It feels like a lifetime away, but with just 113 days to go until the 25th of December, Christmas is just around the corner. 10 days ago I could have been convinced that Christmas was only moments away, thanks to the cold and dreary weather that we all experienced last week, but looking out of the window today there’s a glimmer of hope that we might enjoy even the briefest of Indian Summers.

We are of course well 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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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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It’s another day of glorious sunshine in Dorset and we all have our fingers crossed that the good weather will continue over the weekend. There are a few pessimists who are convinced that this lovely warm spell can’t last, but we’re determined to look on the bright side, although it hardly feels like a day to be concentrating on Christmas Hampers!

What could be better than a picnic this weekend? It might be a trifle cold for swimming in the sea (in my view it’s still too cold in July or August for this sort of carry on), but wherever you are in the UK, there is probably an unspoilt stretch of coastline which is perfect for a picnic. Failing that, the local park, woodland or green space will certainly suffice.

If you need a basket to stuff with goodies, our fitted picnic basket is big enough for the whole family and has all the hardware that you’ll need. If you’re travelling a little lighter then our picnic backpack has ample space for two, a cool area and wine bottle holders. If the weather’s good enough for a barbecue then look no further than our barbecue bucket, or barbecue grill! Or let us do all the hard work for you and choose our filled ‘Picnic Delights‘ hamper.

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In the light of the recent announcement of a coalition government, we though that it would be a nice idea to dream up a ‘Coalition Hamper’. It’s a tenuous link of course, but it’s an opportunity for us to think of a hamper full of blue and orange goodies, or treats that really shouldn’t work well together, but you hope that they might – like chilli and chocolate or strawberry and mint!

It’s not likely to feature in our range of Christmas hampers, or for that matter in our normal range of hampers, but it’s great fun for us to come up with these ideas and we’d love to hear what you think too, so if you’ve got a great idea for your own ‘Coalition Hamper’, please leave a comment on the blog or contact us to share it.

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A glance out of the window suggests that our optimism for a sunny bank holiday earlier this week was probably unfounded. So, rather than continue to extol the virtues of a hamper or picnic basket for the weekend, we thought it would be nice to find a bit more about why May Day is a public holiday. Then we’ll get back to what we do best, which is designing fantastic Christmas hampers!

May Day is a traditional holiday in many cultures which occurs on May the 1st and refers to several public holidays. May Day celebrations take place in many different countries, in differing forms. These include Finland, Ireland, France, Germany, Scotland, Hawaii and the Americas, to name just a few.

In England, traditional May Day rites include Morris Dancing, crowning a May Queen and dancing round the Maypole.

The May Day Bank Holiday, always on the first Monday in May, was traditionally the only one to affect the state school calendar as the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays usually fall within the 2 weeks breaks between the school terms.

As well as celebrations in Oxford, Padstow and throughout the country, in Durham students of the University of Durham gather on Prebends bridge at 5am to see the sunrise and enjoy pagan festivities, folk music, dancing, madrigal singing and a barbecue.

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We’re very pleased to see that the myth that hampers are just for Christmas has been dispelled this Mother’s Day. With more visitors to the website in the run up to Mother’s Day than ever, hampers and food gifts are being embraced for celebrations other than Christmas.

You can shop for all occasions at Virginiahayward.com, from Valentine’s Day through to Christmas itself, we’ll have just the gift. Browse our selection by occasion, recipient, product or price to find the right gift for friends, loved ones or colleagues.

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