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.

For clients, a hamper reads as considered. It arrives as an occasion in itself, it shares around an office, and it carries a professional message without tipping into extravagance. Choose one with a neutral presentation rather than anything overtly seasonal, so it works whether it lands in March or in the week before Christmas. A restrained box travels better across industries and personalities than a novelty one.

Provenance helps here, because a gift with a story behind it is easier to give and easier to receive. Lily O'Brien's has handcrafted its chocolates in Newbridge, Co. Kildare since Mary Ann O'Brien founded the brand in 1992, and it holds BRC Grade A+ accreditation for its production. That is the kind of detail a recipient notices and a sender can mention without overselling.

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.

A few practical checks save disappointment. Confirm the image resolution the personalisation needs, since a screenshot pulled from social media often prints softer than you would like. Check the character limit on text boxes before you write your message, and read it back for spelling, because a printed typo is permanent. Look at the proof if one is offered.

Personalisation is worth thinking about early. A printed message, a monogram or the wedding date turns a nice box into a keepsake. Ask what the personalisation actually involves before you commit, since some options print onto the sleeve and others onto a card insert, and the two photograph very differently across a long table.