Christmas is defined by the spirit of gift giving. And what could be a better gift then getting a Christmas food hamper filled with your favorite food and drinks? Some big brands, like Marks and Spencer have their ready made Christmas food hampers, but if you are looking to save up a little money this Christmas, then you could prepare your very own Christmas food hamper to gift to your dear and near ones.
The biggest advantage to preparing something on your own is that you get a lot of options to choose from. For example, in an already made food hamper, you do not get much say about what is actually placed in the hamper, but when you are making one on your own, you get to choose which items to select and which not to. You can make the food hamper as simple or as complicated as you like.
The first thing, before you decide what foods to put in the basket, is to get a basket. You can easily get wicker baskets in most department stores, or you may shop for them online, as well. Remember to pick the right sized basket, depending on how much food items you are planning to place in it.
A good alternative to a basket is a beautifully patterned plate, or a tray, which you could wrap in cellophane, You could place your food items on them, instead of a basket.
Christmas Food Ideas:
There is so much of variety when it comes to picking, selecting, serving or gift Christmas food. If you are gifting food to a close friend, you would obviously be somewhat aware of the kind of food they like and the kind of food which they do not. For example, let us talk about Chocolates. Chocolates are things which most people would absolutely love as their gifts. But there are types of chocolates; some people like dark chocolate, while others go for white chocolate. Then there are people who like fruits and nuts in their chocolates, while others prefer theirs without fruits and nuts. Knowing the preferences of the person you will be presenting the food hamper to, helps a lot. In fact, it makes the task of preparing the perfect Christmas food hamper, easier by half.
If you are fond of baking, then you can even bake your own chocolate goodies! Like chocolate cakes, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate muffins etc Not only will you friends love the basket, but you will even get more praise and compliments for your baking skills. Some bakeries prepare their very own Christmas food hampers of baked goods, like muffins, bread, biscuits etc. If you want to bake your own, go ahead, if you would rather buy from a bakery, then that option is available to you, too.
Just like chocolate has chocoholics, there are people who go crazy for cheese. So, if you are preparing a Christmas food hamper for a cheese lover, then again you will find yourself with many types of cheese to pick from. Mozzarella, cheddar, brie etc are just some of the types of cheese you can put in your hamper. You can also gift them additional things like crackers, or red onion marmalade, which they could use to eat the cheese with.
Fruits are another good option to consider when preparing the ideal food hamper. Some people, are not too fond of chocolates and they satisfy their sweet tooth by feasting on fruits, both fresh and dry. You can put seasonal fruits in the basket, or even canned fruits like a can of pineapple.
And when it comes to dry fruits, then you can make pretty little packets and put different nuts like almonds, cashews, walnuts etc in them. Fruits are another way of making your basket appear more colorful.
Other than foods, you can also place drinks, for example, a bottle of wine, in your Christmas gift hamper. Wine bottles make excellent last minute Christmas gifts, so, might as well place a good bottle of wine, in your Christmas gift hamper, as well.
You can even put coffee in your Christmas gift hampers, there are so many various coffee blends available out there, you will have plenty of options to choose from. Again considering the preferences of your recipient and your budget, choose one which you think is most appropriate. Famous coffee brands like David Off and Starbucks are just some of the great selections.
These are just some of the food items you can place in your basket. Remember, that you can always prepare a gift basket containing different varieties of one item, only. For example, suppose your friend loves chocolate, so rather than placing wine, and fruits, cheese etc in the basket, you can just place chocolate and other items prepared from chocolate in the basket. However, placing more than one kind of item in your Christmas gift hamper adds more variety. It is your choice.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to preparing a Christmas food hamper, if you know what the recipient of that gift hamper likes, you cannot go wrong with placing food items in the hamper. Chips, chocolates, cheese, wines, fruits, biscuits etc you can place anything you want.
Presentation plays an important role in almost everything, therefore, decorating the Christmas gift hamper is also another important task. You cannot just place things in a basket and give them away. A little attention to the detailing of the gift hamper, makes a great impression. Adding little touches like bows, ribbons, flowers etc on your Christmas gift hamper, they would instantly make the food hamper look more impressive.. If you are using a tray or a plate instead of a basket, then cover it up neatly with cellophane and glue a pretty flower on top. Sometimes, simple is better.
Personalized cards are also another great addition to what goes in the Christmas gift hamper. You could write messages on those cards for your loved ones, wishing them a merry, happy, Christmas. If personalized cards are too expensive for you, then you could just buy any greeting card from any shop, and use it, instead. Adding a personal message on the card just makes the Christmas food hamper basket, look more thoughtful.
If you want you can even buy those tiny photo frames and place a photo of yourself with the recipient, or just the photo of the recipient alone and place it in the hamper, your friend will surely like it.
Christmas Food Recipes:
If you are good at baking then rather than purchasing food from the market, you could prepare the food on your own. It would take more time, obviously, so if you plan on making a Christmas food hamper filled with your very own homemade stuff, then you must plan for it, a little ahead of time. And of course, do not leave your oven unattended for you might just burn whatever it is that you are baking. Putting burnt goods in a gift hamper will not look so great.
A good strategy to preparing a food hamper with your homemade made food is to plan a trip to the grocery store, and buy all the ingredients you will be needing to prepare the food. For example, if you plan on baking a chocolate cake, brownies, cookies then having flour, eggs, chocolate, chocolate chips, butter, frosting, etc are just some of the ingredients you will be needing. Make a list of all that you will be needing to prepare that particular food item and then shop for them, so when the actual day of baking comes, you will be having everything that you need.
As for the recipe part, that is no problem at all. If you are a baking or a cooking enthusiast that means you may already have your very own recipes. However, if you do not have one, do not fear because thanks to the internet, you can get the recipe for just about anything which you want to prepare. You can use Google to find the recipe for every type of cookie imaginable from chocolate chip cookies, to peanut butter cookies etc. You can even make cookies look more suitable for Christmas by going for shapes like trees, gloves, candy canes etc
You can even make cookies look more suitable for Christmas by going for shapes like trees, gloves, candy canes etc
If you are looking for recipes for baking a cake, then, too, you will be in luck. From black forest cakes, to carrot cakes, you will easily find recipes for anything you want.
Christmas Cake. Photo Credit: ideas.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk
The very good part about these recipes is that, they not only mention the ingredients and procedure, they also tell you the temperature settings for your oven. Some recipes even list alternate ingredients which you could make use of, if you could not find the actual ingredient.
If looking for recipes online is not your thing, then buying a good cookbook with easy to follow instructions is also a good option. Many bookstores have special cookbooks which are specifically meant for Christmas food.
Other then cookbooks, many television shows also host cooking shows, where top chefs and cooking experts show you how to prepare Christmas goodies. There are so many cooking show specials for the Christmas season that it is almost unbelievable. They show you how to cook everything, from starters to main dishes, to sidelines, desserts etc If watching cooking shows is not your thing then do not worry, for you still have many options available from where you can get recipes. For example, Websites like Youtube have a number of video tutorials which you can see and get recipes for things which you want to cook. The good thing about cooking shows or video tutorials is that not only do they tell you the procedure; they also show you how it is done.
If you are still short of recipes, then you can always depend on your relatives, like your grandmother to pass on her famous chocolate chip cookie recipe to you.
Gift Baskets for Men:
If you are preparing a Christmas gift basket for a man, then knowing what food he likes will prove very helpful in this regard. If he is a health nut, then going with fruits, and low fat cheese, juices and other healthy stuff can be considered. If he likes chocolate cookies or truffles, you could get him those. Men like to drink, so consider investing in a good bottle of wine to place in your Christmas food hamper. Do not place flowers or ribbons on the basket, as men do not like such things. However, all the food items should be neatly placed in the basket.
Christmas food hampers are slowly and gradually becoming a great gift option. They are easy to prepare, however you need to keep your budget in mind while buying things for it. Expensive does not always mean better, so remember this. Another plus point for these Christmas food hampers is that after all the items on the basket have been consumed, the basket can still be used for other purposes, like you may use it for picnics or for placing things like handkerchiefs or notepads in it.
Other than food, many people put other non-food items in Christmas hampers as well. For example, if you are planning to give a Christmas gift hamper to your mother or your sister, you can put in a nice bottle of perfume, a lipstick etc. For men, you can put things like key chains, caps, ties etc. There are many things which you can place in a Christmas gift hamper, other than food as well. It is entirely your choice.
If you are planning to prepare your very own homemade Christmas food basket, but are at a loss to what items to put in it, you can always turn to internet for some inspiration. Just type in the keywords, ‘Christmas hampers’ into google’s search engine, just go through some of the first few pages which turn up. You are more than likely to find some really great ideas from there.
