Make an occasion extra special by gifting a homemade gift hamper

No gift is quite as charming as a hamper, is it? It’s an excellent choice if you’re looking to treat a loved one and we’ve made it easy for you by offering a variety of ready-made chocolate hampers which are perfect for any occasion and any budget.

However, if you want to make yours a little more bespoke and want homemade hamper ideas, we can help with that too. Knowing what to put in hampers can be tricky, so have a read of this guide to make sure yours are filled with lots of love and sweet treats that your recipient will adore.

Under £20 budget hamper

When you want to give a beautiful gift but don’t have a lot to spend, a hamper is perfect because the thoughtfulness behind it will shine through – even the smallest gift hamper can say a lot about how much you care.

If you want to keep costs under £20 and are unsure of what things to put in a hamper, we recommend including a few bags of our very affordable selector chocolates, which come in a variety of types and flavours. You should cater to your loved one’s preferences, for example, if the recipient is nutty for nut chocolate, you could include a selection of chocolate nut selectors such as our chocolate cashew nuts selector or our chocolate peanut butter bar.

To give your hamper a touch of extra warmth, you may like to include some luxury hot chocolate, such as our fiery ginger hot chocolate or our Black Forest Gateau hot chocolate. You could also slip in a £5 gift card so they can treat themselves to something of their choosing next time they’re in a Hotel Chocolat store.

Under £50 hamper

If you have a little more money to play with, you can create a slightly bigger hamper that includes even more delightful goodies. We recommend including a little bit of everything so they can enjoy a variety of treats.

We may be slightly biased, but we believe that a nice box of chocolates is a must; our Everything Sleekster would be especially perfect for an under £50 hamper. Featuring 27 iconic chocolates, it gives recipients the chance to try a whole host of flavours. From our caramel cheesecake chocolate to our dizzy praline, your loved one will get to try our most beloved offerings. Variety is the spice of life, and it’ll certainly be the spice of this gift hamper.

Make sure you include some chocolate in joyous liquid form, like our groundbreaking salted caramel and clementine hot chocolate or, if you want your liquid chocolate to have an alcoholic kick, you could include our refreshing mint chocolate cream liqueur. To add a little extra sparkle, we recommend finishing it off with something really unusual, like our orange macarons which provide the lovely balance of creaminess and tanginess.

Under £100 hamper

If you’re putting together a hamper under £100, you’ll be able to include a large variety of scrumptious treats.

Our Patisserie Luxe box of chocolates would be a dreamy addition. It’s choc-full of 44 delicious chocolates inspired by classic pastries, puddings, and pies. You’ll find a cinnamon bun chocolate, a carrot cake chocolate, and even a custard tart chocolate. Costing just £35.95, you can put this in your hamper and still have enough of your budget left to include many more treats.

Everyone loves a biscuit, so a tin of our Chocolat Shortbreads would be a pleasing addition to this hamper. Featuring a layer of melt-in-your-mouth shortbreads in a creamy chocolate coat, biccies don’t get any better than these. Biscuits are even better when they’re dunked so you may like to include some delicious coffee so your recipient can enjoy them with a nice brew.

If you have a little money left over, you may like to include a nice bottle of wine to really treat your loved one.

Luxury hamper fillings

If you want to make a hamper that’s bursting with luxury, we have plenty of sumptuous products that would make perfect fillings.

If you want a stand-out item to take centre stage, you might like to include our Everything Luxe box of chocolates. Featuring 44 of our customers’ favourite chocolates including our insatiably smooth Mousse au Chocolat, alcoholic chocolates such as Champagne Truffle, and dessert-inspired morsels such as creamy white chocolate Eton Mess, it’s unparalleled.

In our books, anything that features salted caramel tastes luxurious, so it’s a must-have item when you’re putting together a luxury hamper. It’s even more decadent in boozy liquid form, so you might like to include our salted caramel vodka liqueur or salted caramel chocolate cream liqueur in your hamper and if you want a more wholesome luxury option, consider our salted caramel hot chocolate.

What to put in hampers for her?

When you’re putting together a gift hamper for a special lady, make sure you consider including our Pink and Classic Champagne Truffles Tin. Featuring a splash of real Mercier champagne, these truffles are ultra- luxurious and they come in a gorgeous little tin which is perfect for storing jewellery or knick-knacks in long after the truffles have been enjoyed.

Any lady is also sure to love our Raspberry Macarons. With an airy raspberry whip filling sandwiched between two caramel milk disks, these would be a divine gift to include in your hamper. They’d be especially luscious when accompanied by some mellow white hot chocolate, so you may like to include our vanilla-white hot chocolate in the hamper.

To really make it special, you could include some items that will help your recipient pamper herself, such as a fruity face mask and a nice scented candle.

What to put in hampers for him?

If you’re putting together a homemade gift hamper for a special man in your life, you’ll probably want to include some booze. A bottle of velvety chocolate cream featuring an edge of vodka and an injection of caffeine, our velvetised espresso martini cream liqueur would be perfect for any man.

Dark chocolate is also a favourite so you could include a box of our Signature Dark Chocolates for him to enjoy. Or go for our Chilli Dark Hot Chocolate, which is sure to add an unusual and exciting kick to their homemade hamper.

Additionally, you may like to include some savoury treats as well. Think posh crisps and nuts, and maybe even a bottle of craft beer to wash them down with.

Homemade hamper for grandparents

A hamper is sure to delight any grandparents, especially if it’s filled with all their favourite goodies.

We’re sure you’ve enjoyed ice cream at your grandparents’ house many times. Why not return the favour by treating them to our unique caramel cheesecake Macaron Collection?

Most importantly, include some hot chocolate (to make sure they’re stocked up for when you visit…). Bursting with creamy cacao, our Milky 50% Hot Chocolate would be perfect. Finish the hamper off with something that’ll make a tasty nightcap, like our Cacao Gin. A bottle of London gin infused with an irresistible cacao taste, it’ll be unlike any gin they’ve ever tasted.

You may also like to add in a jar of fancy jam, cheese and crackers, and even some retro sweets that’ll remind them of their childhood.

Themed hampers

A themed hamper makes a really thoughtful gift. The best part? You’ll probably enjoy making it just as much as your recipient will enjoy receiving it.

For a themed hamper, you could simply build one around your recipient’s favourite type of confectionery. For example, if you know someone who loves caramel, you can curate a hamper full of chocolate oozing with caramel. If you want to make a very grown-up hamper, you could pick booze as a theme, and include some of our unique liqueurs like our salted caramel liqueur or our Alcoholic Truffles.

A hamper is also a great idea for holidays like Christmas and Easter. Then, you can fill them to bursting with our yummy festive treats. Whatever the occasion, a themed hamper will always bring joy.

How to make a hamper look nice

Making your hamper look nice is half the fun, so get creative. A wicker basket is a traditional and charming choice, so you may like to purchase one of those. There’s no need to buy anything special, it’s what’s inside the hamper that counts after all. You could upcycle any cardboard boxes that you have around the house into hamper holders, which is an economical and environmentally-friendly choice. When it comes to decoration, a bow is perfect – the bigger the better. So, get some ribbon and have a ball!

If your homemade hamper doesn’t look super polished, don’t worry! The eclectic, imperfect look of a homemade hamper is what makes it so charming and unique. We promise your recipient’s eyes will light up when they receive it regardless of what it looks like.