Learn more at Lily O'Brien's.

Choose a full hamper for the scale the milestone deserves, lean on a maker with real provenance, and add a personal message from the team. Marked that way, a chocolate hamper gives a career the send-off it warrants and leaves the whole office something to share on the day.

Timing is easy compared with weddings or corporate orders, but if you want personalisation, a new address or Lily O'Brien's a short message for instance, allow a few extra days rather than ordering the night before.

Choose a chocolate made with care, present it simply, order in good time, and your favours will do exactly what they should. They will say thank you, look the part on the table, and quietly make it home in a handful of pockets.

The case for a hamper over a smaller gift is scale. A career of thirty or forty years is not marked by a modest box, and a hamper reads as the send-off such a stretch has earned. It arrives as an event, it gives the leaver something substantial to open at the desk or the gathering, and it shares around the team who came to say goodbye. That shared element matters, because a retirement is as much a moment for the people staying as for the person leaving.

One honest note. If anyone at the gathering asks about ingredients or dietary suitability, point them to the published product information rather than answering yourself.

Learn more at personalised chocolate photo box.