From ancient traditions to modern marketing, chocolate’s journey to becoming the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift is a story of love, culture, and innovation.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Vogue photographed our favorite (and most unusual) chocolates on the market that would make Cadbury proud. Order one—or, hell, order all. To borrow a line from another famous moment in the confectionary canon: “Life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get.”

Since the mid-2010s, romantic fare has been hard to come by once Valentine’s Day rolls around. Hollywood dialing back mid-budget rom-coms and romantic dramas means that this holiday frame has belonged more to genre movie blockbusters like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,

Nowadays, heart-shaped boxes full of chocolate and candy are ubiquitous, but how did they become such a staple of Valentine's Day in the first place?

There are countless options for Valentine's Day-themed chocolate boxes. We've done the legwork of testing a bunch of them to tell you which one is best.

Valentine's Day chocolates come in all shapes and sizes. We've ranked several super affordable chocolate boxes for those on a Valentine's Day budget.