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It can be awkward to select the right kind of stocking stuffer for Yule. Some presents, like socks, are a little bit too far on the wholesome side. Other gifts, like 2 foot-long candy canes, are way too far over on the trashy side (and don’t combine well with those new, cute little fuzzy sweaters for the kids). We want our kids to have enjoy their stocking stuffers, but we also want to feel good about what they’re getting

I’ve recently found a stocking stuffer that bridges the divide: The Art Bar - from Ithaca Fine Chocolates. An Art Bar is a chocolate bar, like a Hershey’s bar, but of much better quality. Also, inside the wrapper is a small card with a thumbnail image of an artist’s work and some information about the artist. That would be a cute little gimmick, but insufficient on its own, if it weren’t for the fact that every sale of an Art Bar contributes money to support art education through the International Child Art Foundation and at the Community School for Music and Art in Ithaca.

To wrap it all up in a neat little bow, so to speak, is the fact that the chocolate that goes into every Art Bar is certified organic, and comes from cocoa that is fair trade certified. That means that no forced child labor went into your chocolate bar, and when you eat an Art Bar, you’re supporting a sustainable local economy in a developing nation.

Give this chocolate bar as a stocking stuffer this winter, and you’ll get all kinds of warm fuzzies - in addition to the new sweaters, I mean.