Keeping it light at Xmas

Hollie Johnson prefers flat envelopes to bulky parcels. Photo / Janna Dixon

Email might be the cheapest way to stay in touch with people but Christmas presents have to be sent the old-fashioned way.

The catch is that it takes time - and so tomorrow is the last day for sending parcels to Britain, the US, Asia and Africa by economy mail, the cheapest way. The deadline for Australia and the South Pacific is next Monday.

It costs $28 to send a 1kg 30x30x10cm package to Britain by economy post and $5 more if it goes by airmail.

If you're a late Christmas shopper and post after December 9, you'll need to use a courier - at a cost of $102 - to make sure your gifts get there in time. December 13 is the latest date for guaranteed Christmas delivery in the Northern Hemisphere.

Sending the same 1kg package to Australia costs $12 before November 29 and $14 until December 6. By courier it will cost $27 if it's sent by December 13 and $38 until December 15.

NZ Post product manager Murray Silcock says that parcels sent a day or two after deadline still have a chance of reaching the destination for Christmas.

"There's a lot of emotion around opening presents on the day rather than four days later.

"So it's all hands on deck around the world, with postal staff trying to get everything through. But premium services take priority, so people pushing the time restrictions should go for those options," he says.

Weight rather than size dictates the cost of postage, as international rates are calculated per 10g.

"As long as the sum of the length, width and height of the package is less than 900mm, weight is what people need to have in mind," Silcock explains.

Each side also needs to be less than 600mm to minimise the postal fee.

With these restrictions in mind, selecting Christmas gifts to send overseas can be a tricky process.

Former Londoner Anne Jarman, who lives in Auckland, says she factors the price of postage into the cost of items when shopping for Christmas presents.

"I think, 'This costs $20 and it will cost about $6 to send'," she says. "I have to send about 12 separate parcels, so it does add up. But I just pay the postage and don't worry about it too much."

Jarman buys lightweight Kiwiana such as calendars, tiki salad servers and tea towels.

"If I see one thing that's good, I'll buy a whole lot. Last year I bought my girlfriends funny shower-caps with great big flowers on them. They were really good because they don't weigh much."

Marketing graduate Hollie Johnson also has family spread all over the world. Her mother and grandparents live in Britain and her father, sister and three brothers live in Perth.

She gets around expensive postage by sending cards and photos.

"The problem is postage often costs more than the present itself. You're also very restricted on what you can post overseas so you end up picking something just because it's small and light and not breaking any of the rules," Johnson says.

"I hope they don't think I'm cheap, but if I did send gifts it would have to be silly, flat, small, lightweight things."

Johnson said the cliché "it's the thought that counts" is the most important idea to keep in mind at Christmas.

"There's something special about receiving a card. It's exciting to have an envelope arrive in the letterbox, and you see the person's handwriting and what card they chose for you."

Her mother, who lives in Grantham, England, sends parcels of lightweight gifts.

"Mum sends socks, pantyhose, plastic beads. She'll also do things like cutting off all the packaging items come in to make them smaller," Johnson said.

And if you are feeling charitable this Christmas, Oxfam NZ has a scheme where you give money that is then used to buy goods for needy communities in developing countries. Gifts range from piglets to mosquito nets.

Oxfam NZ sends a post card to the friend or relative you would have spent that money on, thanking them and letting them know where the money for their gift has gone.

Banned items
* Nail polish
* Thermometers
* Hair dye
* Magnets
* First aid kits
* Deodorant
* Cigarette lighters
* Electronic goods
* Cash
* Christmas crackers
* Perfumes
* Plant seeds

If you have a consumer story to tell email celeste.anstiss@hos.co.nz or call (09) 373 9364