Are Fortnum and Mason hampers worth it?

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They are indeed lovely, F&M. But I have 2 baskets in the loft awaiting a new home, and quite often end up putting stuff we don't like much in the food bank bin...

For a gift, fortnum and mason. I really really really like their food though, can definitely tell the difference although of course pay for the packing and name too.

@bellocchild 😂 wish you were my friend, I'd be round tonight to collect them 🤣

I'd be over the moon with an empty hamper, don't know how I'd react to a filled one 😂

Yes although I’d make up your own basket.

Yes they are expensive but the quality, luxury and service compared to any other hamper provider makes it worth it.

I spent £75 on a hamper from M&S and the size, contents and service were disappointing.

@TellMeItsNotTrue That would be a perfect solution! We don't much like the contents of the F&M hamper either, prefer Daylesford...

We’ve been lucky enough to have received quite a few of these over the years. They really are a treat.

If they like tea this www.fortnumandmason.com/fortnums-famous-classic-world-wooden-restaurant-box-90-silky-teabags

We received similar as a house warming present a few years back. Great fun trying all the teas & I have restocked with a variety of our favourite black, green & fruit teas.

I got a F&M wicker hamper as a leaving gift from my old team. I absolutely love it, down to the impractical hamper that I'll probably never use. I'd never buy myself something from there, so it was a wonderful treat.

I have to agree though that receiving a Fortnums hamper is a thing of delight. Our Christmas decorations are stored in them & we have another with odds & ends in the living room.

I send them every year and they are always well received But then, I love them so much I bought the tiny hamper Xmas tree decorations this year!!

The point of a hamper as a gift is the luxury; my father law took great pleasure in telling us that the Aldi hamper he sent us was the best value item for item of any hamper, but you know - also. Nothing in it that you couldn’t buy each week (& mostly dentist-scaring sugary stuff). The fortnum ones are Uber luxury and quality- most people don’t regularly do their shopping there and it’s a treat. A pack of Percy pig biscuits- not a treat, someone choosing a shop for you from the aisles you don’t normally go down.

I love wandering around F&M, particularly at Christmas. I've bought some of their products - while the tins were beautiful, we thought the biscuits tasted fairly average.

For me, you're paying a lot of money for the basket as the food content is pretty meagre for the money. In a double standard, I'd buy a hamper as a corporate gift but wouldn't for a personal present as I think it's poor value for money.

They are lovely but I would perhaps check that the recipient has room for a fairly large wicker basket!

I prefer the 'custom' baskets as you can really pick the bits and bobs you like (and pay for the correct size of hamper accordingly), available outside of Christmas.

Also, F&M have a hamper trade-in / repair service to fix them if needed (you do need to ferry the hamper over to Piccadilly), which is lovely!

I’m sending Ottolenghi hampers this year

Trying to shop local and I like these macknade.com/collections/all

www.marksandspencer.com/the-collection-berkeley-luxury-christmas-hamper/p/hpp60134916

Just send us this one - that'll do.

Thanks

We have been lucky enough to be given a few over the years and I always find the idea and opening them up far better than actually consuming them. We have given away so much random tea over the years, and the biscuits aren’t as good as Tesco finest. The best one we got was the cheese hamper that came with chutney, crackers, wine, port and a beautiful F&M cheese knife. That is the only one we have actually used and enjoyed everything from.

No? We got one when we moved into our new place and I didn't like the food and teas they gave me! 🙈🙈🙈 and gave it all to my mum

I've sent the Merry Maker one to the US this year but topped up with some extras (coffee, biscuits for cheese tin, musical biscuit tin, bag for life). It's in a handled huntsman basket but not an enormous one so hoping it'll be more useful and I felt happier adding the extras to bulk it out. I was limited in my selection though because they can't ship anything with booze in to the US. I'm hoping it'll have novelty value as much as anything else and the tins will act as keepsakes rather than stuff being entirely consumable (they're anglophiles!).

The resale value of the empty hampers is really high so if you factor that in makes them very reasonable - I use a medium hamper for shoes and debating buying a full hamper this year instead of buying a second empty
One on eBay

The baskets are lovely, the contents are nothing special and ridiculously overpriced. We get one sent to us every year or so by a client and whilst I can always find a place for the basket, it’s definitely the basket you’re paying the money for.

Whilst the stuff inside is not worth the £, F&M hampers are my go-to present when it's hard to find something to buy someone.

Every time I've done it, the recipient has seemed incredibly grateful and pleased to receive it.

I love F&M hampers but still think the lined Daylesford hamper baskets are the best

On a separate note, I do think F&M have sold out a little bit (in the sense that I feel a bit weird seeing influencers all receiving the same hampers and showing them off on Instagram, happened earlier in the year). I know it's just another form of advertising but I does feel a bit weird.

The Daylesford hampers also look very pretty.