All You Need is Love: Valentine's Day Contest Winners

And the winners of our contest are: Lisa Lavoie, Nancy Michonski, Janet Vamos.

Lisa Lavoie:  Years ago, I had the opportunity to join a group of storytellers from Connecticut as they toured around Ireland. I was interested in seeing Ireland and listening to stories from both sides of the pond, but I was even more interested in meeting my Irish pen pal, to whom I'd been writing faithfully for over 30 years, but never met. We'd started writing letters as children, listing out facts about our families and friends, and favorite teen celebrities. She liked Donny Osmond, and I liked Bobby Sherman. She taught me Irish slang words. And we continued our writing on into adulthood, even after we'd both married and had children. She had her twins first. I kept every letter and every photograph she sent. I loved the tissue quality of the airmail paper. She was my best friend, and we would both be celebrating a monumental birthday that year, so I thought this would be the perfect time finally to meet in person. What to bring, though, that would be representative of the best of Connecticut? What was I most proud of from my home state? What would be a special treat for a special occasion? Munson's chocolates, of course! I purchased a very large box of assorted chocolates to bring her and commenced upon my trip. I wanted the box, with its beautiful ribbons and design, to stay perfect, so I carried it, along with my luggage, onto the bus from Farmington to the JFK airport. Each new seatmate remarked upon it, and I explained that I was bringing it to my longtime pen pal in Ireland. Once my luggage was checked in, I carried the box of chocolates with me onto the plane to Ireland, holding it on my lap. My storyteller group and I then traveled all around Ireland. We stayed at many different hotels in various cities before we even got to Killarney, the city closest to Maureen, my pen pal. At no time during the trip did I allow this large box of chocolates out of my sight. Those Munson's chocolates traveled on vans, buses, and boats. They moved through Limerick, Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Dingle, Tralee, over the Wicklow hills, and finally, around the Ring of Kerry. The box remained perfectly pristine -- however, I did take a ton of kidding from my fellow travelers who saw my vigilance over this large box as slightly ridiculous. "They have chocolates in Ireland, you know." "You could put the box in your suitcase." "I'm sure the box will be fine under the seat." And of course, the constant refrain of, "let's open that box and try a few!" Nope. I had something special for my special pen pal, and I wanted her to see it in its original glory. When we finally reached Killarney, Maureen was slated to pick me up at my hotel at 7 pm and take me home to meet her family so we could all attend a soccer match. I was so nervous! I felt as if I were going on a blind date or ready to meet a long lost family member. To be honest, though, the minute we saw each other, I felt all the familiarity gained throughout our years of writing settle in. She was my longtime close friend. She looked a little like me, too. And I knew everything about her and she about me. It was grand to meet and get silly together, remembering how we were as young girls. I brought that beautiful box of Munson's chocolates into her car and, upon entering her home in the Gap of Dunloe, proudly presented the chocolates to her, her husband, and her now-grown children. They dug right in! They thought the chocolates were incredible. "Yes," I said, "these chocolates are crafted in Connecticut -- where I live!" I was super proud of my gift. And I still feel this way about Munson's chocolates. They are always a special, heartfelt, and delicious gift for someone you love. Crafted right here, in Connecticut.

Nancy Michonski: How I have celebrated true love with Munson’s Chocolates?
I grew up in Manchester born in 1955 the 2nd of six children in a 4 room house.
My mother stayed home and my father worked 3 jobs to support us. We did not have a lot but we were and still are a very close knit family. My mother lost her battle with cancer 14 years ago and my dad has been fighting lung cancer for 2 years.
The love for Munson’s chocolates begins for all of us way back in the late 50’s early 60’s. Every Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter we were always treated with Munson’s chocolate. I can remember cherishing the chocolate rabbit from my Easter basket every year starting with biting the ears off and saving the rest for the following days. We always looked forward to Valentine’s Day when my dad would bring home a large box of chocolates for us to share. My mom would poke the bottoms to see what was in there looking for coconut or caramel.
So don’t they say habits are hard to break, three children and 3 grandchildren later I have continued to make my trip to Munson’s for not only the holidays but any occasion. I don’t even need a reason, as most of my family still live in Manchester, Tolland and Coventry. I’m always in the neighborhood of a Munson’s and find myself stopping several times a month. My youngest daughter is a nurse at Hartford Hospital and her shifts are 12 hours that actually last as long as 14 hours. I am always leaving her Munson’s chocolates filled with peanut butter, the fun bar or the breakups as a stress reliever. She is totally addicted to Munson’s chocolate and I wouldn’t say that is a bad thing but definitely true love.

Janet Vamos: Munson's Chocolates has always been a part of my husband's and my love story. When we first started dating, we would spend weekends exploring the little nooks and crannies of Connecticut, and one of our first dates took us to Mystic, where we spent the day shopping, eating, and getting to know each other better. We stopped at the Munson's Chocolates there and ordered two pieces of about a dozen different types of chocolates and truffles. I had been to Munson's loads of times before, but this turned out to be Sam's first visit! It was so exciting to indulge in the delicious sweets together and to share one of my favorite CT shops with someone who was clearly enjoying it-- I still remember how his face lit up when he bit into his first Coconut Cluster! Since then, stopping at Munson's has become a tradition. Our weekend day trips often include a pit stop to the closest Munson's where we order what we lovingly call "our sampler" -- a little bit of everything for us to try! Every Christmas finds us filling each other's stockings with sweet chocolate treats, and there's even a solid milk chocolate bear waiting for him when he gets home from work today - his Valentine's treat! When we got married last year, it was an easy decision to gift our friends and family with a box of Munson's as a wedding favor. Sam selected a milk chocolate caramel as his pick, while I went with a piece of dark chocolate fudge. Our guests loved it, and every time I eat either of those chocolates, I always remember opening our gold party favor box with him and eating those sweet treats at our reception! Needless to say, we will certainly be stopping at a Munson's to celebrate our first anniversary!