10 Tips for Shipping Christmas Presents

It's that time of the year again and you know what that means; shipping Christmas presents. Shipping Christmas presents to friends and family can be really frustrating. You worry about whether or not the package will get there on time. You worry about whether the homemade goodies will still be edible by the time they reach their destination. You also worry about whether or not Christmas presents will safely arrive or if they'll be broken into a million pieces by the time they go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house. I hope the following ten tips help you gain a little peace of mind when it comes time to ship Christmas presents to your friends and family.

1. Make note of shipping dates. Nothing is worse than having Christmas presents arrive late. Go to the post office website and check to see what the last date for shipping is. If you wait too long, you may have to choose the overnight shipping method.

2. Take extra precautions for fragile items. When shipping fragile items, you will need to make sure that the Christmas present is protected. I suggest using some sort of packing material so that the present does not move around in the shipping box. Also have the person, at the post office, stamp the package several times with a stamp that says fragile.

3. No packing peanut? Use plastic grocery bags. I can't be the only one who has ten thousand of those plastic grocery bags lying around my house. You can take all of those bags and stuff them around the Christmas present to ensure that it won't move around in the box. Plus it's a great way to get rid of all those bags.

4. Ship breakables separately. When you are shipping fragile Christmas presents, do not put them in the same shipping box as a large/heavy Christmas present. It may cost a little bit more to ship two packages, but your gift recipient will not receive a broken Christmas present; so it's worth it.

5. Wrap large boxes in mailing or wrapping paper. When shipping a Christmas present that is in a large box, it's best just to wrap the box in mailing paper (found at Walmart) or in wrapping paper. This is so much easier than trying to find a large shipping box.

6. Wrap shipping boxes. If you have several small Christmas presents, wrap them and then wrap the shipping box as well. Just be sure to put tape around the wrapping paper or the shipping label may get ripped off.

7. Use the fastest shipping available when sending edible Christmas presents. If you are sending edible Christmas presents, you'll want to use the fastest shipping available so that the items are still nice and tasty when they arrive.

8. Securely wrap gift baskets. When shipping gift baskets, you need to make sure the items are secure in the basket, or they could end up all over the box. After placing the items in the basket, you may want to use tape to secure the items or you may just want to wrap the gift basket in cellophane, making sure to tightly secure the cellophane around the basket and items. Once the gift basket is wrapped, place it in the box and surround it will lots of packing material so that if the items do come out of the basket, they won't move around too much.

9. Add holiday stamps to envelopes. You may just be sending gift cards this Christmas. To make the Christmas present more special, add some pretty Christmas stamps to the envelopes. Also put the gift cards inside of a nice Christmas card.

10. Let the recipient know the Christmas presents are coming. Last, but not least, call your gift recipients and tell them their Christmas presents are on the way. This way they can be home to sign for it, if need be.