by Sarah Donaghy

Created on: February 19, 2009

Birthday? Christmas? Otherwise special occasion? If you need to send gifts from the US to Europe, there are some clever tips that will save you time, money, and make sure that your gifts arrive in one piece. When you ship your gifts, consider carefully the shipping company you use, the customs regulations of the country you are shipping to, the weight of your gift package, and the packaging itself.

Picking the Right Company for Your Needs

First and foremost, take the time to pick the right shipping company for your needs. There is a plethora of shipping companies available, and all offer different advantages. USPS, FedEx, DHL, and UPS, among others, ship to most all European countries.

USPS, or your local post office, is the best choice for sending small packages when speed is not of the essence, and for sending books. Depending on your package's final destination, it can take anywhere from 5 days to 1 month or more for a package sent via USPS to arrive in Europe. However, they do offer international flat rate envelopes and small boxes, great for those small yet heavy items like books. If you are sending a large quality of books or other printed media, you can also use a postal M-bag to ship them. For example, an 11 pound M bag will cost $35.75 to ship from the US to the UK. USPS does offer express international shipping, but it gets very costly very quickly. For more information about USPS, click here.

FedEx is a fantastic choice if speedy delivery is essential, and if you are shipping gifts of considerable value. FedEx offers the same legendary speed and reliability for packages delivered abroad as they do for packages delivered within the US. They have a variety of delivery speeds available, from Urgent Next Flight delivery to slower international ground shipping. In all cases, FedEx offers peace of mind by offering door to door delivery and requiring signatures upon receipt.

In addition, FedEx offers a customs-cleared delivery service to European countries, ensuring that the recipient of your gifts is not sent the customs bill. To read up on FedEx's international shipping services, click here.

DHL is another courier service that is similar to FedEx in that they offer door-to-door speedy signature-required delivery. The one significant advantage of DHL over FedEx is that DHL has a much larger European presence than FedEx. If your gifts are being sent to smaller towns, it can be better to use DHL. Also, if in the worst case scenario something were to go wrong with

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