A card everyone signs in the last hour of someone's final day is fine. It's also completely forgettable. A well-chosen sweet gift costs about the same and actually gets remembered.
Read the room before the ingredients list
The right gift depends more on how well you know the person than on the sweets themselves. For a close colleague, build the gift around something specific: a childhood favourite they've mentioned, or a novelty item tied to an office joke. For someone you know only from meetings, a well-presented general selection is the safer, and still perfectly thoughtful, choice.
Individual gift vs team whip-round
These call for different scales. An individual gift between two colleagues works well as a smaller box or filled bag, in the region of £5 to £10. A team whip-round gift can stretch further, and a bigger jar or hamper in the £15 to £30 range reads as generous without tipping into excessive. Either way, presentation matters more than volume: a smaller amount of sweets in a proper jar beats a bigger bag of loose ones.
Formats that actually work in an office
Skip anything that needs refrigeration, is awkward to eat at a desk, or requires cutting up. Jarred sweets, boxed chocolates and individually wrapped items all travel well and get shared round the desk easily, which is usually part of the point. Our Sweet Jars and Chocolate collections both have good options at either price point, and Retro Sweets is worth a look if the gift is meant to be a bit nostalgic rather than purely indulgent.
Personalising it without overthinking it
You don't need a bespoke hamper to make a leaving gift feel personal. A short note explaining why a particular sweet was chosen does more work than the sweet itself, and it's the difference between a gift that gets mentioned in their new job and one that gets left in a drawer.
Frequently asked questions
What sweets make a good leaving gift for a colleague?
A filled sweet jar or chocolate selection works for most people; something built around a known favourite is better for close colleagues.
How much should a leaving gift cost?
Around £5 to £10 for an individual gift, or £15 to £30 for a team whip-round.
What if I don't know their favourite sweets?
Go with a broad mixed selection rather than guessing a single flavour.