ISSN: 0004-7163(print)

There is a sharing case too. If you are the one organising the team's festive spread, a larger box of wrapped pieces is easier to manage than anything that needs cutting or plating. People help themselves, the box stays tidy, and there is no waste from a half-eaten centrepiece at the end of the day.

Knowing the date is only half the job. The other half is working backwards from it so a gift arrives in good time rather than the Saturday morning after. A short countdown makes that easier.

The making is where it earns its place. These chocolates are handcrafted in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, where Mary Ann O'Brien founded the company in 1992, and a single-origin dark, hand-finished, is a more personal gift than flowers bought from a bucket at a garage forecourt.

Collections suit the giver who wants to say a little more than a foil egg allows. A boxed assortment reads as considered. It travels well by post, keeps its shape, and gives the recipient the pleasure of choosing rather than being handed a single flavour. For a host who has invited you for Easter Sunday, a collection is a warmer arrival than a bottle and lasts past the meal.

The office at Christmas is a difficult room to buy for. There are people you know well and people you have only met by email, dietary preferences you are not across, and a Secret Santa budget that does not stretch far. Individually wrapped chocolates answer most of that in one go.

The third week is for ordering the posted gifts. This is the single most useful thing on the checklist. Ordering mid-November, well ahead of the courier crush, means your gifts travel while the network is quiet and arrive with room to spare. chocolate gift delivery keeps, so early delivery is a feature rather than a risk.

ISSN: 0004-7163