Christmas Hampers for Families
A hamper for a family has a different job to a hamper for a person. It has to work for several people at once, including at least one you have never met and one who is nine, and it has to survive being opened in a room where everyone is watching.
That changes what makes a good one.
What a family hamper needs
Enough to share. The most common failure is a beautiful small gift that three people look at and one person eats. Volume matters more here than it does anywhere else.
A spread, not a theme. A hamper built entirely around chocolate, or entirely around savoury, will delight half the room. Sweet and savoury together covers more of it.
Something for the adults and something that is not. If there are children, a hamper that is all wine is a gift to two of the five people there. It does not have to be a children's gift, it just has to have something in it they can have.
Openable on the day. A family hamper usually gets opened in company, so it wants things that can be put straight on a table. Ingredients that need cooking are a different kind of present.
The one question worth asking first
Is this a gift for the household, or a gift for the person who runs it?
Those are not the same. A big share hamper is a household gift and everyone gets some. A pamper hamper for the person who will do all the cooking is a gift to one person, and is frequently the more thoughtful choice. Both are right. Pick deliberately rather than by accident.
What to send
All in stock at the time of writing.
The share hampers
- Box of Treats Hamper. Eleven items across sweet and savoury, from olives and beer nuts through to honey popcorn, shortbread and chocolate almonds. Alcohol free, which makes it the most broadly safe family gift we do.
- Ultimate Party Pack. Two bottles, a Sage Hills Shiraz and a Barrel & Vine Pinot Grigio, with party snacks. This is the one for a household of adults, and the two bottles mean nobody has to agree on red or white.
- Chateau Tanunda Shiraz & Gourmet Wooden Crate. A bottle surrounded by olives, macadamias, shortbread and cashew brittle, in a keepsake wooden crate. The crate is the part that gets kept.
When there are children in the house
- Merry Christmas Gift Sack. Shortbread, chocolate almonds, party mix, honey popcorn and rock candy. Alcohol free and built to be handed round, which is exactly what you want on the day.
- Mini Christmas Snack Gift Box. The smaller version of the same idea, for a household you know less well or a gift you want to keep modest.
For the person doing the cooking
- Self Care Hamper. Bath salts, a candle, rose soap, teas, shortbread and truffles. Send this to the host on the 23rd rather than the 25th, so they get it before the week rather than after it.
- Tea & Comfort Hamper. Tea, an infuser cup, socks and an eye mask. The same idea, softer.
The wider range is in Christmas hampers and gourmet hampers.
Frequently asked questions
Sending to a family you are not seeing
If the hamper is standing in for you at a table you will not be at, two things are worth doing.
Time it to arrive before the day, not on it. Nobody wants a courier on Christmas morning, and a gift that arrives on the 22nd gets put under the tree rather than opened in the hallway. Order in November, well ahead of Australia Post's December cut-offs, and it will be there in time.
Write the card to the household, not the person who opens it. Name everyone if the list is short enough. It changes how the gift reads when it is unwrapped in front of all of them. There is a guide to what to write in a Christmas card if you are stuck.
Frequently asked questions
How big is big enough for a family of five? As a rough guide, a hamper in the $80 to $120 range has enough in it to go round a table without anyone being polite about it. Below that you are sending a gift rather than a spread, which is fine, just be clear which you are doing.
Can I send one hamper to several households? Not one hamper, but one order. Multi-address shipping lets you send to as many addresses as you need in a single checkout.
What if someone in the family does not drink? Send an alcohol-free hamper rather than a wine one. It removes the awkwardness entirely and nobody has to raise it. The alcohol-free Christmas hampers cover the same sizes.
When should I order? November is the comfortable window. See when to order Christmas gifts.