With all the sunshine so far in April, you could be forgiven for thinking that summer had come early. In many ways it has and lets hope that it’s here to stay! To get you in the mood for the scorcher 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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As a celebration of all things British, from the Union Jack bag and mugs through to the charming English Breakfast teas, decorated with pictures of London this gift couldn’t be more patriotic. 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 favourites – 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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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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If you’re in any doubt at all, please make a note that Mothering Sunday is on the 3rd of April this year. Now there’s no excuse for forgetting! Fortunately at Virginia Hayward we’ve had the date in mind for some time now and have been able to create a fantastically 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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Listening to the radio this morning, the topic of hot debate was whether or not spring had indeed sprung. Radio 4′s ‘Today’ programme devoted several moments of discussion to the subject and reached the uncertain conclusion that it probably had. There’s no 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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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, sending paper Valentine messages until the 19th century when these became so popular that they were assembled in factories, giving rise to the Valentine’s card that we would recognise today.

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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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. Which reminds me, ‘sweeping romantic gesture’ must be added to my ‘to do’ list… Notwithstanding my domestic arrangements though, we’re all set for Valentine’s Day with a range of gifts which will thrill ladies of all ages.

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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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 occasions in between.

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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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It’s little more than a month until Christmas and we’re really getting into the festive spirit here at Virginia Hayward. So much so in fact that our Product Development team have 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.

If you’re looking for something home grown, then you might like the ‘Union Jack Bag’ – a tote bag filled with quintessentially British produce and with a Union Jack emblazoned on the front of the bag itself. Vodka afficianados will recognise Chase Vodka as the English potato Vodka which recently won the San Francisco World Spirits competition. For the rest of us though, it’s simply a stunning looking Vodka which tastes even better than it looks!

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