The packages in my household are opened as soon as they arrive, so it is essential to keep the holiday gifts separate from the standard packages for this holiday. Half the fun of Christmas is opening presents on Christmas morning, and you don’t want anyone opening the brand new tablet that you think is the deodorant they ordered. No fear, you can take back control with this little hack to help your giftees open the correct packages on Christmas day.
Order the item as a gift
It sounds like an obvious answer, but it has to be said: After selecting your online item, go to your shopping cart and look for an option to choose ‘This is a gift’. A form should appear in which you can indicate who the gift is for and add a message. The gift card (and note) indicates to the recipient that this is indeed a gift so they can avoid ruining their surprise. (And they can keep the gift card that hides the price you paid that they can return with.)
Write your message in the address line
To combat lost gift cards and enjoy the Christmas surprise, add ‘gift for …’ to the address line. This is an extra precaution for your vacation packages, you still need to select “this is a gift” before checking out. When the gift arrives, “gift for …” is printed on the shipping label outside the box, so the recipient can easily identify the package as a gift and throw it under the tree to save for Christmas Day. Mix it up with ‘from Santa’ or any other fun character in the address line, and not just for kids – a gift from Santa would make my day as a grown adult, and it’s a nice touch of Christmas cheer.
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Make sure your gift can be shipped
Depending on the seller and location, some items cannot be sent as gifts. Please note if you ship internationally via, for example, Amazon Global Store. As Amazon points out, “These options are not available for Amazon Global Store. If these options are not available for other items, you will see a message saying “Sorry. This item cannot be wrapped as a gift or with a note ‘. “This also applies to them gift wrapping option. Some items cannot be wrapped due to their size or shape, so keep this in mind if you want to go the gift-wrapping route. If you’re talking to a smaller mom-and-pop company, ask about their options for mail-safe packaging and labeling – many of them go the extra mile as one of the many benefits of retail shopping.