Custom Printed Hamper Gift Boxes

What is a hamper gift box?

It is a box built to carry a collection rather than one item. A typical hamper has a jar of chutney, a bottle, crackers and a candle, all of different heights. The box has to hold each one still and still look good with the lid up.

Farm shops, delis, wine merchants, candle and bath brands order them for gift sets. Hamper makers and corporate gifting teams order them in bulk for client and staff gifts.

Which hamper box style should you choose?

The choice comes down to weight, how the box travels and whether it should be kept afterwards.

The flap style uses the same mechanism as our printed magnetic lid gift boxes, made deeper.

How does a hamper box open, close and carry?

A magnetic flap box has a lid joined at the back. Two flat magnets hide under the paper in the front flap and the front wall. Close the lid and they pull it down the last few millimetres with a soft click.

The foldable style arrives flat and opens into a rigid box in seconds. Its lid can carry a cut handle, and ribbon handles stitched through the front wall let you lift it like a case.

For heavy hampers we put the handle on the box body, not the lid, so the weight never hangs from the hinge.

A lid and base hamper is the simplest of all. The deep lid lifts off with both hands and can sit underneath the base while the hamper is on display.

What size hamper box fits jars and bottles?

Measure everything standing upright, side by side, as it will sit. Add the insert walls between items, then the tallest item plus a little headroom. Our typical sizes are a common starting point.

• Small, about 250 × 200 × 100 mm: two jars, a small bag of biscuits and a tea tin.
• Medium, about 320 × 250 × 120 mm: a pamper set of three bottles and a candle.
• Large, about 400 × 300 × 150 mm: a food hamper of six to eight mixed items.
• Deep, about 350 × 300 × 200 mm: a standing wine bottle with snacks around it.

A wine bottle usually needs a deep box or must lie down. Our guide to measuring a gift box in millimetres covers both.

Rigid, folding card or corrugated for a hamper?

Rigid greyboard wrapped in printed paper is the choice for smaller hampers that people keep. It holds its shape under weight and takes foil and soft-touch well. It is quoted higher than folding card and takes 8–10 working days.

Folding card suits light hampers of tea, biscuits and sweets, and starts from £0.25 a box for small sizes. Folding card is made in 4–6 working days after proof approval. Corrugated board takes over when bottles and jars add up, and its timing is set out on your quote.

How should you print a hamper box?

Hampers are often given as a set from a shop, so the outside can do a lot of work. An all-over illustrated print turns the box into a talking point. A plain matt lid with a single foil logo reads as more formal.

Print the inside of the lid as well. It is the first thing seen when the box opens, which makes it the right place for a contents list, a short note or the story behind your products.

Colour on the inside walls helps too. A bright yellow lining behind an illustrated outside, or a pale lining under dark items, makes the contents stand out when the lid goes up.

Compare matt, gloss, soft-touch and foil in our guide to gift box finishes.

Inserts and extras for a full hamper

Without an insert, jars knock together and the box arrives in a heap. A cut insert gives every item its own space and lets you lift items out by a finger notch.

• Card insert with rows of cells, such as a twelve-cell grid for votive candles
• Pulp insert moulded around bottles and jars
• Tissue or a printed sheet laid over the items under the lid
• Ribbon or rope handles fixed to the box body
• Printed belly band that names the hamper or its contents

Our guide to card, foam and pulp inserts explains which to pick for glass.

When are hamper boxes ordered?

Corporate gifting, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day are the busy times for food and pamper hampers. Weddings bring orders for welcome hampers in guest rooms.

Birthday and thank-you hampers keep going all year. New baby hampers suit a lighter folding card box with a soft illustrated print.

Shops that sell hampers in person often want a box that can be built up while the customer waits. A foldable rigid box with a removable insert works well here: open the box, pick the items, drop them into their cells, close the lid.

Packing and posting a hamper safely

A rigid hamper box is strong but its paper surface scuffs. If you post hampers to customers, put each one in a plain corrugated outer carton with some void fill around it.

We send your empty boxes flat or made up, depending on the style, by free tracked delivery to UK mainland addresses in 2–3 working days. Foldable styles save a lot of storage until hamper season.

What mistakes should you avoid with hamper boxes?

1. Measuring each item but not the gaps. Insert walls take space between every item.
2. Hanging a heavy hamper from a lid handle. Put handles on the box body.
3. Choosing folding card for six glass jars. Use rigid or corrugated.
4. Changing a product jar after the insert is cut. Confirm every item first.
5. Forgetting headroom for tissue. Allow a few millimetres above the tallest item.

How do you order hamper gift boxes?

List what goes in, with sizes, and the quantity, style and board you have in mind. Not sure on board? We suggest one. We reply with a quote inside one working day, with each board option priced if you are still deciding.

Our designers lay your artwork on the box layout for a free proof, with edits until you approve. Anything misprinted or damaged, reported with photos within 10 days, is reprinted or refunded. Start on the hamper box quote form.