Tips for Traveling with Gifts during the Holiday Season

The holiday season is a wonderful time to show your loved ones how much you care by giving them thoughtful gifts. But if you're traveling to see family or friends during the holidays, you might be wondering how to best transport your presents. Here are a few tips to make sure your gifts arrive at your destination safe and sound.

Travel Tip #1

Start early. The earlier you start packing, the less stressed you'll be. And if you're traveling by plane, it's always best to give yourself plenty of time in case your flight is delayed or canceled.

Travel Tip #2

Don’t wrap your gifts until you reach your destination. This might seem like counterintuitive advice, but it’s actually quite smart. If your wrapped gifts happen to get damaged during transit, you won’t have to re-wrap them when you reach your destination. And if they do survive the trip intact, you can save time by not having to wrap them until you reach your destination.

Travel Tip #3

Pack the presents strategically. Place heavier items on the bottom of your suitcase or at the bottom of your car trunk. This will help prevent them from being crushed during transit. And if you’re worried about items shifting around and becoming damaged, consider packing them in smaller boxes within your larger suitcase or wrapping them individually in bubble wrap.

Travel Tip #4

Hand-carry valuables. If you're carrying any valuables with you on the plane, keep them in your carry-on bag rather than checking them. That way, you'll have them with you at all times and there's less risk of them getting lost or stolen en route. If you have to put them into your luggage, use bubble wrap or foam peanuts can help keep delicate items safe during transit.

Travel Tip #5

Use Gift Bags: Gift bags are a great way to reduce the amount of wrapping paper you need to pack with you. They also make it easy to store multiple gifts in one place without having them become tangled together.

Skip the Gift!

Okay not literally, but get rid of the physical or shrink its size by giving a gift card instead. If you are staying in the U.S. you can find gift cards for every taste and style and gift cards are easy to transport, just make sure you keep them with your carry-on bag.

When traveling during the holidays on vacation outside of the US, I have found that cash gifts work well for people you may be interacting with like a driver you may hire for several days, or a private tour guide that goes above and beyond, you get the picture.

You can send money to them via money transfer services. These services are available just about anywhere in the world. For example, you can transfer money to Bangladesh, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal (we did this for a guide we spent 3 days with in Lisbon) and countries all over the world (including the US!) quite easily through a money transfer service.

Following these simple tips will help ensure that your holiday gifts arrive at their destination safe and sound. So pack wisely and enjoy spending time with your loved ones this holiday season!

How about you? Have additional tips for traveling with gifts? Do share!

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