Send Christmas Presents

Special Delivery services can cost upwards for any reasonably weighted Christmas present while ‘Tracked and Signed’ doesn’t necessarily get there any quicker – you just have the ability to see that the parcel has been signed for at the other end.

We list our last Christmas posting dates here so make sure you’re well ahead of those.

Another reason is that with Britain being located where we are, we generally have no idea of what the weather will be like from one week to another. And in previous years the courier network and that of Royal Mail have been severely affected by snow and wind – despite all our efforts. When there are a couple of days when deliveries and collections are adversely affected then backlogs can occur and deliveries get delayed even further. Booking a collection as early as possible may help – even if you haven’t got everybody’s presents sorted yet.

If you are posting items abroad then we do have various different service levels, from Express to Economy. We make the estimated transit times clear on the quote results page so you can see what time frame the courier anticipates delivery to your destination.

If you can predict what you’ll be buying up why not compare courier prices ahead of time then it will take less time to book them in for collection or a Drop Off.

You can then arrange collection at your leisure; knowing whether you are allowed to send it, how much it will cost, which courier would be best, and how quickly it will arrive. This will often minimize the risk of getting the wrong delivery address or dimensions.

If you are sending parcels to an entire family, then it makes sense to bundle them together and send them as one larger parcel. As the price bands are quite wide, then you could effectively get a massive reduction in their individual prices by boxing them all up.

You can save a considerable amount on the cost of delivery by booking a courier online rather than the usual Post Office route, especially when sending overseas.

This is particularly evident when it comes to international deliveries, but even for domestic services. If you need your parcel to arrive at its destination sooner than the price the courier charges will increase.

If you are able to book earlier then you will be able to use a more economical service and save the difference in price – especially if you need the parcel to arrive the next day before a set time.

We know how difficult and stressful Christmas can be when it comes to buying gifts and having to work during the time you just want to spend preparing for the festival, so we make it very easy. Not only can you arrange for a courier to collect your parcels from you but you can also drop them off at a Post Office, shop or depot too.

When you do a price comparison with us using the ‘Send a Parcel’ link above you will be shown a list of services and a tab that says ‘Drop Off’. If you click these, then you will be able to see a range of services that allow you to take your parcels to a drop-off point close by. The advantage of this is that they are typically open early in the mornings and after traditional working hours have finished.

By dropping off, it often shaves even more cost of our courier prices, as you are starting the journey for your parcel simply by dropping it at a store.

Couriers may now be able to deliver on a Saturday or Sunday but, at the time of writing, they aren’t able to collect from you then. So don’t leave it until the last weekend before Christmas to book your parcel.

Also, there are obviously no collections on Christmas Eve and certainly none that will deliver on Christmas Day.

Always check the restricted items list before planning any Christmas present. 

There are some specialist couriers that will handle unique parcels such as liquids, frozen goods, or batteries but trying to book them in the mad rush when you can’t actually work out which is the most appropriate. Our terms and conditions and our general prohibited items list can be found here. Have a look at these two documents and work out if you are likely to be sending items that are prohibited, restricted, or offer no carriage guarantee.

An example that may be relevant (correct at the time of writing) would be unboxed bicycles, precious stones, pottery, mobile phones valued at over £250, perfume, and many Apple (the electronics company) products.

Alcohol, perfumes and aftershave, nail varnish, polish or gel, batteries, and aerosols are all prohibited. That includes Christmas gift sets.