Food Hamper, suggestions Please

Lucie_2

We've done a few Xmas hampers in the past, mostly for those harder to buy for older rellies.
I always try to buy longerlife things that don't need refrigerating right until the last minute. Some of these went down well:
Cheese - a nice lump of "luxury" like parmesan or stilton
Cheese crackers
nice biscuits/shortbread
real coffee/good teabags
after dinner mints
dried herbs & spices
fancy pasta
bottle wine/port
cooking sauces
mustard
salad dressings
jam/marmalade
chutney

If you start buying now you will be able to pick up lots of BOGOFs in the supermarket, one for you, one for the Xmas box!

elona

DSmiffy

If gran is old fashioned then how about tins of corned beef or Spam?

Juicy_Tube

Jay-Jay wrote:

This thread has inspired me to make a hamper for hubby's Gran.

She's about 80, lives on her own but doesn't have a fridge or freezer! (Well she does but she won't plug it in as she doesn't like electricity, so she uses it as a cupboard :rolleyes: )

Sweet stuff is easy but I'm struggling for long life savoury stuff. She's very old fashioned, I think I may be pushing it by including tinned salmon, so can you think of anything suitable?

So far I have the following.

Christmas pud
Custard (tin/tubs)
Biscuits
Mince Pies
Brandy Butter
Jam
Carnation Milk

Tinned Salmon
Tinned stewed steak
Tinned Chicken in sauce
Tinned Jersey Royal Spuds
Tinned Carrots
Tinned Peas
Tinned Soups

Tea Bags and a nice cup

Small box chocs


whaddya think?

Some great ideas already! I nearly always make up a hamper for Grans these days as they are so difficult to buy for."I don't want anything" etc. I would rather do something like this as they will actually use it!

I buy a cheap basket from a local pound shop and shred some coloured paper. I save tissue paper during the year to add to it, then I talk nicely to my local florist for some clear wrapping;) Add the odd bow etc.

I would suggest small items/tins of the above which aren't going to be wasted. A few small bottles of wine? My Gran likes a litte glass of wine, but a small bottle lasts her all week!!

I add a small diary, notepaper and envelopes and a book of stamps.

HTH

JT x

Bogof_Babe

A bottle of nice sherry would go down well with the oldies I think. They don't have to finish it in a few days, and there is something festive about sherry (or am I showing my age? ).

For younger recipients, Bucks Fizz would be a good substitute.

I am still thinking about the actual food - you can tell where my interests lie!

Edit: as well as crackers for decoration (brilliant idea), what about a sprig or two of holly and/or mistletoe?

competitionscafe

What about biscuits? Everybody likes biscuits. After extensive taste testing (research!) I can recommend these ones:
http://www.islandbakery.co.uk/newbakery.htm

Bogof_Babe

Still not worked out the food as the rest of this thread pretty much covers all the best ideas, but I did wonder whether, if she is that hard up, she might appreciate a few personal luxuries too. A couple of bars of non-economy soap (Sainsburys lavender, 69p per bar, is prettily presented), and a tube or jar of mid-price-range hand cream - just to make her feel pampered.

(I don't have shares in Sainsburys, and I don't work there, but it's where I shop!)

Okay, back to the food - if it was me being given the hamper I would love things in tins, packets and cartons that don't need refrigerating and have a long use-by date.

I'd be delighted with a big tin of Smash, pack of boil in the bag rice, pack of pasta spirals or penne, tins of chopped tomatoes, tube of Primula cheese, couple of tins of baked beans, packets of Beanfeast (but that's 'cos our main meals are veggie), small pack of mixed dried herbs, tube of tomato puree, tube of garlic puree, tins of mixed veg, and for non-veggies a tin each of Spam, corned beef, ham roll, tuna, mackerel and salmon.

I only discovered today the long-life jellies with fruit in, and bought several for my parents, who are always stuck for pudding ideas. These with a dollop of Elmlea (or maybe an aerosol of squirty cream for the hamper) would mean your friend is never stuck for a meal.

taplady

I must say this thread has inspired me ! i think i'll do one for my mum,she's a widow and doesnt spend much on food for herself so i'll put a few treats in for her that i know she'll like :T thanks everyone!

Maisie

Bogof_Babe wrote:

A bottle of nice sherry would go down well with the oldies I think. They don't have to finish it in a few days, and there is something festive about sherry (or am I showing my age? ).

For younger recipients, Bucks Fizz would be a good substitute.

I am still thinking about the actual food - you can tell where my interests lie!

Edit: as well as crackers for decoration (brilliant idea), what about a sprig or two of holly and/or mistletoe?

If you're putting a bottle in the hamper tie a piece of glitter ribbon round the top in a curl.
Jars look nice with a bit of gingham or other material over the top ( just cut a circle bigger than the top of jar)and a ribbon round to hold it on.

All of you looking for long lasting goodies I saw packs of 3 boxes of oxo cubes in Morrisons for 99p. There was chicken /vegetable/beef in a film wrapped packet. I think they're about 69p a single packet normally.

Morrisons have lots of good BOGOF's. Sometimes they are better than Tesco for BOGOF's but don't take coupons or give points!!