Eight of this year’s best Christmas hampers

For epicureans

Claridge’s Mayfair basket has all the essentials to make merry: there’s the full accompaniment of traditional treats and Laurent-Perrier champagne, plus a Fornasetti Burlesque candle, the Claridge’s cookbook, a Cecil Beaton cocktail book – and the pièce de résistance, a black apron with a gold logo. Claridge’s Mayfair Hamper, £795

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For Zen dens

Light the candle, dip the diffuser and chill out to the fragrance of a fig- and bergamot-filled garden. The geranium hand wash and lotion are an extra sensory treat for yourself, and it’s all presented in a white wicker basket. Daylesford Organic Scented Home Hamper, £135

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For cheese connoisseurs

If you like nothing better than swerving dessert for the cheese board (or indulging in both) at dinner, this truffle-infused selection could be for you. The cheese and biscuits are served on an olive-wood board complete with a Laguiole cheese knife. The Fine Food Specialist Ultimate Truffle Cheese Board, £108.95, and Christmas Hamper, £350

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For Bond wannabes

Like your martini dirty? This hamper has all the ingredients for a perfect cocktail (shaken, not stirred, naturally) including Monkey 47 Schwarzwald dry gin and dry vermouth. Pour into crystal martini glasses and serve with the complimentary salted almonds and olives. The Wolseley Dirty Martini Cocktail Hamper, £95

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For green fingers

A wicker basket brimming with gardening goodies – including an apron, a wildflower-seed box and a hand-forged trowel and fork – plus downtime treats such as a wood-bound journal and a Petersham Nurseries x Bermondsey Bees hand scrub. Petersham Nurseries Luxury Gardening Hamper, £390

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For new arrivals

Expecting good news over the holidays? Selfridges’ bundle of joy comes with a Liewood cotton Milo rabbit cuddle cloth, an organic-cotton bodysuit, salve and a muslin cloth set. Selfridges Mini Baby Hamper Gift Set, £100

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For no-compromise vegans

This Yuletide basket saves vegans from endless helpings of nut roast, with servings of mushroom pâté, olives and vegan-friendly Christmas pudding, washed down with spiced tea and dark drinking chocolate. Fortnum & Mason Vegan-Friendly Yuletide Hamper, £150

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For festive foragers

This palm-leaf foraging basket makes country walks more interesting. Inside is a collector’s kit: a mushroom knife with a beechwood handle, a tiffin tin and cotton foraging bags, as well as Nepalese lokta paper envelopes for seeds and scissors presented in a palm-leaf pouch woven by artisans in Cambodia (the basket itself is handmade in Morocco). There’s even a trusty guide in the form of John Wright’s book The Forager’s Calendar. Toast Foraging Hamper, £99, and Christmas Hamper, £135