There’s something undeniably magical about receiving a proper luxury Christmas hamper. Not the supermarket version with three sad crackers and a tiny jar of chutney – I mean the kind that arrives like a small piece of furniture, wrapped in ribbon, heavy with promise, and makes everyone in the room stop talking for a second.
I’ve been lucky enough to open a few of these over the years, and honestly? Nothing says “I’ve made it” (or “I really like you”) quite like one. This year, with Christmas 2025 looking more indulgent than ever, the big names have truly outdid themselves. Here are the nine hampers that made me weakly whisper “take my money” – reimagined, tasted in my mind, and ranked by pure, unfiltered desire.
The 2025 Luxury Christmas Hamper Edit You’ll Wish You’d Seen Earlier
Let’s be clear – these aren’t budget-friendly. They range from “treat yourself silly” to “remortgage the house”. But if you’re going to splash out once a year, make it count.
1. The Reliable Crowd-Pleaser: John Lewis Fresh Christmas Feast (£500)
Every year I tell myself I’m too cool for department store hampers. Every year John Lewis proves me wrong. Their Fresh Christmas Feast is the one you buy when you want everyone around the table to be happy – no polarizing truffle oil or weird fruit vinegars here.
Inside the classic wicker basket you’ll find honey-glazed pork loin, properly smoky Scottish salmon, a wheel of Baron Bigod that melts like a dream, and a bottle of Petit Chablis that punches way above its weight. Add luxury mince pies that actually taste of taste real butter and a half-bottle of Champagne for breakfast mimosas, and you’ve got the hamper equivalent of a warm hug.
Order by 22 December and breathe easy.
2. Pure Mayfair Glamour: Claridge’s Mayfair Hamper (£1,195)
If Art Deco had a flavour, this would be it. Claridge’s doesn’t do “hampers” – they do lifestyle statements. The wicker basket comes with their signature striped crockery and glassware so beautiful you’ll use it long after the last olive is gone.
Their own gin (perfectly dry, hint of bergamot) sits alongside two bottles of Champagne, a Christmas pudding dense enough to use as a doorstop (in the best way), and the famous Claridge’s Cookbook. I’ve made their chicken pot pie – it’s obscene how good it is.
This isn’t just food – it’s theatre you can eat.
3. The “Close Your Eyes and Click Buy” Option: Harrods Ultimate Christmas Hamper (£5,500)
Yes, you read that right. Five and a half grand. But hear me out.
This isn’t one hamper – it’s three giant wicker baskets that arrive like Russian dolls of decadence. Beluga caviar, entire sides of smoked salmon, a cheeseboard with knives that cost more than my first car, and enough vintage Champagne to float a small yacht. There’s even a Harrods teddy bear wearing a silk scarf. At this point you’re not buying food – you’re buying bragging rights for life.
Email them directly. They like it personal at this level.
4. Proudly British Brilliance: Forman & Field Ultimate Hamper (£499.95)
Anyone who knows anything about smoked salmon knows Forman & Field. They’ve been curing fish in East London since 1905, and their salmon tastes like the fish swam into the smokehouse willingly.
The hamper is a love letter to British produce: Cropwell Bishop Stilton that weeps blue perfection, vintage Christmas pudding soaked in enough brandy to make your nan tipsy, potted lobster that’s basically seafood butter, and 30-year-old balsamic that costs more per millilitre than petrol. If you want to support proper artisans while eating like royalty, this is it.
5. Chocolate Heaven in a Trunk: Melt London Clarendon Hamper (£150)
Sometimes you don’t need an entire Christmas dinner in a basket. Sometimes you just need the best chocolate on earth.
Melt’s Clarendon trunk looks like designer luggage but opens to reveal drawer after drawer of handmade chocolates – sea-salt caramels that dissolve on your tongue, passion-fruit truffles that make you close your eyes, and chocolate bars so intense they should come with a warning. At £150 this is practically a bargain in the luxury hamper world. Buy two – one for giving, one for “quality control”.
6. Farm-to-Table Opulence: Daylesford Organic Christmas Day Hamper (£850)
Daylesford has built an empire on making organic feel sexy, and this hamper is peak Cotswolds fantasy. Everything tastes like it was picked/made/churned ten minutes ago.
- Caviar-grade sturgeon from their own farm
- Hand-cured ham studded with cloves
- A Christmas cake so moist it’s practically illegal
- Their famous cheese selection that makes supermarket cheddar taste like rubber
Plus branded crackers and a candle that smells like their spa. It’s the hamper equivalent of staying in a suite at their hotel without leaving home.
7. Cider Country Charm: The Newt in Somerset’s Very Newt Christmas (£145)
The Newt is the coolest hotel you’ve never heard of, set in hundreds of acres of orchards and gardens. Their hamper is pure countryside poetry.
Sparkling cider made from apples you can see from the bottling room, cider-brandy Christmas cake that warms you from the inside out, dark chocolate coins the size of your palm, and gin marmalade that makes toast exciting again. At £145 this is the one you buy for the person who “doesn’t need anything” – because everyone needs this.
8. Go Big or Go Home: Selfridges Very Big Christmas Hamper (£5,000)
Selfridges looked at Harrods’ £5,500 offering and said “hold my Dom Pérignon”. Ninety-two items. Ninety-two.
We’re talking an engraved silver ice bucket, a silver cocktail shaker, an entire Wiltshire ham on the bone, beluga caviar served with mother-of-pearl spoons, and enough Champagne to bathe in (please don’t). It’s so excessive it loops back round to genius. If you’re going to make a statement, make it deafening.
9. For Cheese Obsessives: Paxton & Whitfield Ultimate Paxton’s Hamper (£500)
Paxton & Whitfield has supplied cheese to the royal family since Queen Victoria’s day. They know their onions (and their Stilton).
This hamper is basically a cheese masterclass in a box: clothbound Cheddar aged to perfection, Colston Bassett Stilton at its creamy peak, award-winning Baron Bigod, plus wines chosen to match each one. There’s even a ceramic Camembert baker and proper cheese knives. If the recipient doesn’t cry with joy, check they have a pulse.
So Which One Should You Actually Buy?
Here’s my completely biased ranking:
- Best overall value luxury: Forman & Field (£499.95) – British excellence without the insane markup
- Best for wow factor: Claridge’s (£1,195) – pure theatre
- Best chocolate-only: Melt London (£150) – steal of the century
- Best for cheese lovers: Paxton & Whitfield (£500)
- Best “I’m not like other girls”: The Newt (£145)
The ones at £5,000+? They’re incredible, but honestly – unless you’re gifting a CEO or your future in-laws own a yacht, they’re showing off territory. Delicious, glorious showing off, but still.
Whichever you choose, order soon – these sell out faster than you can say “pass the port”. Here’s to a Christmas that tastes as good as it looks.
Cheers.
