Have Yourself a Gift Hamper Christmas

Let’s initiate our Noel-themed countdown with a fab starter hamper, appropriately dubbed The Magic Of Christmas. In essence, the seasonal spirit doesn’t have to be stacked with bells and whistles (apart from the sleigh sort…) to cheer people up. This package sets you in fine form with a loved one, unleashing spiced apple chutney, cheese baguette bites and delectable mince pies on their dinner table.

Every girl loves a little luxury. The Touch Of Class hamper is a sure-fire hit with women across the age spectrum, decked out in Ritz-worthy shades of lilac and gold. A bottle of Prosecco lords over it like a grand dame, gathering a cadre of mixed truffles and nuts below it, whilst quality olive twists are ready to dive into her cocktail after work.

For the connoisseur of classic tastes, this hamper has a handful of flavours – oats, chocolate and puds tinged with cider. Hamper queens Virginia Hayward aim for the traditional predilection with their collection of buttery and marshmallow-inflected titbits. Standouts include choc-coated ginger snaps and a pair of South African wines.

There are goodies here that everyone in the family will love – we’d call it the summit of hamper standards, but there’s a whole lot more to come! Fruit cake, olives, jam, coffee, four bottles of vino… the list goes on and on, capped off by Graham’s Fine Ruby Port for an after-dinner tipple. An armada of family favourites shapes the perfect hamper for a growing brood.

Sorry, did we say that our last gift represented some kind of pinnacle? We’re forgetting ourselves: The Celebration hamper takes the biscuit for Christmas miracles, as well as liver pate, stilton, salmon, brandy and a festive ham that’s ideal for Boxing Day. There’s enough food here to feed an army of elves, and your lucky recipient will need all the extra calories they can get to make it through their hosting duties. Rounding it off is a hefty assortment of drinks, including gin, champagne and single-malt whiskey.

Let’s dial it back a bit for our next hamper, which offers a more modest (though no less delicious) way to someone’s heart. Three kinds of cheese sit in their special hyacinth tray waiting for a biscuit to scoop them up, and that’s just what the Wine & Cheese set provides: a late-night snack washed steadily down with a vintage Chilean red. It’s a superb complement to parlour games when charades begins to wear thin…

Have you ever thought, in your deepest dreams, that main courses are overrated? We know that the turkey, trimmings et al are the weight holding a Christmas meal into place, yet those of a sweeter persuasion will just be hankering for trifle and cake. Get that sugar-rush into their system with A Taste Of Christmas, which we dare say is the best friend for biscuit obsessives. Clotted cream and Cornish shortbread hit the high notes on their tongue, joining popcorn, jam and hand-cut crisps in snack heaven.

Show-stopping hampers don’t need to break the budget. Brimming with all the treats a couple or family will be hungering for this Noel, the Christmas Cracker is well worth your attention. By that, we mean pickle preserves, chilli biscuits and truffles with a richness their store cupboard can’t hope to match. Grandparents might relish the spiced fudge sitting at the back, a moreish companion for the red and white French wines!

Advent calendars condition us from an early age to be mindful of chocolate when there’s a tree in our living rooms. It’s as much a kernel of Christmas as stockings, baubles and uncles snoozing at 4pm; hence, we’ve found an awesome hamper for chocoholics, containing half-coated fudge, drinks and numerous other spins on the humble cocoa bean. Everything comes in a round, decorative box that’ll look swish on a kitchen counter.

The competition’s seriously heated up now, and were rubbing our hands together in anticipation of the top hamper gift we’ve pulled out of the sack! Surprisingly, it’s another sack altogether, one that flies straight from the North Pole to your recipient’s doorstep! While it’s not the most extravagant choice on our countdown, the Love From Santa hamper is adorable: a feast of berries, nuts, special marshmallows, sundried tomato bites and a bottle of shiraz for good measure, it’s bound to go down a treat on Christmas day.

And how is it presented? In Santa’s carrier of course! A draw-string jute bag holds the items in a plush scarlet cove, as festive as anything we’ve seen this year. As such, we reckon it’s a worthy winner of the top spot on our countdown.