Taking the time to craft or create the perfect gift for someone special is a wonderful experience for you and whoever you’re giving to. Gift hampers are an easy way to make something personal, and thoughtfully tailored to whoever you’re spoiling. Making your own gift hamper isn’t just fun, it means you can personalise your present much more than a pre-made box, with meaningful items and things they didn’t know they wanted.
Even better, you can fill a hamper basket with smaller items that won’t break the bank. So you can give your favourite person an incredibly well thought-out gift without having to spend on lots of luxury.
We’ve come up with top tips on how to make a hamper through crafts and DIY, which you can skip to by clicking here. Or keep reading to find our favourite ideas and themes for your hamper.
Hamper Theme Ideas
The beauty of the hamper is versatility, making them ideal to create for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Christmas gifts and beyond. The themes we’ve chosen can be personalised, customised and combined to help you make a hamper filled with delight, whatever the occasion and whoever you’re giving to.
When choosing items to add to your hamper, try and stick to a budget so you’re not spending more than you can usually afford for a single gift. Since you’ll be including several items, it’s great to consider second-hand or upcycled pieces to incorporate. If you’re aiming to create a small hamper, look for around 4-8 items. Medium hampers are generally 9-12 gifts, and large hampers most often have over 12 items in them. Don’t forget to consider the cost of shipping and the size of the hamper itself as you go!
Home scents are an ideal hamper item as they’re so versatile. So adding them to the theme of your choice is effortless, and you can even tailor the choice to match your recipient’s personal taste. When you’re looking to add fragrance to your hamper, it’s important to remember what’s appropriate for the person you’re buying for. Don’t buy them wax melts unless they already have a warmer at home (or you’re also including one in the package). Be careful that giving an odour-neutralising scent might come off as rude (unless it’s for a specific reason!).
The Pamper Hamper - Made up with everything they need to have a spa day at home. Don’t forget to pack a calming fragrance into your gift set - you can even choose a mood-enhancing aromatic ingredient to build your theme around. Try lavender for a bedtime mood, peppermint for invigoration, or sandalwood to centre the mind. Fill this hamper with bath bombs, salt scrubs, face masks, and body creams featuring the same ingredient of your choice. While they’re drying off post-soak, they’ll love to warm up with a hot drink, so add some luxury hot chocolate and a mug to their hamper.
The Food Hamper - Whether they’re an aspiring chef or know the difference between a vinho verde and an albariño, this hamper is ideal for your favourite foodie. If you’re curating a gift for a wannabe cook, source ingredients that are hard to find at their local supermarket. Help them experiment in the kitchen and elevate their home cooking with luxury olive oil, squid ink for fish lovers, and vegan truffle oil for plant-based chefs.
If they’re a food-lover who’d rather stay out of the kitchen, you could splash out on artisan cheese, chutney and crackers for a delightful night in. Add a bottle of wine that pairs well with your food choices, and don’t forget a luxurious dessert and scene-setting fragrance for the finishing touch!
The Green-Fingered Hamper - Everyone has a gardener in their lives, and the more you know about their garden the better. If they prefer plants, choose bulbs that will add beautiful colour to their garden. For ground-to-table gardeners, make sure you give them seeds for growing fruit and veg.
Not everything you gift your gardener has to be grown. You could add luxury sunscreen or hand scrub and lotion to keep their skin happy. A new pair of gloves or potting tools are always near the top of the list. And add candles or décor that elevate their outdoors.
The New Pet Hamper - Help them welcome a pet into their new forever home. This pawsitively adorable gift hamper can be filled with pet treats, toys and vouchers to a local pet store. New furry friends can come with new furry smells, so throw in an odour-neutralising scent that leaves behind a much fresher aroma!
The DIY Hamper - An ideal gift for the crafter in your life. If knitting and sewing is their thing, add fabric odds and ends, new needles and recycled yarns to your hamper. If they’re a DIY lover who’s a little green-fingered, buy them a bonsai tree to keep their hands occupied. For some unique self-care, a soap-making kit will transform their me time forever.
Add a chic little jar candle to your hamper, they can reuse the wax and upcycle the jar once it’s empty. If you’re unsure what to add, you could always cheat and add a voucher to their favourite craft shop too!
Now you’ve chosen your gifts, it’s time to start assembling your hamper at home. There’s only one place to start:
Container - What are you going to place all your items in? This can be as simple as a decorated cardboard box, or a wicker basket - perhaps you could reuse one from a hamper you’ve been given. If you want to make this hamper extra-special you can DIY the container part of the gift or decorate an existing one yourself.
For food-lovers, place everything in ceramic cookware or a serving tray. For gardeners, you could put it all in a terracotta planter or pot. And if you’re gifting to a crafter, gift everything in a ready-made crafting materials box. The possibilities are endless.
Filler - Try and fill your hamper with material that is recyclable and if possible, recycled. If you’ve got a shredder at home, then you’ll be able to reuse any shredded paper to help keep your gifts in place (just make sure you haven’t put any important documents through your shredder recently).
More eco-friendly ideas include recycled wood wool, which would give your hamper a rustic look. You could use scrunched up newspaper and cover it in a tea towel that’s part of your gift. Tissue paper is also an option if you have any left over from previous gifts you’ve been given - try not to buy new unless you know it’s recycled!
Gift Tags - DIY your own gift tags to add an extra personal touch to this hamper. You can cut shapes out of a range household items, like old greeting cards, extra wrapping paper or craft paper.
Go even more personal and cut a gift tag out of a magazine that fits the theme, think a gardening magazine for the green-fingered hamper. If you’re making a coffee-themed hamper, why not use various materials to create a paper takeaway cup in the same colours as their favourite coffee shop?
Packing and wrapping - Now it’s time to pack your hamper. Start with the bigger gifts to place at the back as they’re generally sturdier, then fill any gaps with smaller items. Always leave your favourite items until last so they can sit at the front of the hamper.
Remember to pack everything as tightly as possible if you’re posting your gift, with extra filler and packaging to make sure nothing rattles around or breaks. You may notice that some luxury brands wrap a hamper in cellophane, but that isn’t easy to recycle. So, it’s worth finding alternatives like fabric, recycled paper or collages of magazine pages to wrap your hamper.
