If you’re struggling to think of a present that’ll really bowl them over, a heaving Christmas hamper is the sort of crowd-pleasing gift that everyone adores.
It’s not much of a stretch as to why: a pretty wicker basket stuffed to bursting with delicious gourmet goodies is enough to put a smile on anyone’s face.
A good food hamper should have a mix of food and drink, in sweet, savoury and umami flavours to cover all bases and preferences.
Christmas is the time when food hampers come into their own. Offer them to hosts if you’re being looked after over the festive period; pick a wildly lavish one to spoil someone special; or splash out on a heaving wicker basket as a decadent treat that the whole family can tear into together.
Every year, the hamper selection on offer swells as retailers flex their creative arms and curate new bundles of Yuletide joy to suit different tastes and trends. As well as luxe booze-free options for teetotal merrymakers, there are plenty of free-from hampers out there too, ensuring everyone can dive in by the time December 25 rolls around.
Expenditure-wise, they’re not all as faint-worthy as you’d think, either. There are lots of lovely and indulgent options across myriad price brackets; we’re confident that you’ll find a Christmas hamper that won’t financially derail the rest of your festivities.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the end of the year is the time to stuff ourselves silly with the fanciest, tastiest morsels around, guilt-free (that’s what January’s penance is for).
Best Christmas hampers 2024 at a glance
From cases of premium gin and stacks of chocolate to those coveted F&M-stamped wicker baskets groaning with festive fare, here’s your cue to eat, drink, and be merry this Christmas with our edit of the best hampers of 2024.
We’ve ordered them in price descending order (high to low) to make them easier to shop by budget.
Let’s get to it!
F&M The St. Nicholas Hamper
Best for: generous Christmas spirit
Named for the season’s MVP, Fortnum & Mason’s hamper sings to the rafters with Christmas spirit. Unfasten the leather fastenings and flip open the honey-hued lid to find 17 treasures nestled within. There’s a lot to unpack here, from the posh grocer’s much-loved Christmas musical tin, spiced chutneys and boxes of premium hot chocolate and teas - not to mention plenty of biscuits to dunk them in.
There’s also a St. James Christmas Pudding to round off lunch and cognac-laced butter to drizzle over other desserts. And it wouldn’t be Christmas without booze; thankfully there are three bottles - red, white and sparkling - to enjoy inside.
Hamper contains: Bottles of champagne, white and red wine, cognac butter, a selection of biscuits, chocolate and truffles, tea and coffee, a fig preserve and a Christmas pudding
Buy now £365.00, Fortnum's
Selfridges Selection The Christmas Day hamper
Best for: spoiling everyone on the big day
Turn the tables on Christmas morning and lure friends and family from their piles of presents with this decadent hamper instead.
There are 22 items stuffed into Selfridges' handsome black wicker basket, including fine cheese, luxury wine (including Port and Champs, obviously), a Wiltshire ham (1.2kg - gulp), tins of hot chocolate and jars galore of jams, pickles, condiments and preserves. Mince pies and chocolates are also on this festive foodie set-list, plus 1kg of the finest Panettone the department store has to offer.
Practically everything but the turkey and a 'stick a fork in us, we're done' badge.
Hamper contains: Bottles of Champagne, red wine, white wine and port, Cheddar and Stilton cheese, Wiltshire ham, hot chocolate, Christmas pudding, brandy butter, cherry and amaretto jam, marmalade, condiment selections, panettone, mince pies, a selection of biscuits and chocolates
Shop Selfridges’ Christmas hampers here.
Buy now £350.00, Selfridges
The Dorchester festive essentials hamper
Best for: luxury hotel vibes
One of London's loveliest hotels is helping bring the luxe vibes home this Christmas with a stonking great hamper bursting with gourmet delights. Some of the tastiest plates from The Dorchester's restaurants have been parcelled up for greedy eating this season including shortbreads, preserves, chutneys and chocolates. And of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without the obligatory Christmas Pudding, Christmas Cake and posh brews to wash them all down with.
Buy it for your in-laws and watch the brownie points flood in.
Hamper contains: Bottles of red and white wine, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, strawberry jam, marmalade, chutney, pistachios, shortbreads, Dorchester chocolate facade, tea and coffee
Buy now £250.00, The Dorchester
Harvey Nichols The Snowed In Hamper
Best for: hibernating
There’s never a guarantee of a white Christmas any year, but just in case, Harvey Nichols has the hamper to see you through any potential flurries.
Packed with a selection of snacky bits, the Snowed In Hamper is a smart black wicker basket filled with goodies like hot chocolate, spiced tea, a rich Dark Chocolate & Amaretti Panettone, shortbread and tasty nibbles. Oh, and three bottles of wine to wash it all down with; one Champagne, a white and a red.
In short, everything you could possibly need to stay fed and watered until well into January. It’s an incredible gift for someone special or to take your hosts if you’re spending Christmas away from home this year.
Hamper contains: Bottles of champagne, red and white wine, coffee, tea, panettone, biscuits, fudge selection, chilli and caramelised nut selection
Buy now £200.00, Harvey Nichols
Made in Oldstead The Festive Hamper
Best for: gourmet types
Star chef Tommy Banks presents his Made in Oldstead Ultimate Festive Hamper, designed to tickle those with gourmet tastes.
There's a fine balance of traditional Christmas treats made with cheffy flair with some elements designed to finish yourself to add a sense of satisfaction and fill your home with festive cooking scents.
Groaning with enough food to feed six rumbly-stomached grazers, highlights include a Pate De Champagne Pie, Beetroot Cured Salmon, chutneys and jams galore, and a ham to glaze once it's out of the oven - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s much to enjoy here, but with a short shelf life (around five days in the fridge for most morsels) this is a hamper best organised for late delivery.
Hamper contains: Christmas Cracker wine set, hot chocolate, bourbon eggnog, Christmas pudding candle, chicken liver parfait, sugar glazed ham, Yorkshire charcuterie selection, beetroot cured salmon, cheese selection, sourdough loaf, chilli chutney, honey, mincemeat, crackers, jam, pork pie, Christmas cake, selection of shortbread and biscuits
Buy now £200.00, Made in Oldstead
DukesHill It’s A Wonderful Life hamper
Best for: excessive merriment
Picture the best of Christmas fare in one beautifully presented straw box, and you're imagining DukesHill's hampers.
The 14-strong selection spans everything from the brand's famous 1.2kg Wiltshire Ham and a packet of smoked salmon to crumbly shortbread and milk chocolate honeycomb. The traditional festive highlights are there too, of course: luxury mince pies, Boxing Day chutney and a hefty Christmas Pud, ready to steal the spotlight come lunchtime. There's also a bottle of cava to wash bites with.
Here’s the full list of contents.
Hamper contains: Bottle of Cava, Wiltshire ham, smoked salmon, blue cheese, cheddar, pate, chutney, biscuits and oatcakes, Christmas pudding, mince pies, fruit cake, shortbread, chocolate honeycomb
Buy now £195.00, DukesHill
Panzer's The Christmas Connoisseur
Best for: shopping local
All I want for Christmas is... silky smooth smoked salmon? North London's legendary deli Panzer's is only too happy to oblige with heaps of festive hampers ready to tantalise.
The Christmas Connoisseur has a bit of everything, from 227g of delicately pink smoked salmon, a waxed truckle of Scottish cheese along with a load of delicious crackers to kick off your cheeseboard, sweets and a whopping 750g Italian Panettone.
Little bundles of joy to take Yuletide feasting up a (belt) notch or three.
Hamper contains: Panettone, tin of shortcakes, bottle of red wine, smoked salmon, blue cheese, selection of crackers, cheddar, chocolate and hazelnut XXL bar
Buy now £169.00, Panzer's
Snowdonia Cheese Company Christmas Cheese, Charcuterie & Port Wicker Hamper
Best for: cheesy season’s eatings
Take it from an addict: once you’ve tried Snowdonia’s award-winning produce, it’s very hard to go back to civvy cheese street.
For a gift that will inspire cheeseboards for any and every meal, our money is on the Christmas Cheese, Charcuterie & Port Wicker Hamper. The parcel contains everything you need to get on your merry way - think a 10 Year Old Tawny Port, four truckles of cheese including the monumental Black Bomber, and crackers, chutneys and nibbly bits galore - plus a handsome slate board to pile everything on.
Hamper contains: A selection of Cheddar and Red Leicester cheeses, cheese bakes, chutneys, crackers, olives, salted caramel truffles, bottle of port and a serving board
Buy now £125.00, Amazon
The British Hamper Company The Night Before Christmas Hamper
Best for: a moment of peaceful gluttony
Hooray, you’ve made it to Christmas Eve! The presents are wrapped, the turkey is defrosting and the house is twinkling in lights. Now’s the time to take in the (hopefully) silent night with drinks and nibbles raided from this Night Before Christmas Hamper.
Stuffed with gourmet treats from artisan suppliers, expect heightened versions of the usual fudge, shortbread and crisps along with festive spiced cookies, jalapeno nuts and sea salt caramel truffles.
Oh, and there’s a bottle of red and white for good measure too.
Hamper contains: Bottles of red and white wine, iced Christmas cake, Christmas chutney, a selection of sweet and savoury snacks
Buy now £119.97, The British Hamper Company
RNLI Smooth Sailing Hamper
Best for: supporting a worthy cause
Support some of Britain's hardest-working heroes, the RNLI, by picking up one of their hampers this Christmas. Smooth Sailing comes in at £100 and is packed with household essentials from small businesses and a few luxuries too.
The best part? All profits will go directly to the charity so they can continue their life-saving work.
Hamper contains: Bottles of red and white wine, Christmas pudding, iced cake slab, marmalade, rhubarb and ginger preserve, tea bags, selection of sweet and savoury snacks
Buy now £100.00, RNLI
Farmer J Signature Hamper
Best for: saintly nourishment
If you can't get your fill of Farmer J in your lunch hour alone, the brand has launched hampers to bring the goodness home. Housed in a wicker basket, the hamper is brimming with ingredients to make your larder an altogether worldlier place: think freekeh, dukkah, za'atar, tahini and more.
Hamper contains: Freekeh, Harissa, Dukkah, Baharat, Za’atar, Tahini, Garlic Tahini, market bag
Buy now £85.00, Farmer J
Cartwright & Butler The Christmas Joy Hamper (alcohol free)
Best for: booze-free bliss
Proving merriment needn't be a result of booze, luxury snack company Cartwright & Butler presents an alcohol-free Christmas hamper this season. Don't worry, there's plenty in here to get giddy about, from sweet and biscuits to savoury snacks, hot chocolates and premium tea and coffee.
Hamper contains: Cranberry & Orange mini mince pies, almonds in dark chocolate, cheese & chilli shortbreads, winter spiced orange and cranberry shortbread rounds, Xmas cranberry sauce, gingerbread fudge, afternoon tea, Café York fine blend coffee, caramelised onion chutney, soft fruit jellies and a salted caramel hot chocolate stirrer.
Buy now £75.00, Cartwright & Butler
The Newt A Little Newt Christmas Hamper
Best for: Somerset sophistication
Straight from the award-winning Somerset hotel, restaurant and gardens, The Newt’s Christmas hamper selection is at the top of our wishlist this year. While the goods won’t come packed in a traditional wicker basket, the wooden branded box they are delivered in is just as smart.
This small hamper is the perfect way to spoil someone special in your life, with just enough festive fare for one - so they don't have to share. It's a heavenly parcel for those with a sweet tooth with candied orange, gingerbread spread, cider brandy fudge and chocolate galore in the mix.
Hamper contains: Biscotti, brandy fudge, dark chocolate candied orange, gingerbread spread, orange gin marmalade, giant chocolate coin.
Buy now £60.00, The Newt
Dishoom Chai Hamper
Best for: masala magic
Tea being a national obsession is one of many things the UK and India shares. The other? A love of gifting on special occasions.
Combine the two beautifully in Dishoom's chai-themed hamper, packed with everything you need to make a round of the spiced brew from home.
Recipients will get a tin of the London restaurant chain's delicious Dishoom House Blend Masala Chai along with a patterned tea towel, trivet and four glasses for chai. there's also a fine mesh filter for catching the brewing spices before they fall into your cup. Refreshing and delicious, drinking it is almost as good as enjoying a cup in a Mumbai caff. Nailed it.
Hamper contains: Dishoom masala chai, tea strainer, tea towel, trivet, four chai glasses
Buy now £60.00, Dishoom
