DS will be travelling in Australia this Christmas - help!

[jocktamsonsbairn]

So he'll be away Oct - Oct and although I am so proud and happy for him, part of me is struggling! My baby boy won't be home for Christmas! I am planning to put a stocking in his bag but can't get into the Christmas zone just yet. Any ideas for things he'll love/find useful/can carry abroad?? Apart from Percy Pigs which are essential apparently! He's 22 so not really an actual baby boy 😂

@Crispynoodle I hope you don't mind me hijacking this thread but my daughter is doing the same route as your DD in October. Do you have any tips on how to stop me worrying about her. She is going for a year 😢

@LovelaceBiggWither they are hard to come by here in the uk these days too, I have struggled to get him one the last couple of years.

they can Xray luggage on the way out plus use sniffer dogs

IIRC the airports use beagles, which make labs look like slouches when it comes to sniffing out food. I was stopped because I had a carrier bag in my case that HAD contained food a couple of weeks before, that's how good they are.

Oh thank you for that! Sounds like something he'd like and some other good suggestions! So thank you for the helpful comments.

Clearly quite a few people are not reading the thread or understanding what I have previously said! 🙄

I will be transferring him his normal
Amount of money for his Christmas to do what he likes with.
I am not planning on filling his backpack with banned substances nor a load of tat. There won't even be a mouldy tangerine in a sock for him to find on Christmas morning! I was struggling to think of a couple of wee lightweight parcels he could take (along the lines of what he will be declaring anyway).

He will be taking some Percy pigs (if allowed of course) 1 more bag is not going to get him arrested at Sydney airport nor will it break his back carrying it for a couple of months. I know he'll want them and 3 months in it's nice to get a wee treat from home. He is also not going to be physically lugging his backpack daily as his plan is to work and stay in one place for a while each time.

New fancy boxers (Scottish bawbags which he can't normally afford) - as a pp saiid that's one less day of doing laundry and might enable him to chuck an older pair out!! He will also be taking boxers so I doubt if the sniffer dogs will get overexcited by an extra pair!

The wee game and the dry bag sound like good ideas and again won't cause him to be arrested or have too heavy a bag!! He already has packing cubes and those old sleeping. Bag bags.

He will be happy on Xmas morning to receive his cash and have a few bits to open. Of course he will. Who wouldn't?!? We don't know where he'll be and also with the recent experience of sending him a parcel to the USA it took 3 weeks (I was told 3-4 days) and cost a bloody fortune. I'd rather he has something and I'd prefer to give him the extra cash than a parcel company.

I know he's grown up, I was being light hearted about him being my baby boy! Ffs! This does not infantise him! at the age of 55 I'd be happy to open a wee parcel from my family on Christmas morning especially if I was thousands of miles away!

That sums up what I want to do! Glad you enjoyed your parcel!

So the law is is if you fill in the declaration card incorrectly that's is breaking the law. So you can't add in things he doesn't know about because then if they decide to open up and he hasn't declared it he can get in trouble. If you want to give him extra Percy pigs then he needs to know so he can declare it on the form. If he doesn't he can be fined.

As some one who has spent a long time away from my home country one of the lovely things is coming home and having the treat food. For me it's banana paddle pops and sausage rolls. I missed them very much and would have them each time.

With all kindness this is about you, not him. He will not want a stocking full of shite in his bag. Wave him off with a smile and transfer him some cash for Xmas to treat himself with. Try not to project your own emotional issues on to your son.

Cash. We do have everything he needs here!

Packaged food with ingredients listed is fine but will slow him down at customs as he'll still need to declare it.

If it must be a voucher Kmart is the bomb.

You just have to trust her to make good decisions. I travelled loads at that age and didn't have a mobile phone or get in touch with my family for weeks at a time. I will always be grateful that my parents did not express any possible fears and only gave me encouragement. The worst thing they could have done would be to openly worry about me.

You can always buy something on Amazon to get delivered to his accommodation a couple of days before Xmas. Don't rely on Aust post though.

If he likes a drink a Dan Murphys egiftcard! 🤣

Tbh if travelling I'd rather 'open' my banking app and see money!!

There's a huge backpacker network here. So she'll be fine.

Safety advice - just make sure her phone sim is from Telstra or Boost (prepaid). The other networks don't have great coverage outside the cities. There's a lot of regional areas popular with backpackers here!

Seriously????? There is not an ounce of kindness in your post!!! I have already explained that I was being light hearted in my original post which was posted on a Christmas thread for ideas for a few wee things to send him with for his Christmas!!

I don't have emotional issues, resolved or unresolved. What a ridiculous thing to say about a stranger. I said I was struggling for ideas. Quite common I'd think as they get older. He is currently travelling and working abroad and all is fine, he is happy, I am happy and excited for him. He is independent and living life as he should be.

I have also explained that I have absolutely no intention of putting him in the position of lying on customs forms. Having travelled extensively across the world myself never have I ever had to declare how many pairs of pants I've got packed in my bag!!!! I use that example as I have already said I will be buying him some fancy boxers an idea someone gave me on here. I have checked the customs rules and he can take sweets into Australia for personal use. I am strangely enough going by the official government rules not the ones made up on mumsnet! It's a sad day when someone who posts on the Christmas thread for ideas for a few wee Christmas presents for her son gets accused of trying to get him jailed on entry to Australia and projecting non existent emotional issues onto him!! Some people on here really need to RTFT, think before spouting shite and put things in perspective!!
If I want to by my son a packet of Percy pigs and a pair of pants I will and I don't think this will cause either of us to be jailed, hauled up by customs officials or develop PTSD in the future. He will declare the number of bags of sweets if asked to do so as I will tell him there's an extra packet of sweets for his Christmas when he is packing. He will not be given anything illegal to carry with him! 🤷‍♀️

As an Australian who lives here and travelled a fair bit, I can tell you Aus customs are not that bad.
If your food is packaged as you said it will be it'll be fine.
On a trip to UK I bought lots of tea as I think British tea is nicer than ours, no problem. Also bought biscuits back which were not an issue.
I hope your son has a wonderful trip and you sound like a lovely mum. I'd do the same for my boys.

Thank you, good to get feedback from someone who has done it and understands where I'm coming from! Glad to hear you enjoyed the British tea!

If I knew I was carrying a spare pair of pants and a bag of sweets they wouldn’t remain unopened till Christmas! OP you are being very defensive- loads of people have recounted their own experiences of travelling at Christmas and you’ve ignored them all. I’ve an idea: why don’t you ask your son if he wants to take a few little things or not?

Why do you think you can't post things to Australia?

A voucher for an experience over there