Every year, thousands of travelers take to the skies in order to spend the holidays with their loved ones. Going hand-in-hand with that travel is the countless number of gifts that go along with those travelers to their final destination. After all, being able to see the disbelief on their faces in person is much better than hearing it in a phone call.
However, hundreds of gifts don’t make it to their final destination – either through breaking, theft, confiscation, or a number of other situations. How can you increase the odds of making sure your gifts arrive on time and unscathed?
There are many ways to get your gifts to your destination, each with varying levels of preparation. And each method comes with a number of pros and cons. Before you start packing your well thought out gifts for the favorite people in your life, make sure you have a plan to make sure it gets there in one piece.
Traveling with Gifts in your Carry-On Luggage
Every seasoned traveler knows that the easiest (and most secure) way to get items to your final destination is by carrying them on the aircraft with you. Keeping your items in a carry-on bag (or personal item) allows you to have personal receipt of your gifts by keeping them in your allowed personal inventory. With this comes a different type of security: one that comes with knowing how your luggage is being handled.
In order to carry on your gifts, they first must get past the security checkpoint that leads to the aircraft. In order to get them through, they must be able to be screened by security personnel at the checkpoint by passing through and getting screened by X-Ray machines. Certain items, like wrapping paper, can make it harder for security screeners to clear gifts and packages.
As a result, anything wrapped may be subject to additional screening or re-screening, including being unwrapped at the checkpoint and other additional screening.
Additionally, the gifts that you are able to carry on are limited to those items that are approved to fly in your cabin. Many gifts are confiscated at the checkpoint for a number of reasons every year. Seemingly innocent items, like certain tools, are not allowed to fly on an aircraft. Other items are often overlooked until the last moment, like snow globes that do not adhere to the 3-1-1 rule. Before you pack your gifts, make sure that you’re allowed to take them on the airplane. Otherwise, the perfect gift may not even make it to your recipient to begin with.
Traveling with Gifts in your Checked Luggage
Many items that are not cleared to travel in carry-on luggage will be able to fly within your checked luggage instead. For those who want the convenience of having their items there immediately when they get to their destination, checking luggage with gifts may be the best plan. And the cost of checking one bag up to 50 pounds may be cheaper than shipping your gifts.
However, before you get the suitcase out of the closet, understand the limitations of checking gifts inside your luggage. Just like carry-on luggage, all checked luggage is subject to security screening before it goes to the airplane. And gifts that cannot be definitively determined as to what they are (like wrapped gifts) are subject to additional screening. This may cause a security officer to open your bags to determine what your items are.
Because you won’t have access to checked luggage before you get to your final destination, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that your items will arrive in good condition. Valuable and fragile items are especially susceptible to breaking as they are handled in transit, with limited avenues of recourse. In addition, theft of and from checked luggage has also been a documented problem. If you are concerned that your items could be broken during handling, then you may be best served looking for another method of transporting your gifts.
Alternatives to Traveling with Gifts
If traveling with gifts is not feasible, then you may want to consider sending gifts ahead of your anticipated travel. Unlike traveling with gifts, shipping gifts ahead allow you to pack and send at your leisure without the stress of having your items lost due to security measures. Plus, many items (like breakable items) may be better suited for shipping, because they can be packed more securely.
But even shipping gifts ahead of time may have limitations. U.S. Postal regulations prohibit the shipping of many items, including lithium batteries, compressed liquids and gasses, and alcoholic beverages. While other carriers will ship these items, you may need to make special arrangements to ship these items. Additionally, while shipping offers some insurance against the loss or destruction of items, the value of your items may not be covered by standard insurance options. Finally, environmental conditions and weather situations may also delay the delivery of your gifts to your destination. Keep in mind that your gifts may not arrive on schedule, even if you ship them within schedule.
When it comes to holiday gifts, it is always better to give than receive. However, you can’t give if your gifts don’t get to your destination to begin with. By making a plan to get your gifts to your destination, you’ll be able to enjoy the full spectrum of the holiday among family and friends!