7 unique gift tips for the holiday season!

The Harrer Chocolate Factory and Confectionery in Sopron is an unmissable stop for born chocolate lovers. In the workshop bonbons, pralines, cakes and chocolate bars are made from high-quality raw materials with special flavour combinations. The family with Austrian roots has already won many awards for their exciting creations of bonbons and chocolate bars, but it is not only worth browsing through their products available on site or through their webshop as a Christmas gift. Tastings are also regularly held in the workshop, during which you can get an insight behind the scenes: the programme can be a real experience for all chocolate lovers, and it can also be a great family, team-building or couple programme for the holidays! The voucher for chocolate tasting can be claimed after registration through the contact details of the Harrer Chocolate Workshop and Confectionery!

If you are looking for a gift idea that offers an adrenaline-filled trip with an unparalleled panorama, then a hot air balloon flight can be an excellent choice! It is a romantic and fascinating adventure that is a great gift for couples, adventurous family members or friends. During the flight, you can admire the picturesque landscapes of the Balaton Highlands from a bird's eye view, and get to know one of the most beautiful regions of Hungary from a unique perspective - such a trip can be an experience of a lifetime!

The Taste Balaton festival was organized for the first time in March 2024 by an enthusiastic, professional team, and they left a big mark on the Hungarian festival map already in the first year. Not only because they got a lot of people moving, but also because they showed that Lake Balaton is a fascinating destination not only in summer. And although it is the middle of winter, work is already in progress in the background; Balázs Csapody, together with Dóra Budavári, Györgyi Kalas and Bence Csapody, are working hard on the programme of the 2025 festival. In the framework of the 10-day event, you can once again participate in cooking workshops, gastronomic tours, cultural programmes and musical evenings, all served in the unique style of the participating catering units. The date is already public: 7-16 March, 2025, and advance tickets are already available on the website of the Taste Balaton.

In the chemical-free empire of Patrícia Török and Gábor Horváth in Pócsmegyer, innovative garden care is complemented by culinary experiences. What is more, not only what they represent is special, but so are they themselves! Theirs is a real success story, which has now been published in a book entitled Chef's Table at the End of the Garden. But it is not only in the form of a book that you can get to know the activities of Patrícia and Gábor, i.e., The Chef and the Gardener: you can also give a garden visit with a tasting menu as a gift to your loved ones, or choose from their gift packages of home-made products, available in many variations! Whichever items you choose, they can be great gifts for those interested in chemical-free gardening!

No less than 24 wonderful castles and fortresses belong to the National Heritage Development Nonprofit Kft. (NÖF) throughout the country, and they are all bustling with life. Visiting historic buildings with their four-season attractions and programmes offers more than just cultural relaxation: whoever visits one of these historic sites can enjoy a complex experience. If you aim to visit all the locations, you can take part in an exciting time travel! With a gift voucher valid for one year, also available on the NÖF website, the gift recipient can have an adventure in the castles of former noble families, castle gardens spanning several hectares, sacred sites and fortresses that preserve the memory of glorious battles!

Gabriella Mészáros, one of our country's most renowned wine experts, is not only the co-author of Hello Hungary, but she also has published several publications and books. The writer, who also works as an educator, places great emphasis on the sensory analysis of wines and the theory of wine judging. Her book titled About food and wine is an exciting gastronomic guide that introduces the reader in depth to the art of harmonious pairing of wine and food. As an experienced wine expert, the author gives advice and introduces different types of wine in a light, understandable style, while providing a practical guide to pairing them with a wide variety of foods. Whether the gift recipient is a lay person interested in gastronomy or an experienced gourmet, this book is a great choice under the tree!

If your gift recipient likes high-quality alcoholic drinks, it is worth looking around in the world of bubbly drinks. Winemaker Lilla Rácz has been making champagne for about 15 years, and what is more, she supervises and cultivates her vineyard herself, and carries out the entire process herself. The result is a small quantity of extremely high quality "grower" champagne aged for 36 months. From Lilla, however, you can not only buy some from the limited amount of premium drink and put them under the tree, but after registering in advance, you can also take part in a tasting at the winery in Siklós.