With more Christmas products flooding the market than ever before it can be overwhelming trying to decide what to buy. From a light-up box of chocolates to a fermented hot sauce selection box, here are the best Christmas food gifts for 2021.
This year’s roundup of the best Christmas food gifts has been tried and tested by a panel of food experts as part of our Tried & Tasted Awards. Each product was blind-tasted and voted based on look, taste, and quality to narrow down the best Christmas food for 2021. A variety of mainstream supermarkets such as M&S and Aldi were tested, as well as individual producers too.
Christmas food gift highlights for this year include the PLAYinCHOC Toychoc box, ideal for children. Each set contains six boxes filled with two pieces free-from chocolate and a 3D puzzle. The Atom Labs Jaffa Cake Trio set, was another standout for 2021 and would make the perfect Secret Santa gift at £15. And not to mention, best Christmas food hampers entrant, Hotel Chocolat with its large, festive cracker.
Each Christmas food gift was blind-taste tested, with the packaging and product information removed. The knowledge of where each product was from was also removed to enable fair judging throughout. Taste, look, and value for money were all considered in this taste test.
Judging this year’s best Christmas food gifts included Food Editor Samuel Goldsmith, Deputy Food Editor Rose Fooks, Senior Food Writer Jessica Ransom, as well as former Bake Off The Professionals contestant, wedding cake business owner, and Food Writer Keiron George. The team has a vast amount of experience, at least 12 years at that, in the food industry.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Up to 3 working days
What is it? A fabulous stocking filler for the condiment lover in your life. The Tracklements Festive four gift pack contains some Christmas Day classics like sticky fig relish, Christmas spice chutney, cranberry port orange sauce, and spiced plum chutney. Ideal for pairing with your crackers and cheese board.
What we think: Tracklements uses the very highest quality and natural ingredients in all of their sauces, and you can really tell as they have a lovely handmade quality. The judges also thought this was particularly good value for money at just £12.95 for a pack of four 90-110g jars.
Winner: Best food gift under £10
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? Delicious artisan dark chocolate bars made with raw honey, bee pollen, and spices. Honey Tradition is a family-run company that raises bees and produces honey in an ethical way.
What we think: The stunning packaging and delicious flavour would make these chocolate bars from Honey Tradition the perfect gift. The panel particularly enjoyed the spiced 65% dark chocolate bar – its flavours, which are similar to lebkuchen with rich spices and honey sweetness, capture the very essence of Christmas. Deputy Food Editor, Rose Fooks adds, “I would be delighted to receive these precious bars in my Christmas stocking. The spicy dark chocolate one especially was a real treat.”
VIEW AT HONEYTRADITION | £4.90 for 55g
Winner: Best foodie gift under £40
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? This generous cracker is a great present to give to a whole family, so they can all enjoy it over the festive season. It contains Hotel Chocolat truffles, chocolates, jokes, and paper hats. Even more excitingly this cracker, just like the standard one, really bangs. We would happily swap a box of crackers for this. The ultimate Christmas food gift.
What we think: “Anything from Hotel Chocolat makes a lovely gift at Christmas – everything from the packaging to the taste and texture of the chocolate feels a bit special and this is no exception; a real crowd-pleaser for your Christmas table,” says Consumer Editor Heidi Scrimgeour.
Winner: Best foodie gift under £50
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? The perfect addition to the Boxing Day grazing table. Filled with over 1kg of cheese, in six different varieties and a pack of delicious Peter’s Yard crispbread this would be such an exciting gift to open. The cheese selection includes a creamy goat’s cheese; tangy St. Jude and a crumbly Suffolk Gold.
What we think: “The ideal gift for the cheese lover in your life. This gift set comes with tasting notes that your loved one can read through if they like to geek out. This is an excellent showcase of some truly delicious British cheeses and will no doubt be very gratefully received,” says Senior Food Writer, Jessica Ransom.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: 15th December final delivery date
What is it? This kit contains everything that you would need to make a gingerbread house and the design is even baked into the gingerbread to make piping super easy. This would be a great Christmas food gift for adults, and perfect for keeping children occupied over the holidays.
What we think: “TTK Confectionery Gingerbread House Kit Gingerbread kits are increasingly popular with kids at Christmas and this one’s beautifully packaged so it would make a delightful gift for the little foodie in your life. Perfect for popping in a Christmas Eve box too,” says Heidi Scrimgeour.
Order: Available from 2nd December | Delivery: TBC
What it is? A selection of milk, dark and white chocolates by supermarket Aldi. This impressive box of chocolate includes flavours such as raspberry, coconut, and strawberry chocolates.
What we think: We just love this impressive array of chocolates especially as this artisan collection box has a luxurious feel. The hazelnut chocolates were a real highlight for us among the selection. Presented in an attractive box at just £19.99, this chocolate collection is perfect paired with a bottle of bubbly as a generous Christmas food gift.
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What is it? A gorgeous selection of 16 dairy-free chocolate truffles from multi-award-winning company Booja-Booja. Made with simple, organic ingredients. There are four flavours to choose from in this collection including deeply chocolate, honeycomb caramel, chocolate orange, and chocolate salted caramel.
What we think: The chocolate orange truffles were voted the best by the judges for 2021 as they had a sweet, citrus flavour from the orange and a rich, smooth dark chocolate texture. We just love that these truffles are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free but still taste incredible. A great stocking filler at just £9.99 per box.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? A trio of tantalising tipples; 50ml of Jaffa Cake Gin, Jaffa Cake Rum, and Jaffa Cake Vodka – all made with actual Jaffa Cakes to give a zingy, sweet, chocolaty flavour. A lovely Secret Santa gift for work colleagues or friends.
What we think: For the Jaffa Cake lover in your life, these Jaffa Cake tipples have a strong boozy kick but with a rich chocolate and orange flavour. Swap the shot of rum in your coke for Jaffa Cake rum instead for a festive chocolate orange twist. You could also drizzle over brownies and ice cream for the ultimate Christmas dessert.
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What is it? This beautiful box is very generously filled with scrumptious, more-ish buttery shortbread. Once you have enjoyed the shortbread the box could be reused. A lovely gift that is simple but would be well received.
What we think: Produced by award-winning Dukeshill, these shortbreads have been specially made in Scotland. Coated in a generous layer of sugar, each biscuit has a lovely crunch with a buttery taste. We think these shortbreads would make the perfect gift for the grandparents.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Up to 2 working days
What is it? A 275g jar packed full of classic pork crackling. This unique foodie gift by the Snaffling Pig company is perfect for those who would rather savoury over sweet snacks.
What we think: With a huge number of flavours available, including pigs in a blanket, salt and pepper, and Thai sweet chilli and served in a Christmassy jar, we think this would be a fab Christmas food gift. Particulary targetted at those who love savoury, classic pub snacks. Pair this crackling with a bottle of beer for a quirky stocking filler.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Up to 3 working days
What is it? A box of gooey chocolate brownies topped with chocolate chips and chocolate ganache. An indulgent treat for loved ones. All Clementina Cakes are baked with the finest ingredients and are hand-finished.
What we think: Food Editor, Samuel Goldsmith says; “We try a lot of brownies throughout the year but these ones really stood out. They were deliciously moist and had a fantastic flavour which gave you a real sense that they had been made both with great care and using good ingredients.”
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? A really lovely gift for a child. Each set contains 6 boxes filled with two pieces free from, allergen-free chocolate with a smooth coconut flavour and a 3D puzzle. Also much more sustainable than most kids’ gifts because of the cardboard packing and puzzles.
What we think: Heidi Scrimgeour, our Consumer Editor says, “These little boxes are really extra. It’s hard to do justice to how beautifully packaged they are. Just think premium product but so reasonably priced. The surprise toys are exquisitely designed with lots of detail and really robust – my eight-year-old daughter has one on her desk from two Christmases ago.”
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Named day delivery available
What is it? As if opening a box of chocolates isn’t exciting enough this box from M&S reveals a light-up snow-topped village of chocolate ‘houses’. This would make such a magical present. Flavours include chocolate yule log, golden blond salted caramel, creamy Madagascan vanilla, and intense dark chocolate torte.
What we think: A lovely little novelty Christmas food gift from M&S this year. We just love the light-up element – and so will the kids. With an array of chocolate flavours to choose from too, this chocolate box caters for most. The box is a great keepsake too and ideal for storing Christmas decorations in once used.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? This lovely spiced popcorn perfectly captures the flavours of Christmas. Popcorn shed is all made in the UK with the finest ingredients and is vegetarian and gluten-free. This would make a perfect stocking filler.
What we think: A sticky, sugary caramel texture and warming spiced flavour make this popcorn a unique food gift. The packaging is a great nod to the festivities. It’s also great to know that Popcorn Shed’s popcorn has at least a three-month shelf life, meaning if it doesn’t get to be enjoyed at Christmas, it will still be fresh come the new year.
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Next day delivery available
What is it? A pack of nine soft orange slices delicately dipped in a rich 70% dark chocolate, decorated with cardamon and cocoa nibs. Elegant handmade chocolates made in Notting Hill, London.
What we think: The orange slice itself has a great texture and the flavour gives it a festive feel, well balanced with Melt dark chocolate, which stops it from being too sweet. The judges could not stop eating these during the Tried and Tasted Awards tasting and voted these treats as one of their favourite Christmas food gifts for 2021.
Credit: That Boutiquey-y Gin Company
Order: Available to order now | Delivery: Named day delivery available
What is it? This quirky and fun gift would be wonderful for gin fans. Presented in a delightful retro-style mini-fridge and filled with mini bottles of flavoured gin including smoked rosemary, rhubarb, and finger lime gin.
What we think: We just love the variety of gin flavours included in this gift. The cherry and spit-roasted pineapple gin stood out to us the most. The retro mini fridge is a great keepsake too that can be reused. Consumer Editor, Heidi Scrimgeour adds; ” I hope Santa’s reading this. I think this is the perfect Christmas present for a home-working gin lover like me.”
Good Christmas food gifts include chocolates, biscuits, cheese and crackers, alcoholic drinks to name a few. To make a food gift the best you need to think about who you are buying it for and what that individual person really likes.
They might have a sweet tooth or they might prefer savoury snacks. They may need help catering for a large number of guests on Christmas Day so would be grateful for an extravagant cheese board. Or they may be happy with a small box of biscuits that they can enjoy with a cup of tea each day. Always think about the receiver.
“Christmas food gifts are the perfect present for this year; practical yet thoughtful and just a little bit indulgent,” says Goodto’s Consumer Editor, Heidi Scrimgeour. “Whether you’re taking something tasty to a family member’s house for a festive get-together or sending a foodie treat to someone you can’t see in person this year, a Christmas food gift guarantees to raise a smile. Bonus if you get to enjoy it with the recipient. The Tracklements, Festive four gift pack is the best Christmas food gift to send to family and friends who you won’t be sharing the big day with in person – what a wonderful way to be ‘present’ at their Christmas table as they tuck in – and think of you.”
It can be hard to decide on a budget for Christmas food gifts but always opt for what you can afford. The receiver will be grateful whatever the budget – especially if you choose something personal that you know that are truly going to enjoy.
Budgeting for Christmas food gifts can range anywhere from a £1 bag of chocolate coins as a stocking filler all the way to a £350 indulgent Christmas food hamper. Stick with your personal budget. You can also save money by making your own homemade food gifts too for friends and family.
See all the winners of the Tried & Tasted Christmas Awards