How to choose a surprise breakfast delivery

Breakfast delivered to the door is one of the gifts with the best ratio between what it costs and the effect it has. It is also one of the ones that fails most often because of logistics, not the product.

What to check before buying

• Exactly what it includes. Not "full breakfast": the list of what is inside. This is where offers in the business vary the most.
• Whether it includes something hot and how they keep it warm. Coffee that arrives cold ruins the rest.
• Whether it comes with flowers. It is the combo that works best, and not every one includes it.
• The format. Box, basket or tray. The tray looks best in photos; the box travels best.
• Dietary restrictions. If the person is celiac, vegan or diabetic, ask first: not every combo can be adapted.

The time, which decides everything

A breakfast that arrives at eleven in the morning is no longer breakfast. Three rules:

1. Schedule it as early as possible, ideally before nine.
2. Make sure the person will be there at that time. It is the number one reason for failures: it gets sent early to a home people have already left for work.
3. If it goes to an office, confirm the opening hours and that there is a reception desk.

The surprise paradox

For it to be a surprise you can't give notice, but if no one is there the delivery fails. Two solutions that really work:

• An accomplice: a sister, a coworker, someone who lives in the home. You give us that person's phone number and they coordinate without spoiling anything.
• Send it to the office. There is always someone there, there are always set hours, and the social effect is bigger.

The dates when it is ordered most

Birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and Friend's Day (July 20 in Argentina). On all those dates the morning window is the first to sell out, so booking ahead is not generic advice: it is what decides whether it arrives early or at noon.

A detail almost no one thinks of

Write the card as if it were a note left on the nightstand, not a formal dedication. "Have a good day. See you tonight" works better at eight in the morning than any elaborate phrase.