I love the act of gift giving, and one of the simplest of pleasures for me is when I feel like I’ve come up with a gift that it a little bit original, and that I hope the recipient will love. Often, these are slightly personal, homemade gifts, and usually I create these in the form of a gift hamper.

Now I know that often homemade gifts can be a little bit naff, and I’m under no illusion that my recipients might well think that of some of my gifts, but the fact that my Homemade Gift Ideas board on Pinterest is by far and away my most popular board, shows me that many others feel the same way I do about trying to find a gift which is a little different.

If you’re stumped for something a little different to give this Christmas, why not think about creating your very own gift hamper, personalised to your recipient?

Treats Hamper

I do love giving hampers as gifts. They can be filled with all kinds of little treats, tailored to your recipient, and as a whole, look like a much bigger gift when finished and presented beautifully. I first started creating hampers when I lived in Austria for a year; I had the idea of bringing home lots of traditional Austrian treats for my grandparents and inlaws, and all of the baskets I gave out went down really well.

Nowadays, I find myself resorting to hampers when I’m a little stumped as to what else to give; at least I know that by giving lots of little treats, they’ll often be used and wanted rather than buying one big thing that I’m unsure about.

Gardener’s Hamper

I love a hamper as a gift, but as a general rule I like to theme them wherever possible. We recently made a Gardener’s hamper for my in laws. I mean, for starters, a plant pot makes for a great hamper basket!! We filled it with seeds and bulbs, a ball of string, some plant markers, a gift voucher for the garden centre that we’re members of (get how posh the Lightys are!!) and even a festive mini gnome!

Date Night in a Box

When it comes to giving homemade gift ideas, I like to give something which is essentially a little treat for our family and friends. The ‘Date Night in a Box’ that I’ve made for friends in the past is essentially a slightly different themed hamper. It can come in various guises, sometimes it’s a ‘Movie Night in a Box’, or sometimes I call it a ‘Quiet Night in for Two’. Either way, it’s usually something I give it to new and busy parents. 

It’s a large box which is filled with a DVD or two (essentially the ‘movie’ component), popcorn, chocolate, a bottle of wine and some beers, fancy crisps and a large soft throw blanket to snuggle up under! I’ve also included champagne flutes in the past, too.

Gin Lover’s Hamper

Earlier on in the year, we went to Uncle Tempy’s Gin and Ice Cream 70th birthday party (I know, I know, coolest birthday party theme ever or what?!). Because of the theme of the party, we took a gin lover’s gift hamper with us. For this, we included gin (obvs!), one Bombay Sapphire and one Tiptree Strawberry Gin Liqueur, some lemons, a jar of olives, some small cans of tonic water, a novelty ice cube tray, ice cream truffle chocolates and some coffee table books. I was really pleased with how this one came out, I think the addition of the lemons and the beautifully designed gin bottles made it look really fancy!

Weekend Away Gift Basket

Mr and Mrs Lighty are lucky enough to have friends who own a fabulous cottage in the Forest of Dean. We’ve been to stay at the cottage a couple of times, and our friends never want anything in return. So, in order to thank them, we made a good old trusty gift hamper. We themed it around things that they may need whilst staying in their cottage. This meant that we used a cool bag as the hamper basket, and included the likes of a bottle of wine, some DVDs, chocolate, freezer blocks, and a picnic blanket!

So there we have it! Plenty of gift basket ideas for you to try. I’d love to hear if you have any other themed gift hampers that I can try for future gift ideas? Let me know in the comments below if you have any fabulous ideas!

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