Christmas is approaching fast and many people who have relatives or friends who live at the other end of the country (or on the other side of the world) send their gifts via courier or mail services. Postal services are becoming increasingly efficient – and even during busy times it’s much simpler and quicker to send a package to far flung corners of the earth in time for Christmas Day. Unsurprisingly, there have been a few cases of strange gifts sent via post through the years – and here we take a look at our favourites:

Coal

They say that if you’ve been naughty rather than nice that you’ll receive a lump of coal from Father Christmas rather than something from your most-wanted list. Not surprisingly the courier found it quite strange that someone would actually spend time and money to send a lump of coal to someone. According to sources it was given as a present to somebody’s mother – needless to say she wasn’t impressed!

Stopping Traffic

When a traffic cone arrived at a depot in America it certainly raised eyebrows. More shock ensued when it was revealed that this was in fact a Christmas gift intended for a friend. It’s possible that the where, the why and the how will forever remain a mystery with this particular parcel – although it’s less likely that this will be a common occurrence in years to come.

Bricking It

One year an unwitting recipient found that a brick had been sent to them through the post, all nicely wrapped with a bow, posing as a genuine Christmas gift. The courier thought it was strangely heavy and small, but delivered it of course, no questions asked. We can only wonder if this could have been either a result of mixed signals or perhaps a bravely given gift for the sender in question’s significant other!

Bog Standard

Toilet seats are sent via courier more frequently than you may think – although usually from wholesalers and retailers and not as a kind gesture or gift. Perhaps this was a subtle hint for a worn down toilet seat to be replaced as soon as possible, or maybe someone genuinely wanted a new one for Christmas. Either way, it’s certain this is one gift the recipient would get plenty of use out of.

Something stinks

Evidently this rather fragrant present attracted a fair amount of attention when it arrived with the courier for delivery. We can only wonder: what was it intended for? Decoration? Cooking? For wearing? We do know that it was sent as a gift for someone’s family member on the other side of the world – so perhaps cultural differences made for a humorous (and rather stinky) unwrapping on Christmas morning. Either way, all that garlic would certainly come in handy when cooking the dinner.

However weird and wonderful your Christmas package may be, let us take care of it and ensure it reaches is destination with all due care and attention. You can find more information on domestic and international Christmas services on our website.