Hampers Part one

 

I have long been a follower of the author Amanda Prowse.  She always comes across as a very genuine person and very down to earth.  Occasionally she will make up one of these hampers as a giveaway which I think is a really lovely idea. So much so that I'm afraid I pinched her idea as Christmas gifts for my girls. I did tell Amanda and showed her  the results and she was very pleased that such a simple idea will encourage others. With this in mind I  thought I would share with you what I did for my girls for Christmas 2021. 

It began with finding hamper baskets that were a reasonable size and a reasonable price. It soon became apparent that those you find in hobby stores are way too small and way too expensive. Those on internet sites don't always give the size of the basket they just say large and if you message the seller to ask how big they are they generally come back with large....  I then happened to go past a charity shop in our local town and there sitting in the window was a hamper basket £10 and of course it had take me home written all over it.  After that trawling around the local charity shops looking for hamper baskets became a new pass time.  This did at one point become a new obsession as I ended up with more hampers than I actually needed each one costing around £10-£12, but never fear the extra's have been put to good use and hold a lot of yarn, fabric and even Christmas decorations.  

The baskets measured approximately 20 x 10 inches which I thought was a really good size for what I wanted, and don't be put off if you find one and it no longer has it's straps as you can purchase these from Amazon as well as other internet retailers for around £5 a pair. 

Now you don't have to make a lining for them but as my new learnt skill was using a sewing machine and I still needed all the practice I could get making a lining for the baskets was a good way of getting some more sewing time and pushed me to learn something new. 

Now for the fun part

Picking the items for your basket.  I knew I wanted to give them a copy of the The Boy, The Mole. The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy as it is such a lovely book and as neither of my girls are big readers I wanted something that was more an open at any page and find a beautiful drawing and verse and this book provided both of those things. I also discovered the book Big Panda and Tiny Dragon by James Norbury a beautifully written book and illustrations of friendship and hope so obviously that one had to be added.  From there I visited The Works and found a diary and mindfulness journals, as both the girls are journal writers. For my daughter I added her favorite hand lotions and candles and finished off with some foody treats and a winnie the poo mug full of chocolates and for my daughter in law foody treats which included a musical tin of biscuits with a Christmas scene and a gnome mug that has Mumma Gnome on the front and I filled it with chocolates and wrapped both  the mugs in cellophane. 

I knew I wasn't going to be able to wrap the baskets and I knew they wouldn't fit within cellophane wrapping so I decided upon some Christmas themed ribbon and a rather large bow and Scandinavian patterned bells which from memory were also from The Works but any bells or decoration would finish them off beautifully.

In fact at this point I was waiting on a new set of straps for my daughters hamper and they did also have a home made Christmas decoration added to the handle by the time we had our Christmas get together. 

All in all I think the hampers cost around £40-£50 to put together and the most expensive part was the basket but at £10 each I considered them to be a bargain and both the girls have gone on to put them to use within their homes so they have been repurposed and not sitting collecting dust in the attic. 

I chose to make the girls book hampers but to be honest you could use all sorts of items and not just for Christmas, one lady from the crafting group made a pamper basket for her daughter who was due to have a baby.  Another lady made a baby shower gift for a friend. Another made up a date night hamper for her son and his wife who had recently had a new baby so staying in was the new norm. To be honest the possibilities are endless with just a touch of imagination and I have to say that they both commented on what a fabulous gift. Which is lovely the only trouble is how do I match it again this year. Any ideas gratefully received😏

Mx