The team at Christmas Hampers love baking. We just can’t wait to get started on our Christmas baking – but as it’s a little early we are busy in the kitchen with some all year round treats. This week we wanted to share our favourite gadgets with you.
Also as a special gift to Christmas Hampers readers Prezzybox are offering free delivery on all orders over £50 until 21st September. Just use the code “bakingweek”.

The 3 Minute Cupcake Maker

This is a revelation in cupcake making. We know that you can knock out a batch of cupcakes in about 20 minutes. But when you are craving cupcakes 20 minutes can sometimes be too long, especially if you have children clambering at your ankles
You can use the 3 minute cupcake maker with your own favourite recipe or for extra speed it will work just as well with your favourite shop bought cup cake mix.
It is really simple to use just let the Cupcake maker heat up for a few minutes, pour the mixture into each cake mould and close. You will have just enough time to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee to enjoy with your cupcake. Three and a half minutes later find a comfy chair, put your feet up and enjoy your cupcakes and coffee.
This would make a great Christmas present for the foodie who has everything.

Price £19.95

Read more about the The 3 Minute Cupcake Maker

Russian Doll Measuring Cups

Measuring cups are all the same right? Wrong! Oh so wrong. These are probably my favourite of the baking gadgets that we are looking at today.
A cross between measuring cups and Matryoshkas they just look so cute. If you are like me then you won’t be able to bare to hide them away in the cupboard with the rest of your baking stuff and will display them on the counter top.
This charming set of Matryoshka measuring cups contains 6 dry-measure cups that nest inside each other just like traditional Russian matryoshka dolls.
As well as looking good on your kitchen bench they accurately measure 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 and 1 full cup, and they’re built from heavy-duty, food-safe, long-life engineering plastics.

Price £9.95

Read more about the Russian Doll Measuring Cups

ABC Cookie Cutters

Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man. Hmmm, this gingerbread man was not so lucky.
Ginger bread men are one of my favourite biscuits, I like to try to make them a little comical, you know adding funny faces and body parts sometimes but get a bit annoyed that my ideas are just not that funny. These comical gingerbread man cutters let you bake your biscuits with bite marks built-in. The pack contains three different cookie cutters of pre-maimed Gingerbread Men. One is missing an arm, another a leg, and number three is headless. My friends found my headless gingerbread men a lot more amusing than when I get a bit too creative with icing.
The cutter are made to really high standards from cast aluminium so there are no seams or sharp edges and they’re easy to clean so you can spend less time washing and more time nomming.

Price £6.95

Read more about the ABC Cookie Cutters

Happy Birthday Cake Mould

If you are like me and full of good intentions but sometimes run out of time and end up baking in a last minute rush then this is for you. In the time it takes to create a disappointing victoria sponge that you have tried and failed to ice you can create a Happy Birthday Cake using this mould which will impress the lucky birthday boy or girl.
The mould leaves “happy birthday” expertly moulded on top.
This really is a case of minimum effort for maximum impact. You can even microwave the cake in 6 minutes if you need a cake even quicker.
The mould is made from food grade silicone, with a recipe embossed onto the rim.

Price £17.95

Read more about the Happy Birthday Cake Mould

The Hummingbird Bakery Cupcake Kit

The Hummingbird Bakery is the bakery of choice for any Londoner with a passion for great cakes. The Hummingbird Bakery Cupcake Kit brings the yumminess of their delicious recipes to your home. The book is full of irresistible recipes shared from the bakeries chef’s for a delicious range of 60 bakes, from deliciously light cupcakes with pretty buttercream frosting to moist chocolate layer cakes and zesty lemon meringue pie.
The Hummingbird recipes not only taste great but also look spectacular – without resorting to fussy recipes and hours in the kitchen. Yummy!

Price £12.95

Read more about the The Hummingbird Bakery Cupcake Kit

Christmas can be one of the most expensive times of the year and many people find it hard to save in advance and end up putting it all on their credit cards. Becoming a Park Hampers Catalogue agent can be a more flexible alternative to getting part time jobs.
Being a Park Hampers agent will let you help your friends and family save for Christmas at the same time as earning some extra money. So as well as helping your loved ones save you can also boost your Christmas savings.
It’s really easy to do. Imagine if you help a friend save £200 towards Christmas. If you earn 25% commission, that makes is £50. If you help them save £400 you could earn £100. You can see how quickly your commission would mount up.
As well as being more flexible than a part time job it is also really easy you give the Park Hampers catalogue to your friends and family then collect their Christmas orders and their first payment then send it Park Hampers.
The 25% is a great reason to become a Park Hampers Agent and to help others save but there are plenty of other reasons too. It is also great to know that you are helping your friends and family. You can choose the hours you work, and you will enjoy popping in to see your mates to collect their payments. There is also very little paperwork to do as you can manage pretty much everything on Park’s website.

Find out how to become a Park Hampers Agent

We all love chocolate, and chocolate hampers make a great gift at any time of the year and if you are buying a hamper for someone’s Christmas or birthday present you are bound to put a smile on their face.
We have scoured the internet and found our favourite chocolate hampers, ranging from a luxury hamper at £17, to a really indulgent Thorntons chocolate hamper at £99.

I realised this Yuletide that no matter how much we strive to make Christmas peaceful and relaxing it gets harder each year..

Every year people promise themselves that they won’t have a Christmas as stressful as the last again and that will organise themselves in time for next year.

They say that they will sort everything out in advance as well as saving up for their Christmas presents so they don’t need to put it on their credit card.

Every year the shops are full of more and more potential gifts, cards and stocking fillers tempting us to keep buying and go way over our budget (if we even had made a budget in the first place).

Christmas really should be a time for spending quality time with your friends and family. It should not be a time to stress and worry.

What’s past is past and we can’t alter it, but we can get our act into gear for next year by doing things differently and getting our self into gear.

So why not get yourself organised and have yourself an amazing Christmas.

To make next Christmas a piece of yummy cake all you need to do is follow a couple of easy steps.

You can knock off a few people from your Christmas list.

Write a list of everyone you tend to get presents for. Make sure you put everyone on there, no cheating.

Did you find that this list was linger than you expected? As well as your close friends and family you probably have a few extras that you get just in case they get you something.

Why spend most of the year paying off debt for that sake of presents for people who aren’t even that close. It is ridiculous when you think about it.

And you know for sure that not all the presents you buy will be appreciated ending up shoved in the garage, at the back of a drawer or on the next car boot sale.

Presents are one problem but they are not the only money black hole at Christmas, decorations, wrapping paper, Christmas cards also eat up a fair bit of cash.

Rather than wasting money on things that are not important, save your pennies and you can spend less, or treat the ones that you do care about more with the spare cash.

Start savings early and be able to afford Christmas.

So while cutting back on your spending can help it is just part of the process. Putting a bit of cash away every pay day will really help get your funds up for Christmas.

Many people get the Park Hampers Savings Scheme catalogue and save up for their gift from it during the year.

First of all you order their catalogue. You then choose what presents, food, drinks and hampers you want.

Every pay day when you are feeling flush you pay park a bit of money which is put towards your order.
You then make your last payment in November and Park will deliver all of your shopping direct to your door in plenty of time for Christmas leaving you free to relax.

Christmas saving made simple thanks to Park Hampers

Saving for Christmas is not always easy and many people struggle. Park Hampers have been helping people effortlessly save for Christmas for over 40 years.

So saving for Christmas can be easier than you think.

Making a debt-free Christmas a walk in the park

1. Order Park Hampers Catalogue

First of all you will need to get hold of a catalogue – you can order your Park Hampers Catalogue here. The you just choose what you’d like to order from the huge range of vouchers, toys, gifts and hampers and place your order online.

There are other ways to order if you don’t want to order online – see the catalogue for more details.

2. Save with Park

You make your first small payment when you place your Christmas order. You then make small regular payments towards your Christmas goodies until 1st November. So the sooner to place your order and start saving the smaller the payments will be.

3. Sit back and relax

Park will send you any vouchers you order in plenty of time for you to do your Christmas shopping. Toys, gifts and hampers will all also be delivered to your doorstep in time for Christmas. The only thing you need to do is put your feet up and wait for Parks delivery man to come knocking.

Order Park Hampers Catalogue

Who are Park Hampers

Park Hampers Savings Scheme

Save for Christmas 2010 with Park Hampers Savings Scheme.

Christmas should be about relaxing and spending time with you friends and family, and not about worry about how much money you are spending. Christmas is the most expensive time of year for most people.

Planning ahead can make Christmas less of a shock to your finances. If you save for Christmas in advance you can enjoy a debt-free Christmas, where you do not have to worry about how you are going to be able to afford all of the Christmas presents and festive food.

This is easier said than done and many people start off year with the intention of putting a little away each month. However, as time ticks on they realise that they keep putting off saving, saying that they will start next month or dipping into their savings during the year.
Park Hampers help over 400,000 families each year save for a debt-free Christmas.

It’s a piece of Christmas cake: after you order park hampers catalogue, you just choose what you would like to order for Christmas.

You then make easy regular payments. The sooner in the year you start saving with Park Hampers the less you will pay in each instalment.

Then, when everything is paid for by 1st November Park Hampers will deliver your shopping to your front door in loads of time for Christmas.

Over 400,000 families save with Park Hampers each year so the they can enjoy Christmas and spoil their family without worrying about scary credit card bills in January.

To find out more about how they can help you save for your dream Christmas order your free Park hampers catalogue online now.

How park hampers saving scheme works

Order Park Hampers Catalogue

Who are Park Hampers

If you are doing that last minute Christmas shopping and getting yourself all a fluster then stop stressing. There is still time to order your Christmas hampers and to make things even easier we have put together a list of hampergifts.co.uk 8 best sellers that would put a smile on anyone’s face this Christmas. So you can sit back and relax, put your feet up, pour yourself a glass of wine and chill out infront of the TV or whatever you want while hamper gifts make your christmas shopping a walk in the park.

8 Top Christmas Hampers

Christmas Treats Tower

This sure is one really impressive gift. It has 7 beautiful layers of gift boxes. Each box is full of scrumptious Christmas treats. These yummy delights include Belgian chocolates, sugared almonds, Turkish delights, a delightful Brandy Christmas Pudding and much more.
It will arrive on the doorstep of your someone special this Christmas beautifully gift wrapped with ribbon. Or you can of course have it delivered to you and deliver the gift by hand.

Price £37.95

Read more about the Christmas Treats Tower

The Christmas Carol Hamper

This is a great Christmas hamper for those shopping for a bargain.
It has a lovely bottle of Chilean wine as well as a delicious combination of sweet and savoury goodies. Gourmet Ginger Cookies, a Sweet Apple Chutney, Traditional Oatcakes, and Chocolate Coated Marzipans are presented in a handmade basket and gift wrapped with ribbon. This really a fantastic choice for friends, relatives, employees or colleagues.

Was £27.95

Now £24.95

Read more about the Christmas Carol Hamper

Christmas Surprise

Give someone a wonderful surprise this Christmas by giving them this amazing gift hamper. It is full of lovely Xmas treats such as Brandy Christmas Pudding, Chocolate Coated Nuts, mouth-watering Mince Pie, Organic Chocolates and much more.
This is a perfect Christmas present for everyone and a great way to wish the ones you love a merry Christmas.

Price £23.95

Read more about the Christmas Surprise Hamper

Deluxe Golden Tower

This delightful gift tower has 8 golden gift boxes packed with delicious sweet treats including sugared almonds, cinnamon biscuits, Belgian chocolates, gourmet cookies, chocolate coated brazils and much more. This amazing and unique gift has one surprise after another and is beautifully gift wrapped with ribbon and your personalised message.

Price £44.95

Read more about the Deluxe Golden Gift Tower

Christmas Joy Food Hamper

This superb collection of gourmet Christmas foods will guarantee a Merry Christmas for friends, family, staff or corporate customers. Our first class Food Gift is crammed with Christmas Favouries – Mulled Plum Jam, Smoked Fillet of Duck Terrine, Brandy Christmas Pudding, Apricots in Syrup, Dry Roasted Pistachio Nuts, Belgian Chocolate Pieces and a whole lot more!

Price £43.95

Read more about the Christmas Joy Food Hamper

Christmas Treasures

Celebrate Christmas with this hamper chock-full of Xmas treasures. A Christmas Fruit Cake, Hand Baked Savoury Biscuits, Belgian Chocolates, Duck Terrine and a medal winning Sauvignon Blanc are among the goodies presented in a beautiful lidded hamper with faux leather straps. An ideal yuletide gift for friends, family, staff or colleagues, this is the perfect way to say ‘Merry Christmas!’

Price £34.95

Read more about the Christmas Treasures hamper

The Grande Hamper

This first class food & drink hamper is overflowing with four bottles of wine – including two superb award winning treats – and a huge assortment of sweet & savoury delights. Organic honey, gourmet biscuits, fine Belgian chocolates, a rich fruit cake, and countless other little luxuries fill a gorgeous hand made wicker basket. Guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on your corporate clients, friends and family alike.

Price £104.95

Read more about the Grande Hamper

The Christmas Splendour

This lovely lidded basket is heaving with marvellous food and drink for a supreme hamper that captures the splendour of the season. To drink, we have a Stunning Rose Champagne, Ramos Pinto Reserve Port and a pair of Medal Winning Wines. The jam-packed basket includes a Spicy Plum Chutney, Apricots in Syrup, Tea, Coffee, Chocolates, Cookies, Pt, Mince Pie, Turkish Delights, a Whisky Fruit Cake and a myriad of other treasures. Guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on corporate clients and loved ones.

Price £149.95

Read more about the Splendour Christmas Hamper

Christmas hampers for less

Those lovely people at first 4 hampers are offeriing a 10% on all orders at First4hampers in the run up to Christmas.

Code – GEYIE102337 Promotion – 10% off any order Expires – 15th December 2009

They have a fantastic new range of Christmas Hampers and Gift Baskets which even include a free Christmas greeting card of your choice.

With a great range of Hampers and Gift Baskets from only £29.99 First4hampers have the perfect gift to make the festive season extra special.

Click here to see what First4hampers can offer you this christmas

7th heaven

Wow! This was my first thought when looking at this feast for the eyes and soon to be for the belly Christmas hamper. I would be very happy to be given one of these for Christmas.

It looks a bit pricy at £199.95 but when you look at what you get for your money pound for pound it works out to be great value when you see what you get.

Hamper gifts 10% discount extended

Hampergifts.co.uk have also extended their 10% offer, so until the end of November you can get this hamper at an even better price.

Code – Hamper-75 Promotion – 10% off any order over £75.00 (ex P&P) Expires – 30th November 2009

Chrismas Decadence

So this hamper is quite aptly named Christmas Decadence, and it certainly is the ultimate in decadence and pure indulgence.
This amazing hamper is jam packed with gourmet food and drink. Cognac, Champagne, Port and award-winning Wine are joined by an immense collection of fine foods and other treats for a luxury hamper that will really wow the recipient.

The Decadence Christmas hamper also includes a Block of Duck Foie Gras, Assorted Belgian Chocolate Pieces, Award Winning Scottish Blossom Honey, Wild Boar Pate, Gourmet Cinnamon Biscuits and a Whisky Fruit Cake to name just a few of the treats in store.

This hamper is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on corporate clients, friends and family alike.

Full hamper contents:

1. Lanson Black Label Champagne 75cl
2. Courvoisier VS Cognac 70cl
3. Ramos Pinto Collector Ruby Reserve Port 75cl
4. Peter Lehmann Weighbridge Shiraz 2006, Australia IWSC International Winemaker of the Year 2003 & 2006
5. Block of Duck Foie Gras 90g
6. Salmon Mousse with Dill 90g
7. Hand Made Cinnamon Puff Twist Biscuits 100g
8. 3 Christmas Spices in a Box – Cinnamon, Cloves & Nutmegs
9. Baronie Fine Assorted Belgian Chocolate Pieces 200g
10. Hand Baked Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper Flatbread 150g
11. Whisky Fruit Cake 120g
12. Kathy Chocolaterie Belgian Milk Choc Mousse Pieces 100g
13. Edinburgh Preserves Wild Boar Pt 180g
14. Taylors of Harrogate Cafe Brazilia 200g
15. Kathy Chocolaterie Assorted Belgian Chocolates 62g
16. Cottage Delight Strawberry Extra Jam 340g Gold Great Taste Award from The Guild of Fine Foods
17. Lindt Lindor Swiss Thins Milk Chocolate 125g
18. Edinburgh Preserves Scottish Blossom Honey 454g Gold Medal at the Great Taste Awards
19. Dry Roasted Pistachio Nuts 100g
20. Hand Made Sundried Tomato & Sesame Biscuits 100g
21. Johanna van der Horst Chocolates Truffles 80g
22. Chocolate & Ginger Cookies 100g
23. Alice McPhersons Luxury Scottish Border Pie 250g
24. Chocolate Nut Tree Chocolate Coated Macadamias 200g
25. Zentis Luxury Dark Chocolate Coated Marzipan 100g

The hamper is of course delightfully presented in a wicker basket. You can include a personalized message and have it delivered direct to the recipient and as a bonus the hamper also includes a cute baby teddy bear.

Price £199.99

Read more about the Decadence Hamper

If you’re struggling to decide what to buy a special man in your life this Christmas why not consider getting them a hamper. There are a wide range of Christmas hampers available that are full of treats that a man would love. Whatever his taste there will certainly be a hamper that he’ll love . We have rounded up the best “hampers for him” to help you with your Christmas shopping dilemmas.

If you order before the end of October you can take advantage of 10% off your order.

Code – Hamper-75 Promotion – 10% off any order over £75.00 (ex P&P) Expires – 31st October 2009

7 Top Hampers for Him

Luxury Beer Hamper

This is an amazing Christmas gift idea for anyone who loves their beer. It has 3 large bottles of the best English ales as well as a delicious range of other sweet and savoury snacks for example: gourmet biscuits, mixed olives, luxury shortbread, Belgian chocolate pieces and much more. This is a very unique and special way to give a beer gift this Christmas.

Price £37.95

Read more about the Luxury Beer Hamper

The Wonderful Whisky Hamper

This Whiskey Hamper is bound to impress. It is full of sweet and savoury snacks which include some hand baked biscuits, gourmet mixed nuts, delicious chocolate truffles, luxury shortbread and loads more. It is delightfully presented in a seagrass basket and gift wrapped with ribbon.

Price £34.95

Read more about the Wonderful Whisky Hamper

Champagne and Gourmet Food Gift

If you are looking for a gift for a special occasion this delightfully indulgent luxury champagne hamper will certainly fit the bill. It is presented in a beautiful wicker basket which is filled with a Lanson Black Label Champagne as well as a treasure trove of delicious gourmet food treasures – including hand made biscuits, award winning Pesto, Smoked Fillet of Duck Terrine, Belgian chocolates, stuffed vine leaves and much more. This hamper would make a great gift for for friends, family or clients male and female alike.

Price £62.95

Read more about the Champagne and Gourmet Food Gift

Red Wine in Presentation Gift Box

If you are looking for a gift for a red wine lover this superb Shiraz from award winning Australian producer Peter Lehmann would go down a treat. It is beautifully presented in an ornately decorated hardwood wine gift box. This really would make a great gift for any occasion or just to give your favourite wine drinker a treat.

Price £29.95

Read more about the Red Wine in Presentation Gift Box

The Indullgence

This magnificent hamper is truly decedent and indulgent for when you really want to impress. It is jam packed with gourmet foods, award winning champagne, a double gold medal whisky and a terrific bottle of fine red wine. The indulgent goodies include wild boar pate, Belgian chocolate pieces, gourmet mixed nuts, hand made cinnamon biscuits, an award winning strawberry preserve, Fresh Ground Brazilian Coffee and a huge range of treats. It is delivered gift wrapped with ribbon by hand and presented in a beautiful hand made basket. This hamper is really a gift to remember.

Price £124.95

Read more about the Indulgence

Whisky Surprise

This is a wonderful whisky hamper that includes a half bottle of Bells and a delicious range of treats including Belgian chocolates, vanilla fudge and a delicious fruit cake. Displayed in a gift wrapped hand made basket. It also includes and adorable free baby teddy bear.

Price £29.95

Read more about the Whisky Surprise

Red Wine and Wooden Gift Box

This is a great gift for a wine lover. A delicious bottle of Chilean Cabernet Carmenere is presented in a stunning cherry tone wooden wine box and comes with all the tools needed to get the most from that bottle, including a corkscrew, wine funnel, foil cutter. This is a great gift is suitable for Christmas but also perfect for pretty much any occasion.

Price £24.95

Read more about the Red Wine and Wooden Gift Box