Perfectly Packaged Parcels

1. Make sure you’re not sending any restricted items.

Not all gifts can be sent in the post. Royal Mail has a handy list of prohibited and restricted items so you can check to make sure that you’re not posting anything that is not allowed.

2. Pick the right box for your gifts.

It might be stating the obvious, but you do need to make sure that the box you are using is strong and sturdy enough to carry your gifts and keep them protected during the journey. If your gifts are heavy, then you need to make sure the bottom of the box will hold, so they don’t fall out.

3. Label up each gift.

If you are sending multiple people gifts in one parcel, then we strongly recommend labelling up each individual gift. Gift tags can easily come off during transit so by using a self-adhesive label, such as our Round Labels, you know that the name tags will still be on the gifts when they reach the recipients.

4. Wrap each item individually.

If you are able to, as well as wrapping up your gifts and labelling them, it will help if the gifts are also individually wrapped in a protective cover such as bubble wrap or tissue paper.

5. Try to cover sharp edges.

If any of your gifts have sharp edges then try to soften them by using sticky tape on the corners or even pad them with bubble wrap. Sharp edges could tear the box, so also try to keep these away from the box’s edge to avoid any mishaps.

6. Protect fragile items.

Make sure you take care of anything fragile. It is always advised to not pack fragile items side by side. Try to keep them away from the edge of the box so they don’t get damaged in transit.

If you do have fragile items then we strongly recommend adding a ‘fragile’ label to the box. To help make sure it’s visible, we recommend using a coloured label such as our Red Coloured Labels.

7. Pad out the box.

Make sure you use some paper, tissue paper or even bubble wrap to try and pad out the sides to help protect the contents inside the box.

8. Put some contact details inside the box!

Most parcels reach their destinations intact without any issue, but just in case the box gets damaged, it’s always handy to have the contact details of the recipient inside the box so that the parcel can still reach its destination.   

9. Seal the edges

To help make sure that no water finds its way into your parcel, make sure you seal up all the edges with tape. This will help make sure the contents stays dry!

However - don’t wrap your parcel in black plastic: Automated sortation machinery is unable to process it correctly and could result in the parcel coming back to you.

10. Label up the boxes clearly.

It’s important to make sure that your parcels are clearly labelled. We have a great selection of self-adhesive Address Labels that you can easily design and print yourself. Our Parcel Label sizes are perfectly optimised for all standard parcels and tubes.

11. Returns Address Label.

In addition to your address label, it’s also advised that you have a return address/sender address label on your parcel, just in case it needs to be returned to you.

To make your parcels extra festive why not add one of our FREE Christmas templates, which can be applied to any of our printable labels when you use our free Design and Print Label Creator.