"If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another" - Sir Winston Churchill

Here's our "Top 7 Tips" to keeping costs down when sending online food hampers to friends, family or clients which we hope will be both helpful and time saving:

1. Create your own hamper – why not visit a website that lets you choose exactly what you want to put into your hamper. A great way to control the cost of your gift, as these sites will let you remove items if you see that your hamper is becoming too expensive.

2. Hampers don't need to be massive - You are giving a very nice gift in the form of food items. Where does it say that hampers have to be massive? It doesn't. So, select a variety of items that relate, but keep the quantities down to a minimum. Remember, it's the thought that counts.

3. Alcohol is not required - Sending a gift hamper does not require alcohol. This will keep your hamper costs down and there are plenty of luxurious treats you can fill a hamper with that are more inexpensive. If you want to send a drink, why not send a non-alcoholic drink instead?

4. Only send hampers within your country – Delivery costs are usually added at the end of your purchase. But if you want to send a hamper to another country, the costs increase significantly. By sending hampers only within your country, the costs are not increased. If you need to send a hamper to another country, select a hamper company from that country first.

5. Don't send hampers on weekends – Delivery charges are quoted for Monday through Friday deliveries, because that's when most courier companies deliver at the most affordable rates. If you want to deliver a hamper for a Saturday delivery, you will pay dearly for that convenience. Keep deliveries to weekdays and save.

6. Don't pay for a "personal message added" – To have a personal message added to your hamper, this should be a free service, which includes a free card. Some companies will even have your message handwritten on a greeting card. It just adds that personal touch, which recipients like.

7. Are the products value for money? – Looking at the items put into hampers, have they won any food awards. Top quality fine foods always receive awards. Quality food companies enter fine food competitions often because winning means more sales. It's your guarantee that the food in your hamper tastes as good as it looks.

A final helpful tip: when looking for hamper delivery sites, you will often find some of the better sites are usually not on first page of Google.