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Sunday Mirror Consumer Investigation: Buy a Xmas gift hamper? You'd

MILLIONS of us will splash out on luxury food hampers this Christmas - but a Sunday Mirror investigation shows shops are charging up to pounds 35 just for the BOX.

We took six High Street hampers and added up the value of their goods... and discovered that, rather than bagging a bargain, shoppers are paying over the odds for festive treats.

The worst offender were supermarket giants John Lewis - similar goods to those in their pounds 99 hamper can be bought in their store for just pounds 64.10. Even though Boots have just reduced their luxury hamper by pounds 25 the price now just about matches the cost of the items inside

"There will always be a market for the Christmas hamper and gift boxes, despite slowdowns on the High Street," said Julian Hunt, of The Grocer magazine.

"People like their seasonal treats, they like the convenience of having them prepared without having to shop around - and that is what you are paying a bit extra for."

We emptied out a selection of typical hampers across the Christmas range... and priced the contents against the same, or similar items off the shelf to find out who fared best...

TESCO

FINEST INDULGENCE HAMPER

Fourteen items in a lidded box made of woven seagrass.

PRICE pounds 90 plus up to pounds 5.95 delivery

COST OF ITEMS pounds 73.85

CONTENTS 2 etched glass coasters, 2 etched champagne flutes, oil drizzler, bottle vintage champagne, bottle vintage claret, bottle Gavi wine, bottle 10-year-old port, Tesco Finest mature Christmas pudding (454g), Finest Spanish olive oil (500ml), Finest Java Sumatra roast ground coffee (227g), Finest cranberry sauce (200g), Finest cafe truffles, Belgian chocolate & butter biscuits, Finest Mediterranean mini-twist selection.

A MIXTURE of off-the-shelf goods, and special items. The champagne flutes for example, Tesco insists, are far better quality than their usual type."The hamper itself is very big and very heavy, trimmed with solid wood, and it's worth pounds 20," a spokesman said.COST: pounds 90 CONTENTS VALUE pounds 73.85

CHRISTMAS HAMPERS COCHAMPAGNE FRUIT BOX.

Fourteen items in an open wooden box.

PRICE pounds 53.59, free delivery (0845 304 5300)

COST OF ITEMS pounds 35.35

CONTENTS Bottle Andre Simon NV champers, 3 kiwi fruit, 2 starfruit, galia melon, 2 mangoes, 3 passion fruit, 4 bananas, 3 Braeburn apples, 4 oranges, 4 clementines, 2 Williams pears, bunch white grapes, 3 peaches, a pineapple.

The bubbly is widely available at pounds 25.85, and shopping around supermarkets, even out of season, the bill for the fruit came to pounds 9.50 - leaving almost pounds 20 for the box. "To be honest, we are about to withdraw this item because we haven't sold enough as it was on the expensive side," a spokesman at the Christmas Hampers Company said. "It's not the kind of thing you can keep in stock. We could only despatch it on three days a week, when fresh fruit supplies came in."COST: pounds 53.59 CONTENTS VALUE pounds 35.35

JOHN LEWISFESTIVE FEAST HAMPER

Nineteen items in a wicker and seagrass basket.

PRICE pounds 99, plus pounds 3.95 delivery

COST OF ITEMS pounds 64.10

CONTENTS Bottles of Andides Saumur white, Chapel Hill Chardonnay Pinot Noir sparkling, La Rectories Cotes du Ventoux red, Boaters Christmas cappuccino coffee (six sachets), Pane Italia parmesan onion tartini (175g), Home Recipe Foods autumn fruit chutney (312g), Tracklements sweet mustard ketchup (300ml), Marandi nougat (200g) Highfield Preserves cranberry and claret jelly (113g), Rose Farm Seville orange marmalade (227g), Rose Farm raspberry jam (227g), Beverley Manor Christmas cake (681g), Shropshire Spice Co gourmet bread sauce (140g), Cavendish & Harvey sour cherry drops (200g), Walkers luxury mincemeat tarts (six), Elizabeth Shaw mint crisps (200g), Hamlet Quatre Saisons breadsticks (100g), Isis Belgian chocolates (225g), Border luxury biscuit selection (400g).

A JOHN Lewis spokesman said: "Like any gift sets, they are more expensive than the individual parts. But that doesn't mean stores are making huge profits. Customers like to discover items they had not thought of - and the convenience of having someone else do the searching for them."COST: pounds 99 CONTENTS VALUE pounds 64.10

MARKS & SPENCERSUMPTUOUS SELECTION HAMPER.

Nineteen items in a woven willow basket.

PRICE pounds 100, plus pounds 10 delivery

COST OF ITEMS pounds 75.48.

CONTENTS Bottles of Bluff Hill sparkling wine, Cotes du Rhone, white Burgundy, Christmas mulled red wine, hot toddy. Luxury top- iced Christmas cake (960g), luxury Christmas pudding (454g), chocolate gold coins, Belgian chocolates (190g), cocoa dusted almonds (135g), luxury chocolate shortbread (450g), cheese squares (100g), piri piri spiced large cashews (330g), Christmas coffee (227g), raspberry and cranberry conserve (227g), orange and whisky marmalade (227g), Christmas chutney (300g), brandy butter (195g), Christmas cranberry and ruby port sauce (250g).

THEY'RE all M&S' own products, so you know in advance the quality you're buying. An M&S spokesman said: "The hampers are hand-packed and nicely presented - and customers appreciate that. Then there is the value of the basket itself. It is beautifully made, it will last for years and it can later be used for all kinds of storage purposes. I keep logs for the fire in mine."COST: pounds 100 CONTENTS VALUE pounds 75.48

SAINSBURY'STHE CHESTNUT HAMPER

Twenty five items, in a square wicker basket.

PRICE pounds 100, plus pounds 5.50 delivery

COST OF ITEMS pounds 72.61

CONTENTS Bottles Etienne Dumont Brut, Laztana Rioja Tempranillo, Jacques Bland Chenin blanc. S'bury fruit pud (454g), S'bury Xmas cake (907g), Dormen's nuts (150g), Bonne Maman orange marmalade & strawberry conserve (370g each ), Walkers shortbread (200g), Jules Destrooper apple thins (100g), Guylian truffle Belgian chocs (180g), Whitakers mint cremes (200g), Amaretti Italian cookies (150g), Elsenham chutney (300g), Fudges cheese straws (100g), Taylors English tea (50 bags), Roger Vidal duck pate (125g), Walkers oatcakes (300g), Belazu olives (210g), Maille Dijon mustard (215g), S'bury chcolate gold & silver coins, Boaters Irish Cream flavour coffee (125g), Shropshire Spice Co chestnut stuffing mix (150g), 2 candles.

A spokesman said: "We think it's exceptionally good value. I don't know what the basket is worth, - but I'd be surprised if you found anything similar for less than pounds 30."COST: pounds 100 CONTENTS VALUE pounds 72.61

BOOTSLUXURY HAMPER

Eighteen items in a seagrass basket

PRICE pounds 74.99, free delivery

COST OF ITEMS pounds 74.22.

CONTENTS Bottles of red wine, white wine, small Calem port, Baileys & Harveys Bristol Cream. Shropshire Spice Co chestnut stuffing (150g), Baxters cranberry sauce (155g), Garners piccalilli (310g), Baxters fruit chutney (312g), Mathew Walker Xmas pud (350g), Ultimate brandy butter (190g), De Kroes salt and pepper biscuits (100g), Walkers cheese biscuits (400g), Taylors Cafe Imperial coffee (227g), Whitakers orange crisp wafers (200g), Belgium choc biscuits (100g), Whitakers mint creams (200g), 12 Boots luxury crackers.

AS the price has just been reduced from pounds 99.99, Boots seem to have thrown in the basket free!

A spokesman said: "The hamper just happens to be in our sale - so it's better value than ever."COST: pounds 74.99 CONTENTS VALUE pounds 74.22