For more detail, see individually wrapped chocolates.

Thank you is the most common thing a gift has to say and the easiest to get slightly wrong. Too small and it reads as an afterthought. Too large and it puts the recipient under a strange obligation. A mid-size chocolate collection or a share bag sits in the right register for almost every version of the occasion.

A share bag suits the smaller, easier version of the same idea. It is right for a casual drop-in, for a flat rather than a house, or for a friend who would find a full hamper too much. It still says you thought about it, and it disappears happily over an evening rather than sitting on a shelf.

Provenance gives the gift a bit of weight. Lily O'Brien's has handcrafted its individually wrapped chocolates in Newbridge, Co. Kildare since 1992, so a large box arrives as something made with care rather than grabbed off a shelf. It is a detail worth mentioning as you hand it over, since a gift that comes from somewhere specific always feels more considered.

Personalised chocolate has quietly become one of the easier ways to give a gift that feels specific to the person receiving it. Two formats do most of the work: the photo box, which prints an image onto the lid or sleeve, and the message box, which carries a short line of text. Knowing how each behaves helps you pick the right one.

A retirement gift has to carry more than most. It marks the end of a career rather than a single occasion, it usually comes from a group rather than one person, and it tends to be opened in front of the very colleagues chipping in for it. A full chocolate hamper handles all of that with a generosity the moment deserves.

For more detail, see personalised chocolate photo box.