When it comes to Christmas presents, some people are just impossible to buy for. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve known them for a few months or your entire life - there are certain people who already seem to have everything. For these people, a joke present just won’t suffice. Take that wealthy uncle for example - while he sits in his antique chair sipping his vintage port and enjoying spoonful after spoonful of fresh Beluga caviar, he’s probably thinking about how he’ll never wear that pair of Santa socks you got him, or how that Schubert CD you bought him will probably never make it into his hi-fi, let alone his exhaustive collection.

One thing, however, that can make almost everybody happy, is a gift hamper - back in the good old days it was the only real way of showing somebody your abject appreciation (together with a festive thank-you note, of course); nowadays replaced by Interflora via email. The modern penchant for being unconsciously impersonal thanks to the ease that technology brings us needn’t be an obstacle to you: fill your Christmas hamper with gourmet food and hand it over with a smile, and even the most hardened cynic would have to summon a salivating smile.

Smoked salmon is a traditional favourite amongst hamper stuffers, able to turn the most humble picnic hamper into a hamper that oozes opulence and luxury. Fill the rest of the space with a nice wine accompaniment, a cheese selection, maybe even some foie gras, if you’re into gavage - soon you’ll have a hamper overflowing with luxurious foodstuffs that would raise the eyebrows of even your rich, eccentric uncle.

So, whether you’ll be enjoying a simple turkey or an extravagant three bird roast this Christmas, don’t forget that nothing makes that Boxing Day cold lunch more special than a hamper of luxury accompaniments to yesterday’s turkey and ham. And it sure beats socks.

Resources:

Food Hampers - Christmas Gifts