For master chocolatier Andie Groff, Valentine’s Day may be the busiest time of year at her store, The Chocolate Shoppe.

But if it is, the Day of Love only claims the top spot by a jolly red nose over its biggest and most wonderful business-generating competition — the Christmas season.

“Everyone loves chocolate,” Groff said.

And chocolate, she said, pairs great with Christmas.

“We have something for all ages,” Groff said. “Stocking stuffers, gifts for parents and grandmas and grandpas, you name it.

“As the song says, we have something that will make people smile, ‘for kids, from one to 92.’”

This Christmas season, Groff and The Chocolate Shoppe expect to once again be hopping like North Pole elves, busily preparing, packaging and shipping out waves of goodies for everyone on those lists.

In addition to their regular array of sweet treats, the store on U.S. Route 34 in Plano rolled out its holiday-themed confections during the first week of November.

These include the store’s popular peppermint bark, mint chocolate bars and chocolates shaped to resemble beloved Yuletide figures, including Santa Claus, gingerbread people and Christmas trees. Customers also will find chocolate lollipops and hot cocoa bombs.

And of course, the store will offer its wide selection of traditional favorites, available for custom assortments or in grab-and-go pre-sorted boxes.

The stars of this year’s festive lineup may be the special Christmas editions of The Chocolate Shoppe’s line of truffles.

Groff said those new truffles will include four types of coffee-infused chocolates – and the debut of the Shoppe’s first-ever truffle featuring the confectionery phenomenon known as Dubai chocolate.

The candy style, featuring chopped filo pastry known as kadayif and a pistachio-tahini cream, has swept the globe since it was invented four years ago by chocolatiers in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

“I’m not sure anyone else is offering these yet,” Groff said. “We expect it’s going to be very popular.”

The Shoppe’s assortments of truffles will be available in a variety of options, including party platters that Groff said would be perfect for putting holiday spreads at Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings over the top.

Groff said the Shoppe also will offer assorted chocolate platters featuring items such as salted caramels and buttercreams, as well as chocolate-dipped strawberry platters, which she said will “always be a winner on the dessert table.”

The Shoppe also will offer extended holiday hours to accommodate what Groff expects to be a very busy season. The store will be open until 6 p.m. on weekdays and until 8 p.m. on weekend nights. It will also be open on the two Sundays before Christmas from noon to 5 p.m., giving customers looking for the sweetest gifts “a little extra opportunity to shop.”

However, Groff recommended that customers not wait until the last minute to swoop into the store looking for that perfect treat for someone special. She noted that the Shoppe’s goodies stay fresh for weeks as long as they’re kept out of direct sunlight.

“I definitely would say people shouldn’t wait until the last minute,” Groff said. “We will sell out of some items, especially at that last week before Christmas.”

Groff also encouraged customers to apply that same proactive philosophy when looking ahead to the next big chocolatey holiday – Valentine’s Day.

She advised customers to plan to submit their orders for the store’s “famous long-stem chocolate-dipped strawberries” in January to guarantee they can get what they’re really after.

“It’ll all be here before you know it,” Groff said.

But first, Groff said she hopes to welcome everyone in for some holiday cheer – preferably coated in chocolate.