As with any bought-in gift, check allergen information on the packaging or with the retailer directly if buying for someone whose dietary needs are not known well.

The second is that a chocolate collection can be pitched to the person rather than the occasion. Someone who prefers darker, single-origin pieces gets exactly that. Someone who likes hand-finished pralines gets those. A collection lets you show that you know the person's taste, which a bunch of roses, however handsome, cannot.

There is a practical benefit too. A hamper travels well by post, which matters if you are sending Easter greetings to family you will not see over the weekend. It arrives intact, keeps well, and gives the recipient the pleasure of working through a selection rather than facing one large piece alone.

The third thing is the address and the message. A gift sent to a workplace needs to arrive on a day the recipient is in. A gift to a home is safer if someone is likely to be there, though a boxed selection left in a porch will come to no harm in cold weather. Adding a written message at the point of ordering means the gift arrives ready to give rather than needing a separate card.

Sending chocolate collection gift box by post is straightforward, but the details that make it go smoothly are worth knowing, especially in the weeks around Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter when the courier network is at its busiest. A little understanding of how it works saves a lot of last-minute worry.

For Secret Santa, individually wrapped chocolates hit the brief without the guesswork. They read as considered rather than grabbed from a garage on the way in, they suit almost anyone, and they sit comfortably inside a modest budget. A small boxed selection of hand-finished pralines does more for a colleague than another novelty mug.