How to Get Your Gift Items Safely to Your Destination

I travel. I carry gifts. That's just the way it is. It's a constant part of my travel. I carry items in both directions. I'm so thankful that the domestic airlines don't usually weigh the carry ons. Sometimes I've needed to lift the case up to the overhead bin on my head or have help since it was just too heavy, not on the way out on a trip, but on the way back in. I usually bring back more than I take out, and I'm just not going to offend someone by refusing their gift.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to stop carrying breakables. But that's just not going to happen. So I've needed to find ways around carrying fragile items across the country and across the world, so that they arrive with me in one piece, undamaged.

This is what I do for every trip going out and coming back in:

1. I separate the gifts between the damageable, the durable, the liquid and the items I don't want to go through security with me.

2. I pack anything that can be damaged, in my carry-on, unless I've run out of room and it's for my own use anyway. I've carried ceramics. bone china, crystal, shells, candy, fancy soaps, delicate baked goods and small pieces of furniture.

3. I pack in my checked luggage: All clothing, unless it's a very special piece, all unbreakable toys, books, stuffed toys, shoes, stationary items, plain shaped or well packed soaps, food items and rocks and anything else that's not going to be damaged by rough handling.

I also pack the Vidalia onions, bulbs, pecans and other food items I'm taking with me, including canned and packaged goods in my checked luggage. I get less questions about them, and even though the suitcase always gets inspected they always pass through security and arrive with me.

4. I always carry a padded thermal lunch bag and a ziplock bag stuffed with bubble wrap in different sizes and shapes for the liquids that I will be carrying. I've transported honey in glass jars, beer, persimmon pulp, fudge sauce, jam/jelly, hot sauce etc and have arrived safely home with them in the same condition that I packed them in. I wrap each item in a couple layers of bubble wrap, then put them in the lunch bag or a small box if the bag is already full and pack the items in among the clothing in the middle of the suitcase away from any sides of the suitcase or the shoes to pad them from bumps.

5. I pack the gift wrapping separately since a wrapped item is a red flag to the security. I tuck it in the pocket in the suitcase lid. I use gift bags or goody bags since they're less complicated to package the gifts in and take up a lot less room and weight in the suitcase. As soon as I'm in my room I unpack my suitcase, pull out all of the gifts
and allot them to each person, then put them in the gift-bags.

6. When I have an item or items that are odd shaped, an awkward size, or will be damaged even in the carry-on, such as a fan coral or home baked brownies, I put them in one of the airport gift shop bags that I carry with me just for that purpose or in the bag that I carry my meal in. Unless the flight is truly stuffed to the gills the flight attendants will allow you to carry on a shopping bag of items in addition to the allowance of one carry-on and a personal item.

7. If you have to take a puddle jumper to your final destination, they usually require even your carry-on to be checked no matter how you may argue. Been there, done that. Just exchange out the delicate items out of your carry-on for the items in your personal item. For example, I've put fragile items in my briefcase and put the
contents of my briefcase into my carry-on saving a few necessary items from the briefcase. Then carried the fragile items in my briefcase on-board while the carry-on was checked with most of the contents of my briefcase.

8. There have been a couple times I've been in a situation where the flight was so full that the gate agents told me to check my carry-on. When I told them quite truthfully that it contained family heirlooms or breakables, they allowed me to carry it on with me with the contingency that I might still need to check it. I went on prepared to exchange the contents if I needed to. But I didn't need to. Be willing to politely fight for the safety of your gifts but also be prepared for an alternate route if necessary.

9. If the gift item is within the allotted carry-on liquid size, I add it to my allowed carry-on zippie for the security station. It just goes through the xray with everything else. This saves packing space and keeps the item where it'll be safe. I've carried perfume, tiny bottles of cordial and makeup that way.

10. Here is another note on how you pack your gifts, especially if you don't have time to be detained in security
while they rifle through All of your belongings. Do Not pack too many dissimilar items in too many complicated and concealing layers. They come up as a huge suspicious jumble on the xray and you will find your suitcase being inspected. A nice security agent explained this to me.

If you place the items in a container, keep the layers simple, to one or two layers, or if the items are all similar or alike and are easily recognizable items and they are stacked in your suitcase they will be easily read on the xray. I learned this one the hard way.

Depending upon your own situation you may need to come up with some other actions that you need to do to ensure that your packages arrive safely. These suggestions may help you to come up with additional ones. In any case, this is what I do to carry everything safely from one end to the other with nothing damaged and have done so since 1995.