I can’t remember now who sent them to us but when I was a child we always received a food hamper. Like putting up the decorations it was part of our family holiday rituals to open the hamper that we had received. They felt like treasure chests to me as a child. It felt like an adventure discovering what treasure they might yield. Invariably they would contain things like:
- Port
- Wine
- Sherry
- Gentleman’s Relish
- Bendicks Chocolate Mints
- Scottish Petticoat Shortbread
- Christmas Cake
- Jars of Jam
- Jars of Brandy Butter
- Specialty Mustard
- Water Biscuits
- Stilton Cheese in a stoneware pot
What an amazing gift that over thirty years later I can still remember the feelings of excitement and pleasure that come back to me with the memories of those happy childhood days. Receiving a gift like that also ignited my curiosity for food ingredients and cooking. I used to watch and help my mother prepare the exotic ingredients that we had received in the food hamper.
Now as an adult I am equally excited when I receive a food hamper but I also enjoy giving them to friends and family. They are no longer restricted to gifts that are given in the holiday season but you can now find food hampers to suit nearly every occasion and if you can’t find exactly what you want from the stores you can put one together yourself or use one of the many custom food hamper services out there.
Today we have access to so much more produce that it is very easy to find food hampers for anyone to celebrate any occasion!
Some neat ideas that I use are:
- Sending anniversary gifts of food hampers that contain foods from the region that the couple went to on honeymoon. For example if the couple went to California I would choose a wine hamper or a wine and cheese gift basket from the area that they visited containing sparkling wine.
- Sending a gourmet gift basket to someone who is interested in cooking with specially selected ingredients for them to use to produce a meal from a specific region. Some of the regional baskets that I have sent are French, Italian, Irish, Scottish, British and for the first time last year I put together a basket of Japanese ingredients for a friend that adores the food and culture of Japan.
- If I know someone is interested in a particular celebrity chef then I will try and source food hampers that contain products from their range.
- If it is that barbecue time of year then for him I might send out specialty meat hampers with seasoning rubs and for her picnic hampers that contain light summery produce.
- The most extraordinary gift that I have come across is that of giving gift certificates enabling the enjoyment of a wine club or a series of meals over a period of time. For example for a couple who have just had a baby. They receive plenty of gifts for the child but what about giving them the gift of time and a little pampering by providing them with a service that will deliver them gourmet meals so that they can enjoy some quality time together. These are also nice anniversary gifts or gifts to give someone a special memorable occasion.
Well thanks for your time I hope you enjoy the collection that I have put together on this site!
Feel free to browse the selection and come back for future posts that I am going to make on subjects of regional baskets, organic hampers, vegetarian hampers, how to make your own hampers, putting together specialty ingredients and many many more……
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