Hamper: Contracted from Anglo-French hanaper, itself from Old French hanepier “case for holding a large goblet or cup”
There’s something particularly exciting about being given a collection of food in a wicker container. Traditionally hampers are used for picnics or given at Christmas.
One Christmas, I must have been about 14 years old, I made up a hamper for my parents…I saved my pocket and paper round money for weeks. I wanted the most luxurious foods, taking the tube down to the red-carpeted Fortnum & Mason in the centre of town, to do research. I was in heaven. Lacking the funds to do it by myself, I got my brother and sister to put in their pocket money too…
My hamper consisted of:
- a tiny pot of Russian caviar,
- a pot of truffles (which we all agreed were woody and boring),
- smoked salmon,
- lemon marmalade,
- candied fruit,
- brandy butter,
- Xmas pudding,
- foie gras pate (I ate meat then),
- a ceramic pot of Stilton,
- brandy snap biscuits,
- iced gems!(the height of luxury for a 14 year old in the 70s),
- liquorice comforts divided into different colours,
- pontefract cakes (liquorice seemed to form a major part of this hamper),
- posh tea in tins,
- liqueur chocolates (probably Mon Cheri, absolutely loved them). I would always get ‘Famous Names’ liqueur choccies in my stocking.
- and I made some chocolate-dipped fruit, segments of mandarin and grapes.
My parents, needless to say, were thrilled.
But if you don’t have time to make your own hamper…two of the nicest gifts you can give are food and flowers…both reminders of nature and Earth’s bounty. Flowers at Christmas are a luxury, there is little left in the garden…other than a few sprigs of holly and mistletoe. I love David Austin roses, I have a few growing in my garden. They are without a doubt the hardiest, easiest to care for, most fragrant and beautiful roses. You can’t lose with them….Interflora sent me a bouquet of these pink blossoms…just breathing in the scent transported me to sunnier seasons.
Having a conversation about this post with another food blogger, a male divorcee, he said:
“I’d never think of getting a woman flowers. My ex-wife used to have to nudge me to get them”“What would she say?” I asked“Oh you know, she’d drop big hints about Valentines day, how her friends had received beautiful bouquets..” he said dismissively.“In my opinion flowers and blowjobs save marriages” I opined “If men gave more of the former and women the latter, the divorce rate would fall dramatically”.
I’ve removed the mention of Interfloras hampers on this post, as they promised me one and never sent it. So perhaps they are as crap as people said on Twitter. Never again.
Petulia
December 9, 2009 at 2:19 pmI love hampers. If I have something special to celebrate or good friends to give gifts to, I head to F&M. They have fab hampers! Happy holidays!
Hugh
December 9, 2009 at 2:23 pmHow much pocket money did you get for goodness' sake? And where were you delivering papers to? The moon? I'd have had to have saved my pocket money for about 800 years to afford half of that! Lucky, lucky parents.
Rosy
December 9, 2009 at 3:14 pmI totally agree! I'm such a fan of hampers. Made a load last christmas for relatives (the notoriously hard to buy for Aunties!) and inexpensive if you make some or all of it. The only prob I find is the cost of the actual hamper – any ideas??
bakelady59
December 9, 2009 at 3:20 pmI think I love flowers more than I do Hampers, especially Roses. I have some in my front garden. I will often buy flowers for myself and others, just for the pure joy they bring. They never fail to lift your spirits.
theundergroundrestaurant
December 9, 2009 at 3:24 pmbaskets can be quite cheap can't they? Pound shops…
Some markets/ethnic veg shops use baskets for certain veg then chuck them…could use them?
Bakelady: so agree, flowers like fires, always lift the spirits…
Krista
December 9, 2009 at 7:40 pmNow you know why I bid for that Harvey Nicks hamper! I LOVE HAMPERS. (Or gift baskets, as we say in my country.) It's like a surprise every time, all those little packages hidden in there.
I ignored the Interflora email…sounds like I maybe shoulda responded!
Anonymous
December 10, 2009 at 11:39 amLike your snippet of wisdom re the divorce rate. I am a very happily married woman…Need I say more?.x.
Andrea
December 10, 2009 at 11:41 amLove your observational wisdom re the divorce rate..I am a very happily married woman..need I say more?!.x.
Helen T
December 13, 2009 at 9:33 pmLove your hamper, I bet your parents were so thrilled by the thought, let alone the actual contents. My father in law is incredibly difficult to buy for, but a Dickinson & Morris hamper, complete with pork pie, seems to do the trick.
MsMarmitelover
December 20, 2009 at 9:09 pmSomething weird going on with my comments,I don't seem to get them delivered to my email anymore so apologies for late publication and thanks for your comments…
My parents were quite mean with the pocket money actually (their excuse was 'well you get foreign holidays')but I was always quite thrifty…
Krista: haven't actually received the hamper yet! So we'll see…
Anon: LOL