Last posting date and contraband items

[fartlek]

I have been uber ready for Christmas this year and was all set to post off family prezzies to my nieces and sister today. I managed to find the perfect sized shoe box to fit everything and had brown paper to hand to wrap it and a fresh sharpie to write the address. I chose to go to the post office right after lunch and when I arrived there was no queue. So far so brilliant.

Nice lady at the counter asks me what's in the package and I reply "perfume, nailpolish, lipgloss and t-shirts". To which she replies "those can't be sent overseas and don't bother going to another post office and lying, they'll just destroy your parcel at customs" (OK, she was much nicer than that but you get the gist). WTF. I could have cried. How do I get this lovely parcel to Canada? Or is it definitely a no-go, even with a private company?

Here's what royal mail say. Some post offices do get things wrong. I once had a post master insist that if I wanted to put a customs declaration on a parcel to Guernsey that I should be paying airmail for it! I tried to show them what it said on the Royal Mail website and they barred me

By the way, today was the last recommended posting date for Canada for Christmas delivery.

Thank-you delilah! I will go to another post office tomorrow. The prezzies might not make it on time (I knew it was last posting date today which is why I was feeling like a rockstar) but my family has a pretty chilled attitude to when gifts show up. I once got a birthday present from my sister in February and my birthday is in October!
It's a new post office franchise so they must not know.

I think the info posted above relates to parcels posted within U.K. Overseas rules are different and prohibit nail polish and perfume.

I think the post office may be right, it's something to do with tax on luxuries but I don't think one bottle of perfume is equal to you shipping a crate for re-sale. I got told I couldn't post a watch to Australia last year, but it got there fine, so I also doubt they'll destroy it at customs. Post office people have too much power at this time of year

Those Royal Mail guidelines are for within the UK. You can't ship perfume or nail varnish internationally. I sent a perfume once and it did get destroyed at customs in the states.

You definitely can't ship perfume overseas. You will get the box back, minus the perfume, with all the other presents unwrapped, in mid-January, and accompanied by a snotty letter from Royal Mail. Or at least we did, when we tried to send perfume to MIL overseas last Christmas (she got silk flowers this year).

Is it because it contains alcohol? Or because it's pressurised?

I joined Amazon.com for this very purpose - wanted to send crackers to a friend in the States, but they are classed as explosive so no good. Managed to buy some (overpriced) crackers and got them shipped direct to my friend. No customs issues. I know it isn't the same as a gift direct from you, but maybe this is an alternative that would work?

Sorry op, I got it wrong. That info was for uk only posting. Nail varnish and perfume cannot be sent abroad.

Oh dear! I went to the other post office and they happily took it. I was coming on here to say job done. It's my fault, I didn't actually check the website myself. Oh well, I live in hope it gets there but if not, so be it. That my sister won't get her penhaligons gift set is a very first world problem. I'll let you know what happens!

You can maybe tell from my post that I have lost my Christmas will to live. My MIL stopped by unannounced today in the only 30 minute window I might have had to myself with a cuppa. She brought loads of presents for ds all marked "from granny & Santa". She can't bear Santa getting all the credit. I have told her I'm changing them to be all from her so poor ds (6 yrs) is not confused. Sorry, totally off topic rant there. Thanks everyone for your help with the parcel. I'll get them amazon vouchers if it doesn't make it.

Yoir MIL is batshit. I recommend gin.

Hth

Sounds like my step mil. Her and DPs dad insist on coming before Xmas when we're working and super busy so ds has presents to open on Xmas day obviously we don't buy him anything! Plus, this is ds they have seen twice in a year because they insist on coming over late on a week night as he's going to bed or when he's at his dad's.

Totally batshit. She moaned that the only way she ever saw ds was when she babysat for us (untrue). So we dont ask her anymore.
Delilah, this is MIL exactly. She tried to arrange dropping ds bday prezzies before his birthday but I was super busy that week and told her just to come the next week so she could enjoy a visit with him. Nope. She just turned up one day that week.

i sent crackers to Germany this week - the royal mail web site states its fine as long as they are in their original packaging

first post office refused despite me quoting the restricted goods - international rules

second post office were happy to accept - they had some one in a few days earlier posting 4 boxes of crackers to Italy

My mum tried to send a TOY perfume overseas this year. It was returned by customs.

Well my parcel of 2 nail polishes and 3 small aerosol cans reached my cousin in the Republic of Ireland safely yesterday! I rarely put sender details on anything I post, so if anything were to be returned by HMRC, I don't know if it could be returned to me!

So it sounds like a crapshoot as to whether customs will pick up on my horribly dangerous contraband items. I feel bad because I ordered from amazon for my nephews so they'll have prezzies but not the girls. I was really enjoying shopping for them this year too because they're all pre-teens/teenage and I felt that I managed to take their individual personalities into account.