From Christmas trees, to lovely decorations, festive tableware and of course, their extensive hamper offering, British high street favourite John Lewis is a great all-round place to do your seasonal shopping. This bestselling hamper is filled to the brim with classic treats and a generous amount of alcohol. Find out what we thought of the Spirit of Christmas hamper below.
| Information | John Lewis Spirit of Christmas Hamper |
|---|---|
| Best for: | Traditional festive treats |
| Alcohol: | Yes, x 3 bottles |
| Number of items: | 11 |
| Price: | £100 |
| Delivery: | UK delivery within 2 to 5 days, 8am - 8pm, Monday to Saturday. Free over £50 |
Initial impressions
One thing that is immediately striking upon opening up this hamper, is that it is not in a classic lidded wicker hamper with buckles. Although John Lewis do sell this type of hamper (see another of our top picks, the Festive Fireside hamper), the Spirit of Christmas is an open-top wicker gift basket. The basket is totally unbranded, making it prime for reusing - I think it would be great as extra bathroom storage.
Contents review
While there are many John Lewis hampers available on their website, as well as an array of specialised hampers from other brands, the Spirit of Christmas stood out as a crowd-pleasing and great value option, for its extensive range of traditional treats.
There are 11 items for £100, which includes a generous three bottles of alcohol - mulled wine, merlot and prosecco. With this averaging out at under £10 per item, this feels like one of the very best value for money hampers that we discovered in our research.
I enjoyed the balance between sweet and savoury items, and along with the range of alcohol, it means that this hamper covers a lot of bases in its product selection. Some of my highlights from the hamper were: the indulgent popcorn, the prosecco which is pleasingly fresh and crisp, the subtly spiced Christmas pudding biscuits, and the Serrano chilli crisps.
- Maple Falls Mulled Wine, 75cl
- Waitrose San Leo Prosecco, 75cl
- Cascading Cloud Special Reserve Merlot, 75cl
- Maxwell & Franks Cider Christmas Pudding, 350g
- Grandma Wild's Alcohol Free 4 Luxury Mince Pies
- Grandma Wild's Christmas Pudding Biscuits, 150g
- Savoursmiths Bubbly and Serrano Chilli Potato Crisps, 150g
- Holdsworth Exquisite Handmade Chocolates Assortment of Chocolates, 110g
- Grandma Wild's Mini Bites For Sharing Cheddar, 100g
- Joe & Seph's Gingerbread Gourmet Popcorn, 80g
- Cambrook Christmas Nuts, 75g
Suitability for gifting
I particularly like the open basket design of this hamper from a gifting point of view, as the selection of treats is immediately visible and temptingly arranged, peeping out of the top. You can't really go wrong with a gift like this, as the seasonal product selection is sure to appeal to most people. Whether you're struggling to decide what to buy for that one picky friend, or you're in need of a last-minute gift to take to your family Christmas, this hamper will undoubtedly receive a warm welcome from whoever it's given to.
Delivery
When ordering this hamper, you immediately fulfil the requirements for free delivery, which is always a welcome touch when you're shopping online. Even with the open-top basket design, the products stayed secure in the cardboard box that the hamper arrived in. The cardboard box wasn't excessively big for the size of the hamper.
Spirit of Christmas Hamper verdict
As John Lewis hampers go, we think that this is one of the very best value. For those not looking to veer too far from tried and tested Christmas snack classics, this is the hamper to go for.
