Personalizing your Long-Distance Gift Giving
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Postal Service makes it easy to send packages by offering free Priority Mail and Express Mail packaging materials, plus several-flat rate options based on size, not weight.
When I send along a package, I've been know to spruce up the postal red, white and blue with holiday, birthday, wedding and baby designs appropriate to the occasion. My scrap booking hobby comes in handy when I need just the right stickers to decorate a box I'm mailing for any gift-giving occasion.
I always line the inside of the box with tissue paper, wrap the gift, put the card on top and makes sure the item is cushioned on all four sides if it's breakable.
But I never tied decorative bows on my packages because there wasn't a practical way to protect the bow when I was packing the box up for shipment.
Then I discovered Gliza Classic Bows.
It seems Diane Bayuk had the same concern. "Gift-giving is a significant part of our lives and presentation is everything," she says on her website.
The Montana resident worked to find a solution to crushed, crinkled traditional gift bows that arrive on mailed packages. Using her degree in fine arts and her interest in design, she studied bow ribbons, sketching hundreds of patterns and studying different materials before finalizing her Gliza Classic Bows.
"In addition to mailed gifts, they're the perfect answer for travelers who need to pack gifts in their suitcase, women who slip a gift into their purse, and businesses wanting to dress up a gift certificate or bonus envelope," she said.
Flat in design, the bows are approximately 4 inches in diameter, perfect for large or small gifts. Simply peel off the foam tape liner to attach the bow.
Bayuk offers four different collections: Dazzling Delight, Timeless Treasures, Oh! Outrageous, and Holiday Twist.
What's new at USPS for shippers?
This month joining Priority Mail's two original flat rate boxes (similar to a clothing box and a shoe box), and the large flat rate box introduced in 2008, is the new smaller box.
The Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box measures 8-5/8 x 5-3/8 x 1-5/8 inches — about the same size and shape as three stacked DVD cases. The smaller sized box is perfect for jewelry, electronics, event tickets, or other small items that need expedited shipping.
Like all USPS flat-rate boxes and envelopes, the new box can be used for international shipping. Domestically, the price is $4.95 regardless of weight for U.S. addresses. If you use Click-N-Ship on usps.com, the price is $4.80.
The international price, for up to 4 lbs., is $10.95 to Canada or Mexico and $12.95 to all other countries, with savings of 5 percent for customers shipping online. You can order the new boxes — or any Priority Mail or Express Mail packaging — online at usps.com/supplies.
The Postal Service will deliver your long-distant gift on time, safe and sound. Add a few decorations to the box, and a Gliza Classic Bow inside, and you're as close to being there as you can be when your friend of family member opens their gift on their big day.
It's like love in the mailstream!
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