What a Christmas Hamper Costs in Australia

By Andrew Richards, Managing Director at The Gourmet Pantry.

A Christmas hamper worth sending starts at about $60. For a household you care about, $100 to $150 is the band that buys named producers and enough food to share. Past $200 you are mostly paying for the bottle, which is fair enough when the bottle is the point. Under $50, most of the money has gone into the packaging.

Christmas hamper prices, band by band

Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100, worth knowing if you are hovering between an $89.95 box and a $109.95 one. Below that line, the value range is the honest answer on price rather than the cheapest thing with a bow on it.

What the money actually buys

Under $50 the box is doing the work. Three small items rattle around a lot of tissue paper and the recipient can see the arithmetic. Set a floor rather than a ceiling.

From roughly $60 you get named producers instead of "artisan selection", and enough food that two people can graze on it for an evening. It is why the notes below say Kangaroo Island olives rather than "gourmet olives".

Between $100 and $150 a bottle joins the food without displacing it. Most gifts to family and friends land here, and it is the band where contents matter more than the number on the label.

Over $200 the bottle is the message. The packing does not change with the price: every box is packed by hand in Corio, just outside Geelong, in a French Blue box with a gold ribbon, with a free personalised gift card and track and trace.

What each band looks like in the box

Eight hampers across the four bands, with what is inside them and who each one suits. We range far more than eight gourmet hampers, and the full seasonal range sits on the Christmas hampers page.

1. Mumm Sparkling and Gourmet Finest Hamper, $139.95

The mid-band box we send more of than any other, and the one to reach for when you do not know the household well. A bottle of Mumm Marlborough Prestige Brut sits alongside Kangaroo Island Mediterranean olives, sea salt artisan crackers, a fig and almond fruit pyramid, cocoa dusted Belgian truffles, roasted peanuts and Ligurian bee honey popcorn. There is enough food in it that it reads as an evening rather than a bottle with something taped to it. See the Mumm Sparkling and Gourmet Finest Hamper

2. Gourmet Emporium Hamper, $169.95

Our largest non-alcoholic box, and proof that $170 does not have to go on a bottle. Three kinds of cracker, Kangaroo Island olives, a red capsicum tapenade and a fruit chutney from The Regimental Condiment Company, Scottie Dog shortbread, Hunter's black truffle chips, Mr Filbert's truffle nuts, Belgian truffles, cashew brittle, sea salt fudge, and a Bacanha mojito syrup for the drinks cabinet. Best for family households, teetotal recipients, and any office where you do not know who drinks. See the Gourmet Emporium Hamper

3. Sweet Sensation Hamper, $129.95

Dessert, sent in a box. Pimm's liqueur truffles, Nutworks manuka honey macadamias, Borgo de Medici strawberry macarons, salted caramel and coconut marshmallows, Scottie Dog shortbread fingers, Charlie's mini melting moments and Pimlico fruit jellies. One note from the packing bench: the Pimm's truffles are genuine liqueur truffles, so if the box is going to a house full of small children, address it to an adult. See the Sweet Sensation Hamper

4. Gourmet Bites Hamper, $59.95

The least expensive box in the range that still looks like a present, in the same French Blue box and gold ribbon as the $200 hampers. Sea salt artisan crackers, Kangaroo Island honey popcorn, cocoa dusted Belgian truffles, caramelised cashew brittle, Scottie Dog butter shortbread, and pita crisps with olive oil and sea salt. This is what $60 buys, and it is the floor worth setting for Kris Kringle, teachers, neighbours, and the ten people you always forget until the second week of December. See the Gourmet Bites Hamper

5. Gourmet Treats with Red Wine Hamper, $69.95

The cheapest way to send a bottle without it being only a bottle. A South Australian Bay of Stones Shiraz with sea salt crackers, cocoa dusted truffles, Scottie Dog shortbread fingers, black truffle chips and a fig and almond fruit pyramid. There is a white wine version at the same price with a Bay of Stones Sauvignon Blanc and the same food inside, so the only real decision is which bottle they will open. See the Gourmet Treats with Red Wine Hamper

6. Just Add Cheese Hamper, $79.95

Deliberately a cheeseboard with no cheese in it, because cheese does not survive a summer freight run and their local deli is ten minutes away. Two styles of cracker plus date and walnut crackers, a fig and almond fruit pyramid, Kangaroo Island olives, roasted peanuts, a Ploughman's relish and a roasted red capsicum tapenade. They add the cheese on the day, and two hard cheeses plus one soft is plenty against the crackers in the box. Best for whoever is hosting, and for anyone building a Christmas grazing board. See the Just Add Cheese Hamper

7. Gluten Free Gourmet and Vegan Gourmet Hampers, $114.95 each

The two boxes that stop one person at the table getting an afterthought. The Gluten Free Gourmet Hamper runs black truffle chips, gluten free crackerthins, salted caramel and coconut marshmallows, Mr Filbert's French rosemary almonds, gluten free pure butter shortbread and a white chocolate and cranberry rocky road. The Vegan Gourmet Hamper leads with Kangaroo Island extra virgin olive oil and Mediterranean olives, then Gingerbread Folk minis in compostable packaging and a Belazu vegan nduja paste. Both are non-alcoholic.

8. G.H.Mumm Champagne and Gourmet Finest Hamper, $199.95

Where the top band starts doing what it is for: the champagne is the message. Cordon Rouge NV arrives in its own gift box, with Kangaroo Island olives, sea salt crackers, a fig and almond fruit pyramid, honey popcorn, roasted peanuts and cocoa dusted Belgian truffles alongside it. Alcohol hampers go to adult recipients only. Enjoy responsibly. See the G.H.Mumm Champagne and Gourmet Finest Hamper

Several of these sit in our best selling hampers. If none fit, the rest of the range is grouped by what is in the box rather than by occasion.

Choosing by budget, in under a minute

Work from the recipient and the number, rather than the catalogue.

• Under $80. Gourmet Bites at $59.95, or Gourmet Treats with Red Wine at $69.95 if they drink.
• $80 to $150, and you do not know them well. Mumm Sparkling and Gourmet Finest at $139.95, or Gourmet Emporium if you are unsure about alcohol.
• $80 to $150, with children in the house. Sweet Sensation at $129.95. It gets opened by everybody.
• $80 to $150, dietary requirements. Gluten Free Gourmet or Vegan Gourmet, both $114.95.
• $150 to $200, and they cook. Gourmet Emporium at $169.95 for the chutney and the tapenade.
• Over $200, and it has to land properly. G.H.Mumm Champagne and Gourmet Finest at $199.95 and up.

If your list runs to a dozen boxes going to a dozen addresses, that is the corporate side of the business, and the corporate Christmas hampers guide covers how those orders work.

When to order, and what happens next

Orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched from Corio the same day. That is dispatch, not delivery. What happens after the parcel leaves us is Australia Post's business, and December is when their network is least forgiving.

Australia Post confirms its Christmas cutoff dates in October. Until those are published, treat mid-December as the practical limit for anything crossing a state border, and go earlier for WA, the NT and anywhere rural.

Stock is the other reason to move early, and it bites hardest at the top of the price list. Champagne boxes sell out first, because they are built around bottles we cannot reorder in December.

Questions we get asked about hamper prices

What does a Christmas hamper cost in Australia?

Roughly $60 to $80 for the wider list of teachers, neighbours and colleagues, $100 to $150 for a household you care about, and $200 and up when the gift is carrying a bottle of champagne. Our own range runs from $59.95 to just over $200, and the packaging, ribbon and gift card are identical at every price.

What is a good price for a Christmas hamper?

Between $100 and $150 for a household you care about, and $60 to $80 for the wider list. Above $200 you are buying champagne, which is worth it when the gesture needs to be unmistakable and wasteful when it does not. Contents matter more than the band.

Why do some Christmas hampers cost under $50?

Because the box, the ribbon and the freight cost roughly the same whatever goes inside. Under about $50 those fixed costs eat most of the price. From roughly $60 the balance tips and the food becomes the expensive part.

How much should I spend on a hamper for a colleague?

Around $60 to $80 covers Kris Kringle and a work thank-you without reading as either stingy or awkward. Buying several at once helps, since free shipping starts at $100.

When should I order a Christmas hamper?

Late November for anything going interstate, and the first week of December for a local address. Australia Post publishes its cutoff dates in October and they land earlier than most people expect. Ordering before 12pm on a weekday means the box is dispatched that day, the only stage of the journey we control.

Start here

The shortest path is the Christmas hampers page, which can be read by price. If you would rather build your own and work out where the money goes, our guide to what goes in a Christmas hamper covers what travels well and what does not.