Send a Hamper - Hampers and Christmas Hampers – Virginia Hayward

Valentine's Day at Virginia Hayward

2012-01-18T06:03:00.001-08:00

There’s no chance to miss Valentine’s Day, so to make the gift choosing part as easy as possible, we’ve come up with a whole host of delicious gifts which are guaranteed to be well received:

Celebration Fizz – a white chocolate heart and a bottle of bubbles, presented in a bright red gift box. It’s not subtle, but who ever found that subtlety works on Valentine’s Day?!
http://www.virginiahayward.com/item/celebration-fizz-694/
Champagne and Chocolate Covered Strawberries – Champagne is always a winner and although these aren’t fresh strawberries, they’re expertly smothered in creamy white chocolate by our friends at Chocca Mocca, so I’d argue that they’re a fraction better than plain old fresh strawberries!
http://www.virginiahayward.com/item/champagne-and-chocolate-covered-strawberries-693/
Champagne and Teddy – A cute and cuddly Teddy wearing a heart shaped jumper, travelling with his own bottle of Champagne. What’s not to like?
http://www.virginiahayward.com/item/champagne-and-teddy-690/

We’ll add your heartfelt message to the gift and make sure that it’s delivered on time, on Tuesday 14th of February.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/valentines-day-at-virginia-hayward/ .

Personalised Gifts Available

2011-11-30T09:44:00.001-08:00

Encouraged by the success of YourHamper.com, our sister site, we’ve increased our range of personalised hampers and gifts to include 4 new gift hampers and gifts, all of which can be individually personalised with your special message.

Simply enter your gift message as normal when prompted during the checkout and we’ll print that message directly onto the box lid for our white gift boxes or wooden hampers boxes, or we’ll create an individual leather tag for the hampers.

There’s a personalised gift to suit every budget, from the Personalised Wine Duo at £32.50, through to the Personalised Christmas Gift Box at £85. You can see the full range here: Personalised Christmas Hampers, or feel free to browse our range of Christmas hampers.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/personalised-gifts-available/ .

We're exhibiting at the BBC Good Food Show (23-27 Nov)

2011-11-23T01:37:00.001-08:00

Our sister site, www.yourhamper.com is getting out and on the road, with a stand at the country’s largest food show. Drop in and see us at the NEC in Hall 6, stand J50 where you can meet the team, see how we put together our fantastic, unique gifts and take a tour of the website. If you’re very lucky indeed, we may treat you to some of the delicious products that we fill our hampers with!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/were-exhibiting-at-the-bbc-good-food-show-23-27-nov/ .

Virginia Hayward Raise £7,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support

2011-10-11T01:12:00.001-07:00

2011 has been a year of enthusiastic fundraising here at Virginia Hayward. As part of Macmillan’s centenary fundraising efforts, we were invited to be 1 of 100 businesses in Dorset who would attempt to raise £1,000 before the end of the year. We accepted the challenge with relish and this year has seen staff pulling out all the stops with Car Boot sales, a sponsored swim, a Quiz Night and much more.

Our most ambitious venture saw a group of 10 staff take to the hills for a 28 mile walk from the Atlantic to the English Channel across Cornwall, following the Saint’s Way from Padstow to Fowey, which raised £3,500 alone.

We were delighted to present a cheque for £7,009 to Chrissie Wathen-Neal, Fundraising Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, who also took the time to come in and speak to us about the valuable role that Macmillan play in the care of people living with cancer.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/virginia-hayward-raise-7000-for-macmillan-cancer-support/ .

Christmas Range Now Launched!

2011-08-23T02:07:00.001-07:00

At Virginia Hayward, it’s rare that a day will go by with no mention of Christmas, so although the sun is probably shining and it’s still nice and warm outside, Christmas is only 120 or so days away. We’ve been working hard this summer to make our gifts for this Christmas better than ever, so I’m pleased to announce that we have now launched our range of Christmas Hampers and gifts for 2011. We have gift trays, smaller gifts and wine gifts available from £16.50, through to our largest luxury hamper at £550. In response to demand we’ve expanded our range of personalised hampers and gifts and are looking forward to printing individual gift messages directly onto box lids or hamper tags. You can see the full range of hampers here.

Our popular range of sweet hampers continue to sell well and will also be available for sale this Christmas. We’ve added ‘Best of British Sweets’, a charming Union Jack tin full of classic sweets. Also on the sweet theme, we’ve developed a new version of last year’s hugely popular Chocolate Box.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/christmas-range-now-launched/ .

Hampers for Summer

2011-06-21T03:50:00.001-07:00

Summer might be making a feeble effort so far this June; it’s another drizzly grey day in Dorset, but that hasn’t put a dampener on things at Virginia Hayward where we’re busy doing our best to bring a ray of sunshine with our bright, colourful and tasty summer gifts.

Come rain or shine, barbecue enthusiasts will be found charring their food in campsites, on the beaches or anywhere else that the urge takes them, so why not get them burning things in style with our tough little barbecue bucket.

Or if your recipient prefers to be less involved with their food, but still appreciates al fresco dining, then the Afternoon Tea Gift might be just the thing for them, filled with delicious treats. Enjoyed best on a summer afternoon!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/hampers-for-summer/ .

Father's Day - Sunday 19th June

2011-06-14T00:53:00.001-07:00

If you haven’t yet found the ideal gift for Father’s Day, then don’t panic! There’s still plenty of time for you to choose a fantastic gift from Virginia Hayward. Despite the best efforts of the weather over the weekend to persuade us otherwise, summer is now here, so why not treat Dad to a barbecue bucket full of nibbles and condiments to complement an impromptu barbecue at the beach, in the park or anywhere else that takes your fancy!

We have more traditional hampers to choose from too, so you’re sure to find a gift which will suit every taste and budget.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/fathers-day-sunday-19th-june/ .

Royal Bath and West Show 2011

2011-06-06T02:19:00.001-07:00

Thank you to those of you who we were lucky enough to meet at the Royal Bath and West Show this year.

As Yourhamper.com is a very new website, this year’s show has been the first where we’ve been able to get out and meet the public to explain how the site works and just what you can do with your hamper. I’m very pleased to say that we were very warmly received and that the people that we spoke to loved the opportunity to be able to create gifts which exactly suited their recipient and would be ideal for those tricky people to buy for.

We were blessed with 4 really lovely days, with unbroken sunshine on Thursday and Friday – ideal weather for the ‘Monti Show’, as Monti climbed to the top of the worlds largest skypole and began to stand on his head, far above the awestruck crowds.

The highlight of the show was to present at £100 hamper as a prize to the winner of the Ladies Day ‘Best Dressed’ Competition.

We took lots of photos, which you can see here:

Royal Bath and West Show – click here to see more photos

Ladies Day ‘Best Dressed’ Competition – click here to see more photos

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/royal-bath-and-west-show-2011/ .

Visit our sister site, Yourhamper.com at the Royal Bath and West Show - 1st to 4th June

2011-06-02T06:30:00.001-07:00

Visit the Yourhamper stand at the Royal Bath and West Show between the 1st and the 4th June. We’re showing a vast array of personalised hampers and gifts, so come along and have a look. We’d love to meet you.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/visit-our-sister-site-yourhamper-com-at-the-royal-bath-and-west-show-1st-to-4th-june/ .

Gifts for Father's Day

2011-05-24T03:05:00.001-07:00

Father's Day is little more than three weeks away, so it's time to start thinking what to get for Dad on his special weekend this year. If he's likely to spend another year pretending to love the socks, ties and underpants that have been bought at the last minute, why not try something imaginative like our Barbecue Bucket, or the Cooler Basket, if he's the type who likes to eat outside? There's lots more available in our Father's Day Hampers and Gifts section.

This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/gifts-for-fathers-day/ .

New Gifts for the Summer

2011-05-05T06:31:00.001-07:00

To get you in the mood for the scorching summer that we’ve all got our fingers crossed for, we’ve created four new gifts, perfect for the upcoming season.

There’s something for sportsmen, gardeners, barbecue enthusiasts and picnic lovers:

Rounders Set – play this traditional English game with our wooden set, including bat, ball, stumps and a canvas bag.
Cooler Basket – Just like a cool bag, except it’s a cool-lined wicker basket which we’ve stuffed full of picnic foods!
Barbecue Bucket – A selection of dressings and snacks perfect to accompany a barbecue, which you can have anywhere using this sturdy barbecue bucket.
Gardener’s Gift – Gardeners will be hard at it this summer, so reward yours with this special gift for the green-fingered.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/new-gifts-for-the-summer/ .

Limited Edition Royal Wedding Hamper

2011-04-13T05:11:00.001-07:00

As a celebration of all things British and with a Royal Wedding in the offing, what better time to show your support (and a metaphorical doff of the cap) to Wills and Kate! But what is a cup of tea without biscuits? Sorely lacking we feel, so there’s a packet of our most loved – Raspberry Shortcake from Cairnsmhor Fine Foods – nestled in this very British Royal Wedding Hamper. Perfect for the dedicated royalist, as a memento of this special day, or simply for those who like a Union Jack present while they take tea! Take advantage of our European Delivery service to send this gift to loved ones overseas.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/limited-edition-royal-wedding-hamper/ .

Choose an Easter Gift this Easter!

2011-04-01T05:17:00.001-07:00

When everybody else is giving Easter Eggs this Easter, why not try something a little different and indulge in a proper Easter gift? Presented in a decorative gift box with a cheerful Easter design in our Easter Gift you’ll find a bag of Mini Eggs and Fairtrade Chocolate Orange pieces from Choc-affair, along with Lemon Biscuits for that spring feeling. Tea and cake are a perfect combination throughout the rest of the year and Easter is no exception. Go on, spoil someone this Easter!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/choose-an-easter-gift-this-easter/ .

Mother's Day Hampers Now Available

2011-03-09T03:16:00.001-08:00

If there is any doubt in your mind, or you're prone to forgetfulness, please make a note that Mothering Sunday is on the 3rd of April this year. Now there’s no excuse for forgetting! At Virginia Hayward we’ve had the weekend in mind for some time now and have been able to create a tempting selection of Mother’s Day hampers and gifts specifically designed to make Mothering Sunday one to remember.

From a gift box full of treats, including our exclusive Jean Pernet Champagne, which can be personalised with your special message printed directly onto the gift box through to gardening gifts and smellies especially for ladies, you are certain to find a special gift for a special Mum.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/mothers-day-hampers-now-available/ .

Has spring sprung?

2011-02-16T01:16:00.001-08:00

Listening to the radio this morning, the topic of hot debate was whether or not spring had indeed sprung. There’s little such confusion at Virginia Hayward, where on this glorious morning, Spring has most certainly made an appearance.

To reflect the new season (and the emergence of the first brave daffodils!), our hampers website has changed its appearance to a bold green and yellow look, which we hope will put you in the mood for Spring!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/has-spring-sprung/ .

Hampers for Valentine's Day

2011-02-04T02:34:00.001-08:00

Valentine’s Day is your annual opportunity to shower your loved one with gifts for no real reason at all. Since the celebration’s origins in Roman times, lovers have shown their affection for each other in various ways.

Sadly, what our ancestors wouldn’t have been able to do is choose a Valentine’s Day hamper or gift from the Virginia Hayward range! With the opportunity to personalise your gift with a special message that we’ll print directly onto the packaging, or to send a Valentine’s teddy bearing a bottle of Champagne, it seems that Valentine’s Day has never offered so much choice.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/hampers-for-valentines-day/ .

Valentine's Day Gifts are Now Available

2011-01-21T07:08:00.001-08:00

No sooner has Christmas passed and life starts to return to something resembling normality, than Valentine’s Day arrives in blaze of flowers, champagne and hopelessly romantic gifts.

We have the tried and tested Champagnes, chocolates and cuddly toys, with pink Champagne, finest Belgian chocolates and pink truffles available. For the cost conscious, as it’s not always about how much you spend, we also have a fantastic pink Pinot Grigio and truffles for your loved one.

For something really personal though, you can choose our ‘Personalised Valentine Gift‘, where we’ll print your message directly onto the gift box, as if Champagne, flutes, candles and delicious chocolates to share (or not!) weren’t enough already!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/valentines-day-gifts-are-now-available/ .

Merry Christmas, it's almost here!

2010-12-24T01:46:00.001-08:00

It has been a hectic month in the world of Christmas Hampers and finally the pace has slowed sufficiently that there is time to reflect and write a short blog post to thank all of our loyal customers for choosing Virginia Hayward to send their festive wishes.

We’ve learnt a vast amount this season, thanks to the frank feedback that we’ve been getting from our customers which is now being read by visitors to the site, both old and new. Where we’ve made mistakes, we will endeavour to learn from them and make the changes that mean that they won’t happen again and equally, where we’re getting things right we’ll continue as we were and hope to improve if we can. There have been many challenges this year, not least the weather, but I sincerely hope that the (on occasion almost superhuman) efforts of our staff have paid off and that each and every hamper that we’ve been asked to deliver this Christmas has arrived safely.

It remains only to wish a very Merry Christmas to one and all from all at Virginia Hayward. We hope to see you again in 2011, for Christmas and all occasion in between.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/merry-christmas-its-almost-here/ .

Listening to our Customers

2010-11-24T01:41:00.001-08:00

We’ve always taken in pride in the fact that we listen to our customers and try to act on your suggestions and feedback to improve both our Christmas hampers and our service.

We know that people are sometimes don’t have the time to comment unless their experience has been one of two extremes, so we’ve gone a step further and made it even easier for our customers to provide their views on every part of the order process, from the first click onto the website, to the parcel arriving in their hands and beyond.

We’ve teamed up with independent review specialists, Feefo, who contact all of our customers with a 15 second survey, where customers can express their views on both our service and our products. We’re not allowed to edit the feedback in any way, other than to respond to points made by customers, so we really are taking on board the points raised by customers, both good and bad to see if we can improve our Christmas hampers and our service.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/listening-to-our-customers/ .

Even More Gifts Launched for Christmas

2010-11-16T09:33:00.001-08:00

It’s little more than a month until Christmas and we've launched another 30 gifts to give you more choice than ever at Christmas time.

We haven’t restricted ourselves to Christmas hampers though; there’s the Winter Teddy, in his knitted woollen jumper, or 5 new gifts that we’ll personalise with your gift message directly onto the packaging. New to the range are a trio of ‘Edinburgh Preserves’ gifts, all packaged in a smart black gift boxes delivered directly to your recipient.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/even-more-gifts-launched-for-christmas/ .

New Range of Personalised Gifts Launched

2010-11-04T04:10:00.001-07:00

Spurred on by the success of our recently launched sister site, YourHamper.com and the interest in our Personalised Sweet Cube, we’ve grown our range of personalised hampers and gifts to include 4 new gifts, each of which can be personalised with your special message.

There’s a personalised gift to suit every budget, from the Personalised Sweet Cube at £22.50, through to the Personalised ‘Turtle Dove’ Christmas Gift Box at £85. You can see the full range here: Personalised Christmas Hampers, or feel free to browse our range of Christmas hampers.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/new-range-of-personalised-gifts-launched/ .

The Gift Box - Win a £50 Hamper

2010-10-25T09:02:00.001-07:00

We’re asking food lovers to help us, as we’ve created a fantastic gift box, but can’t decide what to call it!

It’s easy to enter, simply send us an email at sales@virginiahayward.com, using ‘Name the Hamper Competition’ in the subject line, along with your name, address, telephone number and proposed hamper name. Alternatively, complete your details on our ‘Contact Form‘ or send a letter to Virginia Hayward Ltd, Blynfield, Stour Row, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 0QW.

Can’t possibly wait? Want to send a hamper to a friends, family or colleagues? Have a look at our full range of Virginia Hayward Hampers, or the nameless gift box itself – we’re certain that you will find the perfect gift!

Find out more and enter here: http://www.virginiahayward.com/name-the-hamper

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/the-gift-box-win-a-50-hamper/ .

First Brochure - Christmas 1984

2010-10-22T02:55:00.001-07:00

As we approach Christmas, we’re only a few weeks away from distributing our 2010 brochure. In keeping with tradition, it’s laden with all sorts of goodies for Christmas, from the traditional Christmas hampers that you know and love, through to personalised sweetie gifts, picnic gifts, fresh foods and much more in between.

So, whilst thinking of the forthcoming brochure, my mind inevitably began to wander back to brochures of the past and came to rest on the first brochure ever produced by Virginia Hayward, for Christmas 1984.

Set on a plain green background, the cover features two angelic girls rifling through a Christmas hamper at the foot of a Christmas tree in front of a roaring fire. The cover boasts ‘Virginia Hayward’s Selection of Traditional British Good Taste’ and could hardly be more Christmassy!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/first-brochure-christmas-1984/ .

New Look Website for Christmas

2010-10-12T00:14:00.001-07:00

It’s little more than 73 days and 16 hours to go until Christmas, so we’ve decided to fully embrace the festive season and get the website into its winter clothes.

This year we’re featuring the Santa and sleigh design which you can also find on the Virginia Hayward Christmas Hampers brochure. In the brochure you can find many more designs like this, such as the Christmas angel, designed around a triangular wedge of Stilton to promote our Fresh Foods category, or the Champagne bottle bursting with retro sweets for the ‘Sweet and Sparkling’ category.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/new-look-website-for-christmas/ .

Product Spotlight: The Christmas Box - £14.99

2010-10-04T04:45:00.001-07:00

Finding a cost effective hamper for Christmas can sometimes be a challenge; browsing around the Virginia Hayward website you can find hampers all the way up to £500, which can be a little bit daunting if you’re trying to say Merry Christmas to friends, family or colleagues with one eye on the cost.

However, we’ve given the problem some considerable thought and have come up with the ‘Christmas Box‘, which is a little taste of Christmas, perfect to pass on your season’s greetings without breaking the bank. The charming gift box is a delightful attempt to prove that sometimes good things come in small packages.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/product-spotlight-the-christmas-box-14-99/ .

Personalisation, Photos and Sweets!

2010-09-22T10:07:00.001-07:00

Have you checked out our new website at yourhamper.com? As you may have gathered from previous posts, this new service allows you customise and personalise your hamper with a design and image.

At Virginiahayward.com we have a full selection of Christmas hampers and gifts as well as our all year round range. Not surprisingly, what with a large number of students starting university, we have seen a large increase in the number of sweet gifts such as our Tear and Share hamper. A great way to make friends in those first few weeks!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/personalisation-photos-and-sweets/ .

Yourhamper.com - New Site Launches

2010-09-13T05:10:00.001-07:00

Yourhamper.com launches today, specialising in the production and delivery of personalised gift hampers, whilst offering an unprecedented choice of product selection and packaging.

With 26 years of hamper packing experience and armed with feedback from their loyal and extensive customer base, hamper producer Virginia Hayward Ltd has provided a website that allows customers to choose their own packaging and contents. However, not satisfied that a unique gift for every customer had taken the development far enough, the company has marched ahead of the competition with a bright and bold website allowing the customer to personalise the packaging with their own photos, select from over 100 designs and add a message. Director Sam Hayward described the new website as "a similar concept to Moonpig, but with something delicious to eat once you've lifted the lid on your personalised hamper!"

Yourhamper.com allows customers to navigate quickly and easily through the website, choosing whether the gift is presented in a classic style hamper with personalised leather tag, a personalised white gift box, or a contemporary wooden box with personalised lid.

After the size and design of the hamper has been chosen, the content can then be selected to suit the occasion and budget. Customers can save time by choosing from the carefully selected 'quick-fill' options, or immerse themselves in the choice of individual components. Should they wish, customers can also purchase the personalised packaging empty to fill with homemade goodies.

Hayward says: "Hampers are an excellent gift at Christmas, but we wanted to allow our customers to make their gifts even more personal and to open up the opportunities for more occasion driven gifting throughout the year. The yourhamper.com offering is all about choice; we want our customers to put their own ideas into their gift by choosing or uploading a design and selecting what is packed into the hampers for their friends, families or colleagues."

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/yourhamper-com-new-site-launches/ .

Sweet Packing in Full Flow

2010-09-08T05:11:00.001-07:00

Virginia Hayward is proud to be home to several high quality brands, from 'Maxwell and Franks', through to 'Just Sweets' and 'Just Fudge', we’re very pleased to be able to pack some of our most delicious foods into our Christmas Hampers.

In the run up to Christmas, we are of course busily packing away and putting hundreds of ‘Just Fudge’ bags of fudge into their brand new packaging.

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113 Days to Christmas...

2010-09-02T01:03:00.001-07:00

With just 113 days to go until the 25th of December, Christmas is just around the corner.

We are of course prepared for the upcoming season, whichever way it goes, as we have plenty to offer for those of you who can still squeeze in a picnic this summer, or choose something from our range of Christmas Hampers and gifts, if you’re getting the Christmas shopping done early. You can schedule your deliveries to be on a time and date which suits you, or have your gifts delivered directly to your recipient.

To see more from our Christmas range, click here.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/113-days-to-christmas/ .

Chocolate lovers rejoice; we present the Chocolate Box!

2010-08-27T07:04:00.001-07:00

We’d be the first to admit that the Chocolate Box sounds understated… The idea behind the gift is, like all the best ideas, quite simple and is based around the idea that you simply can’t have too much fine chocolate.

Naturally, extensive testing has been carried out to make sure that this gift will satisfy your chocolate requirements and is ideal as a Christmas hamper, or in the height of summer. There’s always a place for chocolate.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/chocolate-lovers-rejoice-we-present-the-chocolate-box/ .

Personalised Sweet Cube

2010-08-20T03:07:00.001-07:00

It’s been a little over a year since we launched our first sweet hampers, starring the ‘Tear and Share’ in a ‘sweet’ 12″ basket and Haribo Hamper, not to mention the other gifts in the sweets range. We’ve gone a little bit further this Christmas though…

Amongst our new range of Christmas Hampers you’ll find many things, from traditional lidded hampers stuffed to the gunwales with festive foods, through to tower gift boxes and our range of sweetie gifts. Brand new for this year though is the ‘Personalised Sweet Cube‘. If you’re wondering what a sweet cube and precisely how you might ‘personalise’ it, read on.

We’ve taken our favourite sweets and arranged them with our renowned attention to detail inside a generous transparent cube. When you give us your personal message through the website or on the phone, we print that message onto the brightly coloured cube label and attach it to the cube.

With the amount of sweets that we’ve squeezed into the box, we can only hope that your recipient doesn’t eat them all in one sitting and will be reminded of your gesture every time they go back for more.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/personalised-sweet-cube/ .

Virginia Hayward Launches Christmas 2010 Range of Hampers and Gifts

2010-08-11T01:37:00.001-07:00

Entering into its twenty sixth year of trading, Virginia Hayward has once again produced a fantastic range of Christmas hampers combining traditional values and fresh modern produce.

These values are all reflected in the hero products within the range:

The Merry Christmas Basket arrives in a seagrass tray with red rim. This festive piece of artistry is perfect for any Christmas snacker and includes two half bottles of wine, a fruit and nut mix, shortbread biscuits, mince pies, truffles and an iced fruit bar. This hamper is priced at £29.99.

The Season's Greetings hamper is presented in a classic lined wicker basket. A combination of sweet and savoury products, including wine, crisps, crackers, jams, biscuits and Christmas desserts, this hamper is the perfect gift for a luxury loving family member or friend. The hamper is priced at £50.

The Christmas Cracker hamper, available in a traditional lidded wicker basket or carton option, really is a cracker! Featuring Virginia Hayward's recently launched 'Just Chocolates' the hamper also includes an array of after dinner treats and wine. The hamper is priced from £52.

The Taste of Christmas hamper comes in a dark wicker basket with seagrass rim. Including champagne, wine, nibbles, sweets and condiments, this hamper provides everything that you need to complement a perfect Christmas dinner. This hamper is priced at £100.

Alex Walker, Marketing Manager at Virginia Hayward says: “Our Christmas hamper range has grown year on year and we're very proud of the 2010 selection. Our buyers rely on their expert knowledge and wealth of experience to handpick each and every product that goes into our hampers and gifts. At Virginia Hayward we believe that our hampers provide a gift for everyone – and what better way to say Happy Christmas to the important people in your life?”

The range includes a further 16 different hampers ranging from an entry-level Christmas Box at £14.99 up to the stunningly extravagant Celebration hamper at £500. Virginia Hayward also provides a selection of fresh food hampers, range of sweet and sparkling gifts and a variety of attractively presented wine gift boxes.

You can see the full range at www.virginiahayward.com/occasion/christmas/

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/virginia-hayward-launches-christmas-2010-range-of-hampers-and-gifts/ .

The Chilli Hamper - Growing Your Chillies (Part 5)

2010-08-03T05:49:00.001-07:00

In the final part of this series, we’ll be looking at the flowers and fruit that will have appeared on your Chilli plant by now. A final big thank you to the team at The Chilli King who have offered their expertise on how to grow chillis.

As your pepper plants begin to mature you will start to notice flowers appearing on your plants. This is the sign you have been waiting for as it means that your first chillies are not that far off. All that stands between you and fresh chilli pods is pollination.

Pollination will be taken care of naturally by bees and other insects if your plants are kept outside. If grown inside your plants may suffer from flower drop, in which case you may want to consider hand pollination. Don't worry, this is not as sordid as it may sound. All you need to do is wait until you have a few flowers on your plants then lightly rub your little finger inside the flower heads on your plants. Alternatively use a small artists paint brush or a cotton bud. This will do the bees job of moving pollen around from flower to flower.

Eventually you will see that some of the flowers will go brown and drop off. This is usually no need for alarm as the cause will be a chilli pushing its way through the flower. All you need to do now is to keep up the water/food and wait for your chillies to ripen.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/the-chilli-hamper-growing-your-chillies-part-5/ .

The Chilli Hamper – Growing Chillis (Part 4)

2010-07-29T02:43:00.001-07:00

In our continuing series about growing Chillies that you’ll find in our Chilli Cube Hamper, we’re passing on advice from The Chilli King about the very best tried and tested methods for growing fiery chillis! Today’s post is about what you should feed to your chilli plants.

How often should you feed them and what with? In the early stages and while the weather is quite mild you can give them a bit of tap water every 2-3 days or whenever the soil is looking dry on top. As the summer temperatures increase, you can increase this to once a day.

Once the flowers start to flower you can introduce a few drops of liquid tomato food into their water during every other watering, using half the dilution strength recommended for tomato plants. Doing so gives the plants the extra energy required to keep producing fruit over the summer months.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/the-chilli-hamper-%e2%80%93-growing-chillis-part-4/ .

Chilli Hampers - Growing Your Own Chillis (Part 3)

2010-07-26T04:07:00.001-07:00

The team at The Chilli King are giving us lots of tips on the best way to go about growing Chillies that we include in our fiery but delicious Chilli Hamper.

Once the seedlings have developed their second set of leaves it is time to re-pot them. The Chilli King recommends pots about 10cm in diameter. Be careful not to damage the seedlings during this process. One good tip is to avoid touching them altogether by re-potting the area of compost around the seedlings roots. By doing this hopefully you will avoid damaging the roots of the plant.

Depending on the time of year, your location and amount of light available you can keep the plants on you windowsill, in the greenhouse or under artificial lighting. Pepper plants love light, so the more they get the faster and stronger they will grow.

Depending on the variety you may need to re-pot the chillies on again in a few weeks time. It is a good idea to avoid potting on to early as there are many theories that potting on too early into too big a pot focuses the plants growth on growing the roots rather than stems, leaves, flowers and ultimately chillies. A general rule of thumb is to only do this when roots are appearing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pots.

Once the risk of frost passes you can put the plants outside. Initially you might want to harden them off by placing outside for just a few hours a day. This will get the plants used to the direct sunlight and wind that they may not have experienced so far during their indoor life.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/chilli-hampers-growing-your-own-chillis-part-3/ .

The Chilli Hamper - Growing your Chillis (Part 2)

2010-07-22T03:19:00.001-07:00

Thanks again to the team at ‘The Chilli King’ who are kindly offering their advice and experience with regard to growing chilli plants. You’ll find a packet of seeds in our Chilli Cube Hamper, which means that once all the Chilli flavour goodies have gone, you’ll have your own stash of homegrown Chillis!

Once your seeds have begun to germinate they suddenly have a new requirement to fulfill, light. Depending on where you are and which way your windows face, the windowsill or conservatory may well be adequate and provide your seedlings with enough light to flourish. The Chilli King warns that one problem with growing plants this way is that as they reach up to towards their light source (the sun) they can grow tall and spindly.

Growers can avoid leggy plants is by introducing artificial lighting. The simplest, and by far the cheapest option, is simple fluorescent tube lights bought from any DIY store.

The one downside with fluorescent lighting is that it tends to give off lots of heat which can scald or even kill the seedlings, but this problem can be eradicated by using bulbs that are called ‘cool white’. From experience most light fixings will come with normal bulbs so be sure to spend an extra couple of pounds on cool white bulbs.

Next all you need to do is to rig the lights up above your chilli seedlings. This can be done many different ways and much will depend on the resources and space available. One thing to bear in mind is that ideally whatever you mount your lights to should be adjustable as you will need to move them higher as you little seedlings grow into big strong chilli plants!

Ideally the lights should be positioned between 5-25cm from the top of your plants and you can use a simple timer switch so that the plants receive 18 hours per day under the lights. Alternatively you can put them by a window during the day then move them under the lights during the night.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/the-chilli-hamper-growing-your-chillis-part-2/ .

The Chilli Cube Hamper - How to grow your Chillis! (part 1)

2010-07-20T03:52:00.001-07:00

It seems that despite the heat outside, we just can’t get enough warmth if the demand for our ‘Chilli Cube‘ hamper is anything to go by. As well as the delicious Chilli Jam, Chilli Chutney, Chilli Chocolate and hot Habanero Chilli Sauce, we’ve included a packet of Chilli seeds which you can grow yourself.

Growing chillis is quite an art, so over the next few days we’ll be bringing you some hints and tips, inspired by The Chilli King.

The first step is germinating your seeds. The Chilli King recommends:

Plant your seeds early in the year (Jan/Feb) and nurture the seedlings indoors or under glass. The plants can then be put outside once the threat of frosts pass and will produce chillis all summer.
You can place the seeds in between two sheets of damp kitchen roll and put into a either a sealed freezer bag or plastic container. Place the bag somewhere warm such as an airing cupboard. This method will help keep the heat and the moisture around the seeds, speeding the germination process.
Probably the best advice is to try and keep the temperature of the seeds constant. This can be achieved a number of ways such as by using a heated propagator or old electric blanket under your seed trays.
The key is to be patient!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/the-chilli-cube-hamper-how-to-grow-your-chillis/ .

Insulated Picnic Hamper

2010-07-14T07:15:00.001-07:00

One of the best bits of any our hampers is the hamper itself, as it’s the bit which lasts the longest and can be reused over and over again. This is particularly the case for our insulated picnic hamper, which can be filled with food which needs to be kept cool. Simply add a cool block and food will stay chilled for hours, even on the hottest picnic day.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/insulated-picnic-hamper/ .

Picnic Hamper - Summer Products - Olives et Al

2010-07-13T07:41:00.001-07:00

So far it has been a fantastic, sunny summer. We’ve hit a bit of a wet spell in the last few days, but without speaking too soon, it’s been a great summer so far. Consequently, our picnic hampers have been in great demand, so we thought it would be a great idea to spotlight some of the products. Today’s focus is Olives et Al, the Dorset based maker of olives, snacks and much much more.

The inspiration for Olives et Al was a year long, international motorbike adventure by the soon-to-be-founders of the company. Annie and Giles Henschel travelled through the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa, falling in love with food and flavours along the way. Whilst on their travels they made sure they collected as many recipes as they could and, once back in the UK, proceeded to put their findings into practice. The results speak for themselves. Olives et Al source the finest available olives, nuts, seeds and oils to make delicious snacks following instructions which, in some instances, have been handed down through generations.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/picnic-hamper-summer-products-olives-et-al/ .

How to pack a hamper

2010-07-02T04:27:00.001-07:00

Ever since we introduced our empty baskets and hampers category, we've been asked how best to pack a hamper so that it not only survives its journey to its recipient intact, but also still retains the 'wow' factor, or the special touch that it had as you fastened the lid.

Of course you'll start packing your hamper from the bottom upwards, so that's where we'll start, but before you even begin, make sure that you choose a hamper which fits your goods as closely as possible so there's very little empty space. Also, once you've decided on your products, put brightest, most impressive products to one side for your special top layer.

It's important to make sure that you put your heavy items at the bottom of the hampers, so that they don't crush all the other goodies. We like to put a layer of cushioning, such as crumpled paper, on the bottom of the hamper and then rest any glass bottles of drink on the bottom of the hamper, individually wrapped so that if they do break, the liquid does as little damage as possible.
Next, jars, tins and other heavy or rigid items go in on top of the wine. It's also a good idea to make sure that you use some kind of filling (we use biodegradeable chips made from maize starch) to pack into any gaps, as it'll prevent your products from moving around too much.
Keep adding products and filling the spaces until you've only got the 'top layer' products that you put to one side left. Arrange these neatly on the top and pack around them with brightly coloured shredded paper or tissue paper so that your recipient opens the hamper to an explosion of colour and delicious treats.

We supply all of the essential and decorative packaging that you need, in our empty baskets and wicker hampers category.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/how-to-pack-a-hamper-2/ .

Life Goes On...

2010-06-30T03:12:00.001-07:00

Our last post was of course prior to the England vs Germany game, when there was still a slim chance that we might still be in with a chance of reaching the quarter finals. Without dredging through the detail of the disappointment (to put it mildly) that we all felt on Sunday, it is all over for England, but frankly, deservedly so. However, the quarter finals look set for some thrilling matches; Argentina vs Germany or Brazil vs The Netherlands should both be cracking games and it’s great to see the Ghanaians still flying the flag for Africa. Spain worked hard to reach the last 8 too and have turned on the style in this competition.

So there’s still plenty of reason to purchase a World Cup hamper to enjoy the final games with. By all means include a message of sympathy for all the broken hearted England fans out there, but it’s an excellent final 8 so there’s still every excuse to watch the next 11 days of football.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/life-goes-on/ .

England vs Germany

2010-06-25T03:20:00.001-07:00

It can never be said that English tournament football is not exciting. Quite how we have managed to engineer a situation where we have to beat a German side, to then (probably!) play an Argentinian side who are admittedly wobbly at the back, but otherwise in very good form, I will never know.

The pessimistic among you should order a hamper or gift before Sunday, as our free delivery offer is only valid whilst England remain in the World Cup. Mr Capello will obviously be waiting until well into July to order his World Cup Hamper, but I would exercise a little more caution and take advantage while you still can.

Of course, if you haven't already ordered a personalised World Cup hamper to comfort you through Sunday’s game, I'm afraid that it's too late for us to get one to you, but we'll certainly be able to get you a hamper before England's next game, maybe against Argentina…

If you're doing all that you can to avoid the football, you probably aren't interested in our personalised World Cup Hamper, but the weather is continuing to be kind to us at the moment, so you might be able to escape to the quiet of the countryside for a good old fashioned picnic. If the fitted picnic hamper is a little too pricey for you, then have a rummage around our selection of empty baskets for one of our traditional hampers and fill it with fresh food, wines and nibbles for a delicious, but football-free picnic.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/england-vs-germany/ .

England vs Slovenia

2010-06-23T03:10:00.001-07:00

With just 4 hours to go before the kick off of this game, I’m certain that only the very pessimistic would have predicted that England would find themselves in a position where they had to win this game to qualify for the next round of the World Cup. However, that is now the reality, so it’s with crossed fingers, toes and anything else which can be crossed that we nervously await the end of this match.

Of course, if you haven’t already ordered a personalised World Cup hamper to comfort you through the game, I’m afraid that it’s too late for us to get one to you for today’s game, but we’ll certainly be able to get you a hamper before England’s next game, whether that’s the quarter finals or the qualifiers for Euro 2014…

If you're doing all that you can to avoid the football today, you probably aren't interested in our personalised World Cup Hamper, but the weather is continuing to be kind to us at the moment, so you might be able to escape to the quiet of the countryside for a good old fashioned picnic. If the fitted picnic hamper is a little too pricey for you, then have a rummage around our selection of empty baskets for one of our traditional hampers and fill it with fresh food, wines and nibbles for a delicious, but football-free picnic.

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/england-vs-slovenia/ .

Lots of Goals!

2010-06-22T02:57:00.001-07:00

According to the stats, yesterday was the most one sided day of the tournament so far and the joint highest in terms of the number of goals scored. With a total of 10 goals altogether (7 from the Portugese!), yesterday was also the first day of the competition that saw no goals at all from any of the 3 losing sides.

I’m sure that the official statisticians would have figured that out for themselves by now, but I’m quite pleased that I got there all by myself. Lets hope that tomorrow’s game gives us some equally nice stats, although I’m not the only person in the office who isn’t holding their breath on that score.

Our World Cup hamper is still available and delivery is still free. Filled with the official beer of the World Cup, tasty crisps, chilli bites and other nibbles, this is just the thing to have by your side as you settle into an armchair, full of nervous tension every time Wayne Rooney gets the ball with a clear run at goal. Lets just hope that we can give Slovenia a better thrashing than Algeria!

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/lots-of-goals/ .

Was it really that bad?

2010-06-21T03:05:00.001-07:00

Yes, I’m afraid so. It seems that the one thing that everyone was able to agree upon on Friday night was that the England performance was second to none in terms of its sheer awfulness. If the French were poor against Mexico, it was nothing compared to the English display. However, we can still qualify, assuming that we can at least muster a win against a Slovenia side who top the group after beating the Algerians themselves.

On paper, it should be easy enough, but on paper we should have qualified from this group with 9 points. Still, it’s an England team in a major tournament; it was never going to be pleasant or easy.

On a brighter note though, you can still buy our World Cup Hamper, which is filled with tasty treats to get you through another England game and hopefully a few more after that as well…

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This post was first published by Virginia Hayward Hampers. You can see the original post at http://www.virginiahayward.com/hamperblog/was-it-really-that-bad/ .