Sunday, December 2, 2012

#17 FORTNUM & MASON


Christmas is coming. Although we’ve had a sudden heatwave in Chicago with temperatures reaching up into the low 50s these last two days, that hasn’t stopped the city from exploding in red and green, in twinkling white Christmas lights, and all manner of snowmen and reindeer. I’ve been noticing Christmas decorations more this year than ever before with an almost three year-old as my sidekick. On our walk home from his daycare the other night, Nathan got so excited he stopped and yelled “CHRISTMAS!” as loud as he could on the sidewalk. Certainly Buckingham Palace explodes with joy and panache at the holidays. Queen Elizabeth has a rather long Christmas list—not only does she buy gifts for her husband, her children, and her grandchildren but also for more distant relatives and for her large household staff. In At Home with the Royal Family James and Russell share that the Queen’s go-to store for Christmas shopping, especially for fruitcakes, is Fortnum & Mason. The Piccadilly institution has a Royal Warrant from the Queen as “Grocers & Provision Merchants” and from Prince Charles as “Tea Merchants & Grocers.”

Have you ever been to Fortnum & Mason? It’s such a beautiful store. It’s easily my favorite place we visited in London. The five-floor flagship in Piccadilly Circus is a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of that area. The lower level food hall features a wine bar, fruits and vegetables, and fine cheeses. The ground floor is filled with tins of tea, tubes of biscuits, and drums of chocolates. On the other floors Fortnum does men’s and women’s toiletries, packaged gifts, glassware, and fine dishes like the tea set we bought there.
 
At Christmas they specialize in hampers—large wicker baskets emblazoned with the F&M logo that house tins of biscuits and truffles and bottles of champagne. Maybe the best part about perusing this selection online is reading the descriptions. Consider The First Christmas Hamper (£100):

Inside this little wicker hamper you will find a fluffy pair of slippers, a pretty rocking-horse decoration for the Christmas tree and Fortnum’s own teddy bear, Master Mason, which is handmade in Shropshire from softest mohair.”
Sold. I’m also intrigued by The Grosvenor Hamper (£100):
rich butter biscuits, a bizarre of olives, and a drum of rich chocolate truffles are included in the feast, ensuring that every inch of one’s appetite will be nicely sated.”
 
Isn’t that a fantastic use of the word “bizarre”?

But I don’t live in England, you might be thinking. Fortnum’s website assures me that this won’t be a problem. Worldwide shipping is available; to ship to the United States you’ll pay a £30 fee. I’ve been considering this as a gift for Adam for the past couple of weeks, but I just can’t choke down the prices. As I just pointed out to him, instead of spending £130 on one of these hampers (almost $300), you might as well scrape a little more money together and buy a plane ticket to London. Adam nodded enthusiastically. “No kidding.”
So when are we going?”

Here's a video of a special visit the Queen made to the store not so long ago.




Where to buy: To purchase online, visit Fortnum’s website. You can see the store’s Christmas window display in this movie. If you’re craving a British Christmas shopping experience stateside, consider that Spencer’s Jolly Posh Foods in Chicago is also now decorated for Christmas.

No comments:

Post a Comment