When sending gifts through the mail, it isn’t uncommon to
wrap them before placing them in a box. But there are many people who would
like to decorate the box they send the gifts in as well, but aren’t sure what
they can do or what is allowed.
First off, do not wrap your shipping box, even if you put
the label on top of it. Almost always the wrapping paper will be destroyed during
transit, creating a big mess for Postal employees. Keep the wrapping paper
inside the shipping box, not outside of it.
Something you can do, however, is wrap the inside of your
shipping box. USPS priority boxes can be pulled apart and reassembled, making
wrapping the inside of the boxes easy. It may be easier to use glue for this
technique instead of tape.
You’ll also want to avoid decorating the outside of the
shipping box with anything that might catch on Postal equipment, such as
ribbons. Keep that on your wrapped gifts, not on the shipping box. You don’t
want your packages to be damaged while in transit.
So what can you put on the outside of your shipping box?
Quite a lot, actually. The first thing you’ll want to do is wrap your box in a
thick Kraft paper. This paper is designed to withstand the handling of the Post
Office. It’s on this paper that you will do the majority of your decorating.
You still want to keep your decorations flat. Colored duct
tape is a great way to create a design on your package without using wrapping
paper. You can also add holiday stickers to decorate the outside of your
shipping box…using the stickers on brown paper can create their own sort of
wrapping paper! You can use stamps as well, rubber ones with ink.
And of course, you can always draw or write messages on the
outside of your shipping box. If you’re an artist you can draw, and if you’re
not you can use stencils. You can write a message, song lyrics, or poetry on
the front as well, using different colored markers to make the message stand
out.
And if nothing else, you can always invest in decorative
shipping boxes. They’ll cost you a bit of money, but they look great and it
shows you put some extra thought into the package you’ve sent.
No matter how you choose to decorate your shipping box, make
sure you don’t obstruct any of the shipping labels!
