Holiday Almanac December 3: Mailing Gifts

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

As you have no doubt already determined, I am an expat living in the UK. This means that all of my family (except for my husband) still lives in the US, which means that every Christmas we are faced with the difficult task of determining who to send gifts to and who to sends cards to, and we have to remember to do so inordinately early.

Also, since we're from the US, an option we fall back on all too frequently is using our American bank account to order American gifts for our families and friends, thereby avoiding the customs and postage hikes that overseas packages inevitably get.

So it's always a bit of a pain to get overseas packages together, and while the Holiday Almanac recommends sending 'a coffee can of brownies' to close friends, I feel that my friends will certainly appreciate the gifts I have assembled more.

The verdict:

2 spoons out of five. I hate dealing with post offices and packaging and all that nonsense this time of year, but truly it is worth it to know you've sent your nearest and dearest something they'll love.