PACKING YOUR CHRISTMAS PARCELS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 72, 18 December 1928, Page 15 (Supplement)

PACKING YOUR CHRISTMAS PARCELS

Such a lot of different sorts of parcels one has to send off by post at Christmas, and they all have to be securely and properly packed if they are to arrive in good condition . . • or to arrive at all! Just a wrapping of brown paper and a twist of string won’t do when so many thousands of parcels are going through the mails at the same time. Let’s consider some of the different things you may be wanting to send away. A pair of gloves, silk: stockings, handkerchiefs, or socks, for example. An envelope is apt to get torn, ana looks “messy” after a day m the mail bag. If you have a small, box, pack them in that, but the chances are that one of the right size will be missing just when you want it. But don t make a limp and floppy parcel of your gift. It will assuredly wriggle cut of its string in the excitement of the journey. Try this plan: After the preliminary wrapping in soft tissue paper and scarlet ribbon, take a whole big newspaper and fold it, smooth and flat, just a little bigger than your parcel. Thc.i slip your parcel in the middle of the fold and tie the newspaper firmly round with fine string. Now you have a stiff, firm package rounds which you can wrap your brown paper, and you may be sure it will arrive safe and sound. Then there is the “knobbly” kind of present, with points that may be broken or damaged in transit. Pad the hollows and dents out with soft paper or crumpled-up newspaper until you’ve achieved a fairly solid form. Wrap this in tissue or whatever pretty paper you like, and tie with ribbon, better still, a sheet of corrugated cardboard (it isn’t expensive to buy), and, tie with fine string. Then put on the final jacket of brown paper and string.

When packing a book, or anything else with hard corners, wrap it round with corrugated cardboard rather wider than the thing to be wrapped, so that it overlaps a little at the ends. Press this surplus cardboard down over the end of your package: it protects the corners, which are almost sure to get bruised otherwise. It is a sound plan to write the address both top and bottom on any large parcel; or- rather, I should say print the address, because clear block capitals should always be used for addressing Christmas parcels, for the sake both of the postman and the recipient. On any parcel liable to be damaged by the heavy hand of the stamp canceller a tie-on label should be affixed on which the stamps may be stuck. Write the address both on this label and on the parcel. Tie the label on the end of the percel so that it doesn’t rest on the latter when cancelling time comes. A word about the final tying up. Parcels of the long type or oblong should have (he string taken round the smaller way twice, once near each end. This prevents the string which passes round the long way of the parcel from slipping off. And make reef knots. If you aren’t quite sure about this now, any Boy Scout or Girl Guide will be only too proud to instruct you. Lastly, be generous with scarlet sealing wax— the real Christinasy, bright scarlet kind. Make big blobs of it on all knots. It makes the parcel look so much more exciting and seasonable I