YOU may think a Christmas hamper is a luxury – but it doesn’t need to break the bank.
Fortnum & Mason’s cost up to £200 and even an M&S one can be £50.
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Many of us will be feeling generous enough to spend that sort of money on our loved ones – but have you thought of making your own?
We bought a £5 basket from Dunelm then visited different supermarkets to fill it with goodies for £20 or less.
Lynsey Hope lists what she put into each DIY hamper and then rates each one out of ten.
Tesco
£19.80
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Bella Cucina Prosecco, £4.75
Iced Rich Fruit Cake, £3
Extremely Chocolatey Biscuit Selection, £4
Merry Mince Pie Fudge, £1.20
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Parmesan & Garlic Twists, £1.85
Basket, £5
THIS bottle of fizz was the cheapest I found on sale and really bulks up the hamper, making it look impressive.
The fudge and biscuits were delicious too.
It’s a little pricier than Aldi and Lidl overall and I could only include five items, compared to seven at Aldi and six at Asda and Lidl.
RATING: 6/10
Lidl
£20.10
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Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore, £6.99
All Butter Mince Pies, £2.19
Mini Panettone Chocolate Chip, £1.35
Milk Chocolate Santa, £1.09
Spiced Biscuits, £1.99
All Butter Mini Stollen, £1.49
Basket £5
THE stand-out here is the Prosecco, which was really delicious for £7.
I had worried it was a big chunk of the budget but as everything else is so cheap this was our fullest hamper.
It was overflowing and all tasted delicious and very festive.
Top marks for Lidl.
RATING: 9/10
M&S
£20
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M&S Mini Marks & Sparkle, £4
Luxury Gold Light Up Tea Bag House, £5
Caramelised Red Onion Chutney £3
Chocolate Spencer Bear, £3
Basket £5
THERE’S been a lot of stuff on social media about M&S being cheaper than Aldi – it isn’t.
You don’t get much for your money here.
That said, the gifts are really lovely and would be really well received by anyone.
There were lots of nice offerings for kids at M&S too, including the Spencer Bear that I included.
RATING: 7/10
Asda
£20.50
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Brown Butter & Spiced Dark Rum Shortbread, £3
Frangipane and Amaretto Mince Pies, £2.75
Italian Olive Oil Crostini, £1.35
Mini Pandoro, £2
Mulled Wine, £4.50
Cherry Amaretto Jam, £1.90
Basket, £5
LOTS of gifts for your money and some of the Christmas products are delicious.
These flavoured mince pies were yummy, as was the shortbread and jam.
Lots of these items felt a bit special, which is just what you want.
RATING: 7/10
Sainsbury’s
£19.85
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Sticky Toffee Pudding Fudge, £2.50
Spiced Blood Orange Passionfruit & Berry Fizz, £3.50
Parmesan & Garlic Twists, £2
Christmas Chutney, £1.85
Mixed Florentines Selection, £5
Basket £5,
ALL the items were well packaged and made lovely gifts.
I managed to get five products in budget including the delicious fizz.
The fudge went down a treat too.
RATING: 8/10
Aldi
£19.27
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Kooliburra Merlot, £4.15
Milk Chocolate Orange & Honeycomb Crunch Slab, £1.49
Chocolate Panettone, £1.25
Cheeseboard Cracker Selection, £2.89
All Butter Mini Mince Pies, £1.75
Hotel Collection No.3 Pomegranate Luxury Hand and Body Wash, £1.99
Dairyfine Milk Chocolate Coins, 75p
Basket £5
THE amount you could buy at Aldi was impressive, my basket was loaded.
The honeycomb chocolate was delicious, as were the mince pies, and there are lots of beauty and fragrance gifts to add in if you like.
RATING: 9/10
Morrisons
£19.85
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Deep Filled Mince Pies, £2.50
Gruyere and Poppy Twists, £1.85
All Butter Scotch Shortbread, £6
Winter Warmer Mulled Wine, £2.50 All Butter Fudge, £2
Basket, £5
FIVE products here but it looked impressive, with a big tin of shortbread, mulled wine and fudge.
The fudge was really yummy and the products were good quality.
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Festive as the wine is, I would have preferred bubbles – but it would have taken too much out of the budget.
RATING: 9/10
