Christmas hampers: Everything you need to make your own

Christmas hampers are one of the best gifts you can give for Christmas: a basket of treats, usually edible and drinkable, that the recipient can enjoy over the festive break. 

You can buy them ready-made of course, and we’ve reviewed the best filled hampers here, but if you’re up for the challenge of putting a personalised one together we applaud you – and  we’re here to help.

If you know the person you’re giving it to quite well, you can hit so many sweet spots with a hamper, and hopefully reduce the risk of buying just one “big" gift and getting it wrong and wasting your hard-earned cash. 

We particularly like the fact that a hamper is something you can make up to gift a whole family, rather than spending out on individual presents.  

One thing to note first off: the bigger the hamper you get, the more you’ll need to fill it with – so think about how much you want to spend before buying the hamper itself. 

And once you’ve got it in hand, the fun bit begins: filling it with lots of delicious stuff. Just don’t be tempted to eat it all before you've given it away…

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If you’re making up a hamper for someone who loves their bubbles, a good bottle of fizz is almost obligatory. We’ve tasted the best proseccos out there, and our Best Buy award goes to this Amberto Nani organic prosecco (£8, Asda) which won’t break the bank. Our tester rated very highly indeed, saying: “We were blown away by the quality of this prosecco. An extra dry spumante that still manages to be extremely crisp and mineral with no over-sweetness, this was an instant hit with our testers who liked how well structured, creamy and fresh it was.” 

If you know you’ll be giving this to more of a rosé lover, you may want to include this Costellore prosecco rosé DOC (Asda, £6.49) instead. Our reviewer loved this one, saying that “it’s extremely pleasant wine with fine long lasting bubbles, giving huge amounts of strawberry mousse and more summer fruits that you can shake a stick at”. Bottoms up.

If tea is more of your hamper recipient’s bag (pun intended) then you can’t get more luxury than Mariage Freres, which has been served in the best tea salons in Paris since 1854. These are herbal teas, with flavours like jasmine and Darjeeling, and blends like the dream tea (£17 for 30 teabags), which includes chamomile, verbena, lemon balm, peppermint, lemongrass, sweet mint and liquorice.

Writing in our guide to the best teas to de-stress, our reviewer Joanne Gould, who tested the dream tea, revealed that “each tea bag is wrapped in muslin and once steeped makes a gentle, mellow cup of aromatic tea that aids relaxation and puts you in good stead for a well-rested night – perfect for anyone a little too wired come bedtime.” Pretty perfect for Christmas, right?

And if you want to offer up a jolt of caffeine to go with the relaxing tea, coffee’s a nice option, too. We’re not talking your average-jo jar of instant, but something a little more exciting. Show you’ve sought out something a bit beyond the ordinary by including this Easy Jose indigenous community coffee (£9.50 for 250g) which IndyBest voted the best independent coffee brand of 2020.  

Choose from four blends: indigenous community coffee, the community blend, seasonal blend or decaf. Our reviewer loved the indigenous community coffee, which she said was “was simply bursting with a nutty aroma, and it did not disappoint in the cup”.  

Nothing goes better with coffee (or tea, or prosecco for that matter) than a good box of chocolates, and our reviewer suggested these chocolate pralines (£15, Fortnum & Mason) are “best eaten slowly to completely savour”. For other options, our guide to best luxury chocolates has some great suggestions from Hotel Chocolat, Godiva, Waitrose and more.

Chocs are a nice treat to include in your hamper, but a traditional panettone offers a more substantial feast. We tested a few out in our best panettone guide for 2020 including this nocciolato panettone (£12, Waitrose) which has a crunchy hazelnut topping. Our reviewer noted “it is very generously stuffed with perfectly plump sultanas and tangy mixed peel” but also pointed out that the topping does mean you can’t butter or toast it, so if you like it that way, be aware.

For one you can toast, try this classic Italian panettone (£7, Tesco) which comes at a very decent price and which our reviewer thought was a “great value option”. 

There’s more food heaven to add to a hamper with a good Christmas pudding, of course: it’s a little more substantial than chocolates and as it’s specifically for Christmas will give a truly festive feel to your hamper. Not only does this muslin-wrapped Christmas pudding (£25, Rick Stein) look heavenly, it’s “beautifully soft textured and its flavour profile was well balanced” according to our reviewer, and light enough for seconds (hurrah!).

This 18-day matured pudding (Sainsbury’s, £7) also made into our best Christmas puddings round-up for 2020: it’s meant to be pretty generous on the boozy flavours so do bear than in mind if you’re buying for someone who dose (or doesn't) like an especially alcoholic dessert.  

And if you’re giving the hamper to someone who you know isn’t mad on the traditional Christmas pudding, you could always opt for this chocolate and orange twist on the classic more fruity number. (Marks and Spencer, £12). Different but still utterly delicious.

If you’d rather buy a Christmas hamper, read our guide to the best ready-made ones or for a different gift idea, read our favourite cheese subscription boxes instead