Thorntons Classic Chocolate Box - 262g

Thorntons sits in a particular spot in British chocolate. It is a step up from the corner-shop bar, the box you pick up when you want it to look as though you thought about it, even if you grabbed it on the way.

People in Canada go looking for it because the box itself is a memory: a nan's sideboard, a teacher's present at the end of term, the thank-you for the neighbour who fed the cat. When you want to say thanks the way your family always did, it has to be this one.

The box holds 262g of assorted chocolates, a good size for sharing between a few people or for one determined person over a week. Keep it somewhere cool, away from the radiator, and put the lid back on so the ones nobody likes can be quietly ignored until Thursday.

Thorntons is just as well known in Britain for its toffee and fudge, so the name carries a lot of goodwill. If you are putting together a parcel for someone who misses home, a box of these next to a packet of proper tea says plenty without a card.