Tips for Traveling with Gifts on Airplanes

As the holiday season looms, many people are facing the thought of having to travel to see family and friends. Along with the stress of traveling is the problem of carrying gifts. If you are traveling on an airplane, how can you get your gifts to their destination? Here are a few tips to help you get the job done with the minimum amount of stress.

Before going into the tips, it is important to point out that in this computer age it is very easy to order gifts online and having them deliver to the recipient by US Mail, UPS or Fed Ex. This is the easiest way to get gifts to a far away destination. There is a small additional charge for the convenience but it is well worth it.

Assuming that you have found some gifts that you must carry to your travel destination with you and you are flying, here are some tips.

Wrapping

The first rule of traveling with gifts on an airplane is that they must be unwrapped. If the TSA has an issue with any of your bags and decides to search, they are not going to take the time to unwrap your gifts. You may arrive at your destination and find that something is missing for your bag. Bring the wrapping paper along with you in your bag and you can wrap the presents when you arrive.

Checked bags

If you are bringing clothing gifts that you have purchased, you can put them into your checked bags. The same is true for small toys or books. You only want to place items in your checked bags that won't attract any attention. Never put any electronic gifts in your checked bags. Be sure that whatever you place in your checked bag is secured from damage. You can use bubble wrap or just wrap that pretty doll up in your sweater.

Carry-on bags

Any valuable gifts need to be carried on in your hand luggage. The same rule applies as far as being unwrapped. You are going to have to go through the security check point so be sure that you adhere to all the TSA guidelines. This means you can't carry on any jellies or jams unless they are less than 3 ounces. No sharp objects and no liquids over the 3 ounces. It is just as important to carefully wrap the items you are taking with you in bubble wrap to keep them separate from each other and to keep them from harm. It is often a rough ride and bags can fall or be dropped and there is no point in carrying something that will get broken.

When you are choosing your gifts keep in mind that you may have to carry them quite a long way and you must fit your gifts into luggage with size constraints. If it will make your life difficult to carry it, why not just ship it?

When you must carry gifts with you on an airplane, following these tips will make your task easier and simpler.