Unwrapping History
From Neolithic offerings in ancient tombs to the thrill of unboxing a package in the digital era, the humble gift hamper has come a long way.
Predating even pottery and stone carving is the craft of basketry. It’s difficult to pinpoint the earliest origins of the craft, given that baskets are typically made from naturally perishable materials. However, in 2021, a basket was unearthed in the Judean Desert that dates back some 10,500 years, to the Neolithic period. Researchers confirmed that two people wove it, and that one of them was left-handed.
From there, baskets can be spotted across ancient cultures all over the world, from tombs in Egypt, supplementing the belief that the person who had passed away needed resources for the next life, to India, where baskets were carried on the head to transport vegetables and other food items. In ancient Greece, baskets were filled with olive oil and wine as offerings to the gods. In China, they were filled with tea and other items and offered as a sign of respect and gratitude.
While all of this is proof that it was common to fill baskets with valuable items to be offered as gifts, it was only as recently as the European Middle Ages that the practice really began. The act of giving these became more elaborate and popular during this period. The upper classes exchanged decorated baskets filled with luxury items like fancy food and wine. The prestige of the basket acted as a marker of their wealth. Rulers would exchange baskets full of the finest of silks and spices sourced from their travellers’ journeys. Offering baskets in the form of care packages—with food, clothing, and other necessities—to people in need also became a sustained movement during this time.
THIS TRADITION ONLY grew over time, and in the Victorian era, gift baskets, especially around Christmas, became a vastly popular practice. In 1707, William Fortnum, a footman in Queen Anne’s home, observing the insistence on fresh candles being lit every night, collected the excess palace wax and launched a business with his landlord Hugh Mason. From here, they evolved into a gift basket business. They became so popular that Charles Dickens wrote: “'Look where I will... I see Fortnum & Mason. All the hampers fly wide open and the green downs burst into a blossom of lobster salad!”
With this fledgling business, gift baskets took on a more exciting hue. The baskets now included ham, cheese, biscuits, wine, jewellery, books, toys, or anything else the giver might think appropriate. People customised the baskets they were sending out, communicating their love, care, and attention to detail through these gifts. This obsession continued to spread and by the nineteenth century, gift baskets came in vogue in the United States as well. A study of the evolution of society through the history of these baskets would reflect contemporary notions of what was considered luxurious, high status, and celebratory at different times and places.
Today, gift hampers continue to evolve, and are relevant not just during Christmas, but every occasion that comes one’s way. From baby showers to birthdays and weddings to special holidays, there’s a gift basket for every occasion. Corporate gifting has also become a big part of this industry. There’s also a dizzying amount of variety, from fruit and cupcake baskets to self-care baskets with beauty products and the evergreen baskets consisting of a variety of products. More recently, there’s been a shift toward sustainable items and packaging, and organic and locally sourced items.
The baskets are used long after its contents are consumed or used. They come in handy for regifting, storage, and transportation. They have once accompanied hunters on expeditions, couples on romantic picnics, climbers and adventurers on Everest and other expeditions, and diplomats on covert missions. Now, they’ve become storage units holding magazines, toys, napkins, and baking essentials.
TEARING OPEN A gift package and discovering what’s inside a basket has always been exciting. But with the emergence of technology, this experience, like most others, has been driven to an extreme. In one instance, a creator has made about an hour long YouTube video where she opens PR packages she has received, holding each item up to the camera and promising her viewers a giveaway as well. In another video, the creator has purchased lost mail and is opening each item, hoping to find something that’ll make her haul worth it. Several creators even go on bulk shopping sprees with Amazon returns, since these items aren’t restocked but are instead sold to resellers. These videos have amassed millions of views, offering viewers little hits of dopamine with every package that’s opened on screen.
With increased online shopping during the lockdown, unboxing also took off in a big way. For creators faced with massive limitations in the kind of content that could be put out, this was a smart pivot. The growing popularity of recording oneself while opening packages or gift baskets became a way of connecting with fellow consumers. In its essence, it’s a moment of joy that’s shared with the world. To viewers, it offers a sense of excitement and anticipation about what might be inside a package. The genre offers instant gratification, setting up a mystery, offering the electricity of anticipation, and then quickly providing the answer. With each new package, the excitement surges as one hopes that within this will be something extraordinary or unique, expensive or rare, or otherwise precious. During times of uncertainty and fear brought on by the pandemic, these videos worked as easy and exciting escapes for viewers.
This trend has crescendoed through its engagement with pop culture royalty, the Kardashians. Kourtney’s lifestyle venture Poosh periodically sends out themed packages. Their self-care kit, for instance, contained everything from fluffy Uggs to a kettle with mugs and from a body scrub to a vibrator, essentially accounting for a stay-at-home experience that’s comforting and pleasurable in every way. Earlier this year, her younger sister Kim’s KKW Fragrance launched new perfumes which, as a Valentine’s Day special, came covered in a big chocolate-made heart and a hammer. The recipient had to crack open the edible heart to find the fragrance inside.
IN EARLIER TIMES, gift hampers were a way for senders to express their status. They’d fill the baskets with expensive items in an attempt to not just impress the recipient but also communicate their financial capacity and refined taste. In one way, that continues even today. Take for instance a wedding invitation. It’s often more than just a simple card today. It’s accompanied with a gift of dry fruits or other eatables, scented candles or jewellery. The package is carefully curated, colourful and eye-catching, and sometimes even scented. It’s setting the tone for the big fat Indian wedding to follow.
But in another sense, the act of receiving has also become an equally big part of the process today. Most of them are not just passive recipients, with several people recording their reactions while opening packages and uploading it on social media. With these videos come the subtle message that as a receiver, they’re worthy of such an elaborate package. It’s about more than just unwrapping a package. It’s about the feeling and theatrics accompanying the process.
And people enjoy consuming these videos. On YouTube, videos where expensive technology or couture is unboxed receive millions of views. Technology has simultaneously allowed people to open their worlds up for each other and complicated the simple joy of receiving something from a loved one.
Aarushi Agrawal
Aarushi Agrawal is a journalist, and extremely passionate about research, reading, and writing.
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