I run a small business from home; I eBay an awful lot; I’ve got family scattered across the four corners of the world, I therefore spend an awful lot of time carefully bubble wrapping things, parcelling them up and sending them off into the big wide world via TNT Direct.

Christmas is coming and I’ve already got a small pile of gifts ready to be packaged up and sent to Scotland, Devon, America, Belgium and Argentina (I did say the four corners of the world, that’s close enough surely). Sending parcels is for me at times a fairly nerve-racking business, will they arrive in good condition, will they arrive at all, will it cost three times as much as the value of what’s inside the parcel to send it?

When you send as many parcels as I do, it’s pretty essential to have a courier you can trust. How many times have you sent something and it’s disappeared forever, been dumped near someone’s bins while they were out, or arrived looking like it’s been stamped on and it’s cost you the earth for that second class service.

Here are some of my tips for wrapping a parcel for posting or sending by courier:

• Padded envelopes are great for flat-ish, non-fragile items such as books, games and puzzles, as well as smaller items.
• Wrap items in bubble wrap, even if they’re not especially fragile, they might get bumped during transit. Better to be over-cautious just in case.
• Fragile things should be really carefully wrapped and placed in a sturdy box or package, use a “fragile” label too.
• Clearly label your parcel to the addressee and don’t forget your return address just in case.
• Tape down any edges that might catch or fray in transit, you can never use too much tape, bubble wrap or those polystyrene quaver things.

These days I tend to use a respected courier like TNT Direct, I know I’ll get the service that I pay for, my parcel will get the respect it deserves and it’ll arrive on time. Their website is really simple to use and their prices are competitive. It’s always best to use someone you can trust, especially at this time of year.