It helps to choose a maker whose product you trust. Lily O'Brien's chocolate O'Brien's has handcrafted chocolates in Newbridge, Co. Kildare since 1992, so the favours arrive as something guests recognise and are happy to keep. That recognition does quiet work at the table.

What is inside should hold its own. Lily O'Brien's has handcrafted its chocolates in Newbridge, Co. Kildare since 1992, so the box is a genuine gift for the adults rather than a token wrapped around a name. That matters at an event where the parents are tired and the attention is all on the child.

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.

Quantity is the next decision, and it is where couples tend to overspend or come up short. Work per table rather than per head at first. A round of ten guests usually wants ten individual favours, plus a couple spare for the top table and any late additions. Order roughly five to ten per cent over your final count. Chocolates keep, so a small surplus is never wasted, whereas a shortfall on the morning is a genuine headache.

For an early anniversary, a first or a second say, the register is warm and unshowy. A mid-size collection, perhaps with a short printed message or the date, says you remembered and you made a small effort, which is precisely the tone those years call for. It is a gift between two people rather than a public statement, so restraint reads better than grandeur.

For more detail, see dessert-inspired chocolate collection.