Getting the gifts you have purchased from your home to the home of your loved ones by or before Christmas can be a challenge of epic proportions unless you know what you are doing.
If you insist upon doing things the hard way (i.e. shopping out in brick and mortar stores and wrapping and shipping the gifts yourself), you need to start early. You will need to consider buying gifts that ship well. For example clothing ships easily while delicate glass ware presents a whole other set of problems.
During ‘normal’ times (non-holidays) it takes about 5 business days to get a package from point A to point B. During the holiday mail crush, you should assume it will take twice that long. Packages need to securely wrapped and plainly addressed. Use bubble wrap and use corded tape and don’t depend on somebody to guess what the address is where the package is supposed to go. Be sure to include a return address and if the package contains a valuable item, buy insurance.
Consider using shipping other than UPS. There are freight companies that can pick up the package from your home and deliver it to the home of the recipient. There are also mail service businesses that will pack, wrap and ship items for you and the cost of this service is relatively small.
There are many, many online companies that will ship your purchase directly to your recipient. The package never even passes through your hands. This is the easiest, fastest and most secure way to play post office with Santa.
Tagged with: buying gifts • christmas • christmas shopping • holiday mail • mail service • post office • santa
You have a truly great blog! This post is filled with wonderful shipping tips. My favorite way to ship is in your last paragraph…online companies that will ship your purchase directly to your recipient. This is especially helpful during Holiday seasons. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Blessings,
Gin