamine. The smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which trigger relaxation.
Flavonoids found in cocoa products have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting effects that can reduce the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity. Dark chocolate contains lots of antioxidants that help the cardiovascular system by reducing blood pressure. It has even been said that eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by 1/3.
Delivery
Flowers generally need to be kept in water so can sometimes turn up looking a little tired if being sent via courier or in the post. They can also be hard to deliver, as they typically do not fit through the letterbox so the recipient needs to be in for delivery. There are a few companies that go through the letterbox delivery, such as Bloomon and Bloom & Wild, which then require the flowers to be made up.
Chocolates are easier to deliver in the post, and can be a great way to surprise someone being nestled with other post. Chocolates with higher cocoa content have a higher melting temperature, so if it is midsummer, then avoid cheaper brands which have less than 35% cocoa content. Chocolates can be the ultimate surprise with them fitting through 99% of letterboxes.
Conclusions
It is lovely to get presents (and it’s also good give them). Flowers are beautiful, they smell nice, they look pretty, someone has picked them out for you and they brighten up your house. On the downside they can be expensive, they are a really personal thing, so if you get them wrong it can be a disaster and lastly, it’s always sad to throw out dead flowers. Chocolates are tasty, decadent, colourfully wrapped happy foods with more joy than you could shake a stick at and they feel like such a treat. Obviously, it only lasts as long as you can stop the temptation, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
(updated Aug-2018)
