Making up a Food Hamper.

Lidl also do sun dried tomatoes, aubergines etc. bottled in oil.

Don't forget the capers!
Lots of ingredients can be found on the 'antipasta' shelf of online stores, but add homemade chutneys or jams or jellies if you make them - and a round of homemade shortbread (topped with caramel and chocolate, possibly).

I have monthly deliveries of spices and recipes from Simply Cook. You go on their website and pick recipes and they send the spices/recipes for the meal. They come in a slim box which comes through letterbox.

seasonedpioneers.com is a good place to start, good luck

Nice balsamic vinegar....Waitrose do little balsamic balls to scatter in food, saffron ( which always seems so expensive), z’atar,Nam Pla Fish sauce (anchovy based -used to add depth to sauces and soups, sumac - add to roast potatoes or hummus. Flavoured olive oils. Unusual mustards or chutney. Just a few ideas off the top off my head!

I'd take a wander up the supermarket world food aisle or to a Chinese supermarket or Polish food shop

Jut a word of caution - if you're making up a hamper for anybody who you know to have any 'dietary restrictions' - such as a Nut Allergy, Wheat Allergy, Dairy Allergy, Coeliac etc - PLEASE double check the ingredients on the bottles/jars of spices and seasonings.

I'm Coeliac, and only last week one of the members of a forum that I go on gave us all a warning about some very ordinary SALT that she'd bought - that actually had a 'may contain Gluten' warning on the label.

I would NEVER have considered double-checking the label on a packet of salt before ....................... but you just can't trust some food processing systems/manufacturers these days. Just how on earth would Gluten (found in Wheat/Oats/Barley/Spelt/Rye/Soy) find it's way into something as basic as Salt .

My son usually gives me a food hamper at Christmas. I particularly like the flavoured olive oils. Garlic olive oil saves me having to chop up fresh garlic. Sicilian lemon oil for fish. Usual jams in small jars.

If you want spices and you live within reach of Indian shops, I recommend that you go there. You will have lots of choice and the prices are much, much lower than elsewhere. Turkish shops have some interesting stuff too.

Bijou

My son usually gives me a food hamper at Christmas. I particularly like the flavoured olive oils. Garlic olive oil saves me having to chop up fresh garlic. Sicilian lemon oil for fish. Usual jams in small jars.

It's a good idea, Bijou, especially for foodies.

including laverbread.
But no laverbread!
Sorry

Try the SPICES ON THE WEB website.
Lots of ingredients I can't find anywhere else, not just spices and herbs but sauces, seasonings (some salt free for you to add to taste) etc.

I found a UK based Russian and Eastern European food site, so I've ordered several jars and spice packs that I have never heard of eg. canned sorrel.
What is interesting is that all the labels are in Cyrillic script. DD will have fun working them out.

Thank you all for the suggestions.