What to put in a Christmas basket?
If you want to give a Christmas hamper this year, follow our advice to prepare a perfect one according to your needs.
The perfect gift for Christmas? A nice basket . You can prepare it in advance or put it together at the last minute and, after all, it is always a welcome present, perfect for cheering up the holiday season. Yes, because you don’t risk buying yet another useless product – and you can see it when you’re blatantly recycling something you’ve received – it can be shared and, even, you can use it for the main courses on Christmas Eve and dinner. Let’s see, then, what to put in a Christmas basket.
Personalize it
The starting point for any hamper (and gift) is to think about who will receive it. In fact, you are about to create a sort of little Bignami for your friend / relative / acquaintance, so try to respect his tastes. However, add something of your own : perhaps this or that intriguing product that you have discovered or tasted and that you would like to make known.
Buy local
Which doesn’t just mean in the shops around the house or at kilometer zero. Rather, collect small typical goodies during your travels, which are clearly non-perishable, which you can then place in plain sight in your basket. A suggestion, therefore, is to start thinking about Christmas gifts well in advance . And check the expiration dates on the labels carefully.
Define a budget
This is advice we will never stop giving you. Thanks to the economic situation of the country and therefore of the finances, it is not a good time to spend and spread left and right, even when you can afford it. So, before you even start choosing the products, establish a maximum amount that you intend to allocate to the basket and, only then, start hunting for products. And offers.
The classic basket
When we were young, the Christmas basket was a great classic that arrived in every home, packaged in its beautiful transparent plastic. A true certainty, because it was always composed more or less the same way. Pandoro or panettone, sparkling wine, cotechino with lentils, some cured meat, a piece of Parmesan or Grana Padano, certainly nougat and some dried fruit, possibly dates and dried figs. To package your hamper you can start from here and propose this same version of the large-scale retail trade , for a heartfelt 90s revival and a few hearty laughs, or decline it in its local shop evolution .
The thematic box
We have seen and experienced another very successful interpretation of the Christmas basket in recent years: the box . This box containing the ready-made kit – to make this or that recipe or to taste this or that alcohol, accompanying it with different drinks and garnish – is not necessarily to be purchased on the major platforms. However, it can also be taken as a simple starting point to create a personal version. An example? Do you know that fantastic recipe that your grandmother prepared and that binds you so strongly to the whole family? Here, buy the necessary ingredients, put them in a box and attach a symbolic label on them. You will make everyone cry.
The latest fashion basket
Since every year has its own trendy product or combination of products , a quick search on the Internet is enough to understand what these are and act accordingly. Purchase them and then use them to create an ad hoc basket for each of our friends who, clearly, really appreciate the latest food trends .
Or the supportive one
More suitable, and also recommended by us, is the solidarity basket which is good for those who receive it, because it is full of good things, but above all it is very good for the organizations from which we purchase it. Solidarity baskets exist at all prices, as well as of different natures – from recognized global organizations, from small local situations – and are certainly a good way to help do good, spending your money wisely. In terms of content, composing a solidarity basket does not differ from any of the others mentioned so far: if you can choose, a good trick is to try to coordinate the elements, so that they are compatible for the preparations.
What do you put in a cheap Christmas basket?
Finally, always with the idea of a pre-established budget, as we suggested before, you can also create an economical basket which however does not have to be poor. The advice, in this case, is to focus on a few, well-coordinated elements and create attractive packaging . As for the contents, however, you can indulge yourself at home, for example by making your own jams , compotes or jams – to save money, make a lot of them and give them to everyone as gifts – and combining them with some liqueur . Yes, make that at home too.
