[LivvyW]

Ooh Ladeeez,

Delighted your so quick off the ball with the raspberry vodka/gin. Just make sure you don't try it yourselves before New Year, or you won't be able to give it away.

Elcie, if you do find a similar smaller stopper bottle, please let us know.  Do a good search for the vodka though. I reckon with the fruit and sugar, it really doesn't need to be a top quality tipple! 

I'm very keen on home-made gifts too, the more personal you can make them the better.

Just a thought to make them the hamper really personal,  include a photo of someone special. You even have time to create the shot. Make sure to keep clicking at any family event/get together for the rest of the summer.  I took a beautiful photo of my dad and my daughter (unposed) and framed it. A memory captured like that is truly a priceless and unique gift.

Ikea do a very simple glass clip frame, excellent value and goes with any decor.

[flowerpower]

I have yet to check, but Lakeland last year did some rather smart jam pot covers with matching tags.

With a bit of coordination, you can achieve the same look with a roll of wrapping paper and matching ribbon. I found a 4m roll of black paper with white polka dots and rolls of black ribbon with dots on it too. With a few metres of cellophane, your cardboard box will look fab! Cellophane is my best friend. It can make ordinary stuff look fab.

I have such a grateful recipient of my Christmas hampers that by the summer, I get the basket back empty! That way, we get to recycle and my elderly friend gets a full basket back the next Christmas.

Good idea about the mini Christmas cakes. Nigella has a recipe to turn them into cupcakes in her Feast book. I might give those a go

[Lady Lottie]

What a brilliant thread!  I LOVE, love, love that apron - gorge!

As for what to put the contents in, I was thinking, (mind you only if it was a partic large hamper..) what about old bulb crates?  My local garden centres was selling them for £1 each a while back.  I bought two to put my potatoes in to chit.  Bit of packing straw..few bits of gingham...raffia...ribbon..?

[Lady Lottie]

I have yet to check, but Lakeland last year did some rather smart jam pot covers with matching tags.

With a bit of coordination, you can achieve the same look with a roll of wrapping paper and matching ribbon. I found a 4m roll of black paper with white polka dots and rolls of black ribbon with dots on it too. With a few metres of cellophane, your cardboard box will look fab! Cellophane is my best friend. It can make ordinary stuff look fab.

I have such a grateful recipient of my Christmas hampers that by the summer, I get the basket back empty! That way, we get to recycle and my elderly friend gets a full basket back the next Christmas.

Good idea about the mini Christmas cakes. Nigella has a recipe to turn them into cupcakes in her Feast book. I might give those a go

You are so right about the cellophane - I feel the same way about plain brown paper and twine actually - I think it always looks very wholesome and a bit arty farty crafty - in a nice way!  And you can print on it too.

[joyfull]

You are so right about the cellophane - I feel the same way about plain brown paper and twine actually - I think it always looks very wholesome and a bit arty farty crafty - in a nice way!  And you can print on it too.
[/quote]

Saw Anthea Turner do that once on a programe - potato printing on brown paper for Christmas pressies 

[Lady Lottie]

Potatoes?    :blink:Worra waste! :DI stick it in me printer and get me compooter to do it!   Or use an ink stamp.

[joyfull]

 

[Elcie]

I didn't have any luck with the stopper bottles so gave up.  Cheapest for 500ml was about £54 for 24!  Bit pricey as the 1L ones in Ikea are £1.99 each.  I did think that perhaps you could use old white wine vinegar bottles or similar for the vodka for small quantities but you would have to make sure they were very clean before use!  And they are not as nice for pressies as the stopper bottles.

My four bottles of raspberry vodka are under my bed in a box now.  I'm 40 this year in November so planning to have a taster then!

[SAMANTHA MOLLY]

I bought some 250ml bottles from E bay.
£2.00 each - a little pianfull considering that the ikea ones are huge for the same price, but they look great and will hopefully make the hampers look wonderful and save me a fortune on vodka and gin.
I have about 7 large bottles in the untility wrapped in tin foil!!

We should be keeping a fair few of these The new bottles arrive tomorrow i will let you know.

S

[Lady Lottie]

Just had a thought about bottles this morning......as I was lying in bed....how sad is that?! :blink:   Anyway!  Do you have a Dunelm store near you?  I haven't been in for aaaaaaaaaaaaaages but last year I did pick up some quite cheap kilner jars in there.  Not sure about stopper bottles but.............Just a thought anyway.

[Roll Roll]

We got some cheep Kilner jars from Matalan of all places :blink: Big jar for £3.50, half size for £2.00.

[HelenK]

We also made Christmas hampers last year as we were super skint, like most people's they went down an absolute storm. In addition to the things other people have made, I made some biscotti from a recipe on the web (there are lots) and added some extra spices and candied peel to make them a bit more Christmassy. I also made two fridge cakes which I cut up into sweet size pieces and bagged up (everyone loves choccies!). Also made good old Peppermint Creams which are super easy to make but not to everyone's taste.

I also had a major scrump from the army base I work on (with permission from the head of the site!) as the site has a few lovely rose bushes that get covered with rosehips. It also has several lovely normal apple and crab apple trees. I made loads of rosehip and crabapple jelly which a lot of people have requested again for this year! It goes so well with pork, turkey, chicken, cheese you name it! I've just found a pear tree so that will no doubt be used somehow!

Also loving that apron, I can't sew for toffee but I do knit a bit so everyone got little bits in their hamper that were appropriate for them, hats, scarves, socks, booties etc.

Basket-wise we bought some of those plastic storage baskets from a cheapo housewares shop up here, I think we got eight for about £4. We got a load of tissue paper and ribbon which we wove through the holes to make them look pretty.

[Lady Lottie]

We really quite are an enterprising and creative lot on here aren't we?  I'm impressed!  And taking lots of notes!!

[Moosey]

Great thread, thanks Matilda    And loving the ideas, thanks so much everyone for giving me some inspiration 

No just got to work out what and how! 

[sunshineband]

What a brilliant thread  Loads of ideas here, thank you everyone 

My daughter and I exchange home made hampers each year and the best things have been:

spicy cranberry relish
poached pears in red wine
flavoured sugar in a kilner jar (lavender, rosemary or vanilla)
blackberry brandy
sloe gin
lemon & lime marmalade
hand made soap
small scrap book of family photos for the year

I'll have to make her an apron like that one -- she'll love it!!