by Eby Lane

Created on: February 19, 2009

When you have loved ones overseas, you come to expect certain challenges: missing their presence, wishing they were close by, or schedules not allowing you to spend as much time communicating. There comes unexpected complications, of which never shows itself until a holiday looms ahead on your calendar.

My girlfriend's birthday is two days before mine, we talked hours on the phone at the excitement of the occasion. Acquiring the gifts were the easy part, then came time to ship it. Looking online produced mixed results, and you begin to fear that your package would be held in customs. The thought of the packages being unwrapped and inspected warranted concern, as did the worry that it would not arrive in time. It takes some time and a little extra work, but it is well worth it. She got her package on time and was overjoyed with the surprises inside. What I did:

*Don't wrap

Nothing is worse than opening a box to find your gift sitting on top of ripped wrapping paper. Customs can and will sometimes unwrap presents to make sure people are sending what they say they are. They will not wrap it back. To get around this, I used gift bags. You can get them in many patterns and colors at a low cost. Instead of packing peanuts, streamed paper and wadded gift tissue padded the box. It made for a bright and welcoming surprise hidden inside in contrast to the unexciting box it was shipped in.

*Utilize USPS.com

The United States Postal Service offers tools at no cost to you to help you ship your package. If on a budget, it will help you ship your package at the lowest-cost possible. You will be given an estimated date, how much it would cost per pound and also offers online discounts on shipping. I saved a few dollars off of shipping fees this way. They can mail flat-rate and priority mail boxes to you for free, as well as customs and declaration forms. For military families, they also provide flat-rate boxes that are discounted even further. There is also helpful information to help you discern which forms have to go in the box.

*Declare everything-in detail

The most valuable tip the postman gave to me is that the more descriptive you are about the gifts inside, the better. It is a bit daunting to learn that you have to spill the beans on a form that is going to be attached to the front of your box, but saying it is a gift and hiding the customs form inside of the box will hold it up in customs. They are checking to ensure that no prohibited items are being shipped over or that

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