Sending presents abroad

I can well understand why you prefer sending an actual present, but think it would be so much easier to send your DD the money, and get her to buy suitable presents, from you.

GD will be none the wiser, the parcel could come ‘via the postman’ if so desired, and more importantly, you won’t waste money on sending stuff that might be delayed in getting there, expensive to post and most important, it will be something that’s wanted/needed.

So often what we think is suitable isn’t, which is a waste.

(Speaking as a granny with family in Oz).

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202311/medium-957411-received-1182262049138937.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202311/medium-785731-received-607836934571395.jpeg

If you shop at some of the big international stores they deliver for you and handle the customs declarations etc.
There are a lot of things you cant send probably though. I can't send silver or pearls for example to the Phillipines and hardly anywhere will take perfumes. Having said that some bigger stores are set up to send small quantities of these "dangerous substances" via the low quantity exemptions if they are in small bottles.
I have just sent a gift set to my daughter in law in the Philippines from Liberty's which had a small perfume in it. It was there really quickly and fully tracked right to the door. It was more expensive to buy from Liberty's than elsewhere but I saved a huge sum on postage.

I tried to send a parcel directly to her from Molton Brown - but in spite of telling me they delivered "worldwide all the time" they had 3 attempts at sending and each time customs returned it - so something obviously wasn't correctly done.

I have never had a parcel come back from Fortnum & Mason or Liberty's.

I use a credit card at Liberty's that I'd registered to me here in the UK but I pay in the delivering country currency which i was told helps at customs. I have a Halifax Clarity card which has a good exchange rate system in my opinion.

I have also sent flowers via a small market stall shop in the Philippines (see picture). It was a difficult one for me but had i used one of the international flower services I'd have had to take out a new mortgage (!) and this huge bouquet was about £18 and came, surprisingly, with a "free bear".
The little shop (found on Facebook) didn't take PayPal or bank transfer and I set up a new account on a different platform specifically to be able to pay them. This was a risk I felt - but all went fine. I would be happy to send low value items this way.

I'm still feeling my way about with this international delivery (which was easier when they lived in America and Europe. Asia isn't necessarily more expensive than USA though.

I look forward to more replies from more experienced Gransnetters.

I don’t do it but like calendargirl mine is in Oz where you can use on line shopping. Is that available in Thailand?

Online shopping doesn't seem to be a thing in the Philippines (unless it's Anazon) according to my son.

He says they quite often let you put stuff in a "basket" and at checkout tell you to call them and pay over the phone or "pay on collection".
He says the stores are all very keen to please and even when you collect they will have substituted the items they don't have - even quite big items such as computers apparently!

We have now found it almost impossible to post presents gone are the days when I could send my grandkids in NZ an English souvenir or toy now even a card cost abut 3x the value
My daughter in law in NZ just told me …this Christmas is the last present they ll send me . They saw something that ‘was me’ and it was light, however when they went to send it the size took it into the next level and it cost them £43 to post it I have a card and photo present for them which will cost twice the price of the present I know it s got ridiculous

And because of Blooming Brexit, friends and family in Europe pay import tax on gifts from Britain, on parcels from my house containing handmade items, as well as from a shop.

That's right Chocolatelovinggran I have told my family not to send parcels to France because of the excessive tax.

I sent 2 parcels via Royal Mail last week one to Australia one to USA, both not heavy.
One was 0.28kg.. The other 0.8kg total cost £44.15..
Not sure I'm doing it next year.

It is heartbreaking isn't it?
You spot something you love for your family abroad and it is extortioate to send to them. Cant send a sweetie, royal mail is so expensive and to use one of the courier firms you have to jump through so many hoops on the declaration forms.

Ask the family how best to do things - they will know other people in a similar situation and can probably make suggestions. In the end though, you probably find sending money is the best. And although the 2 year old is a little young, even the adults often like the pleasure of 'treat money'.
What I have done since young relatives moved abroad (20 years now!) is send a small, light Xmas tree ornament, well in advance. When they didn't bother with trees, they could hang it in a window to remind them of home. This has become a regular, much appreciated tradition (in addition to the money!)
I have also sent old-fashioned advent calendars.

I send Country File calendars to relations abroad each year. The postage is added to the calendar cost and they are sent world-wide by the company that makes them.
It means we all have the same pictures to look at through the year and just gives the opportunity for a tiny point of contact each day.

I send to family in the US using one of the delivery companies such as DPD. They’re much cheaper than the post office and often more convenient, too.

I don’t know who delivers to Thailand but going onto a website such as Parcel Monkey should help you with that.

I sent small Christmas gifts to my Mexican granddaughter 2 years running, well before the cut off point for last posting. She received them the following March !! each time. Gave up after that and just send some money to her mother to give to her or get her something

I sent a parcel to Europe which cost twice as much as the content so have stopped now.
As fir them buying British i understand it’s not worth the stress of the paperwork. Brexit of course.
I voted remain but was outnumbered by a percentage or two.

I am in Australia with some grandchildren in England. I settled for Amazon vouchers a long time ago! They come in cards or gift tins for Christmas and birthdays... which makes them a more interesting gift than the card alone.

I have just sent my 3 year old grandson in Australia a small parcel and it cost £31 to send it (more than the contents cost)
I will also transfer some money to my daughter too, but I just wanted to have a little surprise through the post. It is very difficult him being so far away as if he was nearer I am sure I would be doing so much more for him. I miss him and my daughter so much.

It is the same for us to send UK goods such as Amazon to Malta. The postage prices are extremely high, much higher at times than the goods themselves. Anyone who has found a way around this? Tia

My son lives in Australia. I buy presents from Amazon.com.au or ebay.com.au. I'm then able to choose sellers in Australia, mostly with free delivery.

Speaking as a grandmother of children abroad : the children love to receive packages from us, they look forward to the box being delivered, opening and discovering. Oh I know I could order whatever from in situ merchants, but that woukdn't be the same!

I gave up sending parcels to California years ago, when the postage was prohibitive even then. I would rather give the extra money to my daughter than to the post. I have sent presents, flowers, plants from shops there, ordering on-line and this works quite well. I don't know whether this would work for Thailand. We have settled on Amazon or other vouchers now so that we can spend them as we wish. But do make sure you put it on Amazon for the country you are sending it to, and not uk as they would still have to pay postage from here otherwise. I have been caught out on this myself.

I send gifts of money to my children and grandchildren. There are so many restrictions on what you can send and I am never in London over the winter so this week my little great grandson was 5 and so his daddy and I whapsapped about what he would like. He had a family party with the family in UK and videod all of it. Then I spoke to little Hugo and he was so happy. I do the same at Christmas. I get to watch my great grandchildren’s excitement at gift opening and bank transfers in UK are painless.

I gave up posting gifts to Canada 4 years ago as the postage even for very light items was almost the same as the cost of the item. DS lived in Thailand 10 years ago and tge only items I sent were clothes (he needs long length trousers and shirts), and books. Never sent any liquids or foods - crisps and chocolate mainly - as knew they would never be delivered. I did visit and took the items I wouldn't post with me in luggage. I now send money overseas.

Do you know anyone going to visit the country in question and wouldn't mind taking it and posting it there. Think of baggage weight. I got a friend to send a card to Latvia from Holland. Although it got there quicker it cost more than posting from UK.
Post office tracked parcels are only tracked to UK customs not the recipient. You need to ask for tracking and signed for on receipt.

My nephew and his family live in Cambodia. We have given up sending gifts as there have been numerous problems with them being lost (or held until a "fee" is paid by them) or arrive broken. For their son we send things via the computer (PlayStation vouchers or similar) and for the adults we send money online. It really is too complicated (and hugely expensive) to try and send parcels.