National Hot Chocolate Day, January 31: the Excuse to Thank a Client in the Dead of Winter

National Hot Chocolate Day: Sunday, January 31, 2027

Order by Wednesday, January 20, 2027 for delivery in time.

Send this gift

We sell a $35 logo mug gift box, printed, packed and shipped to each person's address. This guide covers the other options too.

Key facts

• January 31, every year. "Each year on January 31st, National Hot Chocolate Day warms up people across the country by celebrating the timeless cold-weather beverage" (National Day Calendar, read Oct 29, 2026).
• No known founder. "National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this chocolatey beverage holiday" (same page).
• Not a federal holiday. The US Office of Personnel Management's 2027 schedule lists two January holidays: New Year's Day (Friday, January 1) and the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Monday, January 18) (OPM).
• A December twin: National Cocoa Day is December 13 (National Day Calendar).
• Every Personalized Gifts Delivered box holds a 1.5 oz packet of Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa, packed inside the mug with 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles. $35 per box, delivered, no minimum.

When Is National Hot Chocolate Day?

January 31, every year. The date doesn't move, so the weekday does:

When the day falls on a weekend, a gift for an office is timed for the week before. In 2027, that week also follows the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 18, a federal holiday, which our shipping count skips.

Is It an Official Holiday? Who Started It?

It's unofficial, and nobody has been credited with starting it. National Day Calendar, the site that lists it, says only: "National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this chocolatey beverage holiday" (National Day Calendar). It is not one of the federal holidays on OPM's list (OPM).

That's the point of using it for a client gift. A gift at Christmas answers the calendar; a gift on an unofficial day for a warm drink answers nothing but the relationship. It's unexpected, and it doesn't land in the same week as the December gifts.

Hot Chocolate or Hot Cocoa? What's Actually in the Mug

Strictly, the drink in our box is hot cocoa. National Day Calendar draws the line this way: "We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar," while "we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter." It also says: "In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably" (National Day Calendar).

So a Personalized Gifts Delivered box fits both days: a 1.5 oz packet of Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa for National Cocoa Day on December 13, and 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles beside it for anyone who wants their January 31 cup richer. The drink is older than either day: National Day Calendar writes that "The Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage 2000 years ago."

Why Thank a Client in Late January?

The calendar does the work. By late January the holidays are over and the year's first invoices are out, and the next holiday on the calendar is weeks away. A box in the last week of January is a thank-you with no occasion attached.

Three ways businesses can use the day (our suggestions):

• The client who got nothing in December. A New Year's thank-you that doesn't look late, because it has its own date.
• The first gift of the year for a new client. The engagement started in January; the gift marks its first month.
• A second touch for the top tier. A December gift and a January 31 cocoa box are two moments, not one bigger budget line.

If January is your main client-gift date rather than a second one, see New Year gifts for clients and when to send client gifts.

When to Order for National Hot Chocolate Day 2027

Ships within 2 business days of a complete order (your design, your address list and payment). Ships by USPS Ground Advantage or UPS Ground, with tracking, and usually arrives 2–5 business days after it ships. Delivery dates are carrier estimates, not guarantees, and run slower in mid-December.

Applied to January 2027 (business days are Monday to Friday, except federal holidays):

There's no way to pick a ship date or a delivery day: each box ships within 2 business days of the order, so the date you order is the date you choose. For boxes timed for the week before the day, order between Friday, January 15 and Wednesday, January 20.

What to Write on a National Hot Chocolate Day Card

Keep it to the drink and the thanks. Each line below is under 300 characters with no sign-off (the sign-off is its own field on the order page). On a Personalized Gifts Delivered order, [Name] becomes each client's first name.

National Hot Chocolate Day is January 31, and we needed no better excuse to say thank you, [Name]. The cocoa is on us.

It's the coldest stretch of the year, so here's something warm. Thank you for a great start to the year, [Name].

January 31 is National Hot Chocolate Day. We can't think of a better day to thank the people who make our work a pleasure.

No holiday, no occasion, just cocoa and a thank-you. We're glad we get to work with you, [Name].

More thank-you lines for clients: thank-you messages for clients.

What Sending These Yourself Takes

A cocoa mug gift is easy to describe and slow to make. By our estimate, 25 logo mug gift boxes take about 9 hours of hands-on work (a mug printer and a proof, about 8 separate supply orders, labels, cards, packing at about 8 minutes a box, drop-off and tracking), plus a week or more waiting for supplies, which in January means ordering the supplies right after the holidays. Priced from retail supply packs, they come to about $38 a box with USPS counter postage (about $34 with commercial postage), with $1,192.84 paid up front for the mugs, the retail supply packs and 25 postage labels, with leftovers, as of Oct 29, 2026 (DIY vs ordering). Per box, that's about even with our $35, before your time.

What to Know Before You Order

• The seal sticker. The order page names the gold seal sticker that closes the tissue before you pay. While "Happy Holidays" is the only sticker in stock, a late-January box carries that one; your card carries your own words for the day.
• Chocolate inside. LINDOR truffles contain milk, soy and barley malt (gluten); read the labels.
• One message per order. Every card carries the same message and sign-off, greeting each client by first name.
• Where we ship. The lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now. The order page flags any row we can't ship to, so you can fix it or take it out before you pay.
• No set delivery day. The order date sets the timing; the table above shows the 2027 window.

Where Personalized Gifts Delivered Fits: the Cocoa Box for January 31

National Hot Chocolate Day needs a gift built around the drink, and that's the box we make: an 11 oz mug with your logo printed small, a 1.5 oz packet of Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa and 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles inside it, packed by hand in foam, in a matte-black gift box with a magnetic lid, with your printed card on the lid. Each box ships to its own client's address from one list, at $35 per box, delivered, with no minimum, and one email lists every tracking number when the boxes ship. Order by Wednesday, January 20, 2027 for delivery in time.

A logo mug gift box with Ghirardelli cocoa, Lindt truffles and a personal card, or send this gift.