Christmas hacks: How to wrap and send presents on a budget

Girl dressed as santa

All students are on a super-tight budget, so keep your spending under control this festive season by wrapping and sending your presents for less

Many of us don’t realise how much money we’re wasting on excessive amounts of wrapping paper or premium postage options. Here we look at some hacks that will keep your budget in check when wrapping and sending parcels this Christmas…

Avoid wasting wrapping paper

To save money on wrapping paper this year, try wrapping your presents diagonally. Place your present in the middle of the paper so you have four equally sized triangle shapes on each side. Pull the triangular paper sides over to cover each side of the present. It’s easy to do and you’ll avoid wasting loads of paper, so you won’t have to buy as many rolls. Win, win!

Make your own gift boxes

To avoid paying hefty prices for gift boxes this year, recycle some used household items. If you are gifting something small such as jewellery, create a gift box from a toilet paper tube. Simply fold in the corners of the tube to make carboard flaps. Push the flaps inwards to seal your present and stick the sides down with Sellotape. You can make it look festive by wrapping it in glittery paper and sealing with a bow. You can do the same thing with cereal boxes, Pringles tubes and paper bags. Get creative!

Don’t overspend on delivery

To save yourself from hefty delivery charges this Christmas, use a reasonably priced shipping service such as Parcel2Go. They offer UK delivery from £1.99 as well as international delivery to over 200 countries from as little as £6.37.

By opting for a cheap delivery option, you can use your hard-earned cash on the present not the postage! With the added benefit of parcel tracking, you’ll know where your present is every step of the way until it arrives safely at their doorstep.

Research prohibited and restricted goods

Many of us don’t realise that certain items can’t be posted abroad until we’re stood at the postage desk, present in hand, unable to send what we’ve already bought. We end up frantically rushing to the shops to get another prezzie, spending unnecessary pennies.

This Christmas make sure you research prohibited and restricted items before you do all your festive shopping. Many items you may want to gift including body sprays, alcohol, perfumes, aftershaves and nail varnishes are prohibited or restricted for delivery abroad.

There are lots of ways to be thrifty this festive season. Start by re-using, recycling and avoid paying premium prices. By following these simple steps you’ll save your precious pennies, so you have more cash in the bank for festive fun!

Image: Olha Shtepa/123rf.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *