Explore this further at lilyobriens.co.uk.

If you want to lift it further, a personalised message or his name on the box turns a generic present into one addressed to him. Keep the message short and let the collection do the talking. Allow a little extra time for personalised print, and more in the run-up to Christmas when orders stack up.

A housewarming gift has a narrow brief. It should suit a home the owners are still arranging, it should not add to the pile of things they have to find space for, and it should feel chosen rather than grabbed on the way over. Chocolate meets all three, which is why a hamper or a share bag tends to work better than another candle or a plant that needs looking after.

Explore this further at chocolate hampers.

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, lilyobriens.co.uk 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.

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.

Match the scale to the gesture, choose a maker with real provenance, and keep the box simple. Handled that way, a thank you gift does its whole job: it closes the loop warmly and leaves nobody feeling they have to reply in kind.