Keep the gift aimed at the adults, personalise it for the day, and check the detail before you order. A named box of chocolates handcrafted with a bit of provenance behind it marks a christening or an announcement in a way that feels chosen, and it gives the parents something that is unmistakably for them.

One honest note. If the couple ask 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.

For a birth announcement, the same idea travels well by post. A box carrying the new arrival’s name says congratulations more warmly than a card and reaches family who cannot visit in person yet. It suits grandparents, godparents and the friends who want to mark the moment without turning up with yet another set of babygrows.

It also suits the man who is hard to buy for precisely because he says he wants nothing. A collection asks nothing of him, needs no assembly, and does not sit around as clutter. He opens it, shares some, keeps the rest, and that is the whole transaction. For a certain kind of recipient, that ease is exactly the appeal.

Read more from Lily O’Brien’s chocolate collection gift box.