Christmas Hamper Help for a Pensioner Please.

Northern_Princess

Hi,

As part of my mother in laws Christmas we are filling a huge picnic hamper for her with tins etc. She lives alone and has a part time cleaning job which is from 4pm - 7pm. She tends to eat her main meal at lunchtime because of this (I generally batch cook so make sure she has one portion meals in the freezer to use) Would you lovely people have some ideas of what I can put in a hamper for her ? What would you appreciate in a hamper? I was also going to put some nice soaps/creams/bubble bath/chocolate etc in another basket as a kind of 'treats' basket for her - would you take offence to someone giving you a basket full of toiletries? We found out a few months ago that she had really struggled financially last year paying for gas/electricity but she completely refuses to let us put money on her gas and electricity tokens so we're looking for ways to ease the financial pressure in other ways. Your help would be much appreciated

NPx

adelight

That sounds quite nice to me really. Maybe some small jars of jam, chutney, mini xmas puds, nice biscuits and little boxes of chocs and some HM toiletries gift sets. Giving toiletries sets is really common and quite nice- i like getting them and so does my nan! You could buy a selection of different things in similar fragrances and wrap them up together in cellophane like a homemade gift set or fit them all in to one of those wire toiletry holder things and wrap that all up. Or just buy a gift set. The body shop have some good offers online and discount codes floating around, you can make up gift sets in store and they have bubble bath, moisturiser, hand cream, lip balm, deo, soaps, body spray all in the same ranges/fragrances so you can make a really nice set.

RAS

Hi

Please don't put chocolates in with smellies as they will taint it.

My thoughts would be some nice soap, bubble bath and some hand cream. You can bulk it out with something like cotton wool balls and a new flannel (thats what the store do).I

Regarding meals, you will know what she like to eat (and it sounds like you are making her main meal already?)

Without knowing her taste in food, it is hard to know what to include.

Nice jams and chutneys would allow her to boost otherwise boring food? Also some nice biscuits can be nibbled when needed. They could be home made in a nice tin?

If you can find small tins or jars of sauces, either cook in or pouring?

Does she like pesto? Good for adding to soups, potato salads, veggies or over pasta, so adds flavour to simple basics which can be produced quickly. Again, small jars would be best.

A lot of supermarket "steamed" puddings have 6 month shelf lives and microwave well.

Grimbal

what a lovely idea for your MIL !

I was in T*sco this morning,and noticed that they had reduced their small (100g - so individual/couple) sized finest Xmas puds

I'd also include little things to nibble on - biscuits/cheese crackers/nuts etc

rising_from_the_ashes

RAS wrote: »

Please don't put chocolates in with smellies as they will taint it.

Totally agree with the above .... what about a nice hamper with "smellies" in (I think just about everyone loves these) and separate one with some "tasties" in.

For the smellies one, you could get a lovely warm fleece (or similar) blanket and use this as the base in which to put the other bits in - sure she'd like one to put over her knees on chilly evenings, especially if she's a bit on the lean side with using her heating. Lots of places are selling these at a very reasonable price just now.

Marks & Spencer have some lovely toiletries just now - there are the expensive ones but they also had a huge isle of ones that were £1 each or BOGO1/2price (so 2 for £1.50). Various different "flavours" in bubble bath, shower gel, hand wash, body lotion etc etc so you could quite easily (and cheaply) make up a lovely set:

http://www.marksandspencer.com/s?node=42966030&keywords=essential+extracts

For the tasties, some nice chutneys and biscuits is lovely and often the first things that people cut back on when funds are tight.

Merry_Wanderer

Nice chunky soups in tins are a bit of a luxury and practical too.

findingmyfeet

hi northern princess- my 18 year old dd is getting a toiletries hamper as one of her gifts this year. she is at uni and i thought by christmas she would be glad of a top up and save her some money too. ive been buying all the basics-shower gel/bubble baths, dettodorant, hairspray etc but also slipped a few luxury items in : lush bath bomb, fancy tights, nail polish etc.

i have also done a small food hamper for my brother and family because they are struggling too this contains: tinned ham, salmon,tinned fruit, pasta, rice, hm jam, chutney, pickled beetrrot/cabbage etc then tin of nice choc biscuits and a tin of Celeb*ations for the kids. at the last minute i will add hm cake, quiche and whatever i fancy baking on the day.

i think you should go for basic store cupboard items and tins that can be stored or stretched out until needed and add a few more luxury things nice chocs, biscuits, mini xmas cake, nuts or possibly make a small fresh fruit hamper too.
good luck im sure she will appreciate it.

rachbc

How about a keepwarm hamper - a fleece or blanket and maybe a hat and soem fingerless gloves would be great too if she is anxious about putting the heating on - also how about a heat pad/ wheat bag so she can have that on her lap to keep warm, really good sheepskin slippers have been a godsend for me this winter.

Foodwise - high calorie nutrient dense stuff - older people often have smaller appetites so bits to snack on - cheesy crackers, nuts, cakes and biscuits, puddings and tetra packs of custard, meaty soups etc

Mikazaru

I think it's a lovely idea, I do a sort of similar thing for my mum sometimes, I put in a few magazines and little puzzle books and a diary and calendar for the new year. Toiletry wise I put in bubble bath, hand creams, body lotion, nail stuff etc. - just slightly nicer makes than she'd treat herself to. If you are worried about her being cold how about a hot water bottle and nice cover or one of those toys you can put in the microwave and a blanket.
Food wise how about a mix of basics that she uses a lot mixed in with some 'posher' items? Some nice hot chocolate/tea/coffee, biscuits, tins of soup, a home made cake?

Aarons_mummy

I love hampers, they are so practical and easy to make up and can be cheap with lovely toiletries especially with Body Shop glitches etc.

Soaps are nice and can be picked up cheaply. Do you have a £1 store, they have lovely little candles in jars, jar of coffee, box of teabags, nuts, crackers, cheese (there are some festive ones in Asda for £1), tins of meat, potatoes, veggies, noodles, pasta, hot chocolate, shower gels, bubble baths, face cream, hand cream, perfume (I love Next ones but there are also lovely ones online for £2.99 each), tins of tomatoes, bottle of squash, fresh juices even little cartons, tins of things like meatballs, curry etc if she is happy with things like that, a little box of chocolates (even the ones at £1 from Asda etc) packs of biscuits. What about a small bottle of wine at £1 odds if she drinks as a treat.

Just include anything she will use, I'm sure she will be more than grateful for whatever she receives

SpikyHedgehog

Would she appreciate joky things from Grandchildren (if there are any...), like Christmassy kitchen roll & toilet roll, as a way of getting them for her without looking like you're getting her kitchen roll & toilet roll?