Christmas is a time for spending time with loved ones and enjoying the festive season, with one of the best way to enjoy this period is to exchange gifts. With this, comes the need to ship/deliver these gifts on time and in the best condition possible, especially if you are sending internationally or across the country. The Holidays bring high sales volumes, which can lead to limited containers, freight and port congestion, and delivery delays.

There has also already been wide spread talks of many strikes taking places across December, so you must make sure you are aware of these and ready with your shopping list. Deadlines are looming, so if you haven’t already got a plan to follow, we have some last-minute shipping tips to help you fulfil orders securely and on time.

Ensure You Know Key Christmas Shipping Deadlines

In this day and age, we expect everything to happen instantly, but shipping goods overseas takes time. During seasonal peaks, carriers bring forward deadlines in light of order influxes, supply chain disruptions, and staff shortages, which is always a common problem. Make sure you know the dates, a general rule of thumb being that the later you ship, the higher the cost, and lower the chance of delivering on time.

Deadlines obviously vary depending on the carrier, type of goods, and their destination, but shipping any later than mid-December makes it unlikely that your items will arrive before Christmas. We recommend having all of your shipment ready before the 12^th December, no later, as this still leaves 2 full working weeks before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you are just shipping to the UK, having your order done no later than the 19^th. This is the week where couriers will be at their busiest.

Avoid The Need For Returns

Especially for those ordering just before Christmas, worse case scenario is that the items come damaged or wrapped poorly. It’s one of the most common shipping issues – poor packing. If you don’t protect your shipments with the right materials, they’re more likely to get damaged or lost during transit. This is why we recommend you:

• Use strong, sturdy boxes – preferably new, and preferably two (an inner and outer box) with at least two inches of cushioning between them. There are plenty of environmentally friendly options available if you are not comfortable with using filler materials.
• Cushion and protect items – packing materials should be air-cushioned and relative to size and weight (e.g., fragile items should be wrapped with extra newspaper). If a package isn’t bulging slightly when you push it down, it’s not packed securely enough. There should be no empty space inside the box, else this leaves room for the item to move about.
• Seal shipments tightly – seal both boxes with professional tape in an H-pattern, which should provide adequate surface area, and make it difficult to remove or open during transit. This ensures packages are not stolen in transit, or at least makes it harder for potential thieves.
• Label clearly – use a clear labelling system, and make sure your shipment doesn’t have any old labels or bar codes, which could cause it to go to the wrong destination. You don’t want someone else receiving your gifts this Christmas!

We hope you will take this as sound advice to follow across the Christmas period, especially if you are sending items that need to be delivered before Christmas day. It is always best to be early than late. If you are looking for experts and timely shipping services in time for Christmas, then contact us today. We will deliver your items safely, on time, and even offer storage and professional packing options too, alongside tracking to ensure you know the whereabouts of your packages at all times.

Thank you and have a Merry Christmas!