HOW many boys and big folks, too, have at some time received a Christmas gift which was broken, or crushed, or spoiled in some way through the careless packing of the sender. Even at ordinary times the mail service and Express Companies are hard enough upon packages given to their care. The term “baggage-smasher” ought not to be restricted to the employees of the railways alone, and when at Christmas time the mails and express lines are congested with packages of all descriptions, and the men are tired and overworked trying to deliver gifts that have been sent at the last minute—then it is doubly needful to insure the safety of your Christmas presents by careful packing.

Of course the wrapping of a gift cannot change its value, but you should bear in mind that your gift will seem doubly attractive to the one who receives it, if inside of the serviceable outside wrapping, there is another dainty one, and the expense is so trifling that it need hardly be considered. A dozen sheets of tissue paper cost only a dime. Pure white or warm “Christmassy” red are the most desirable kinds. Another dime will purchase a box of Christmas seals—small ones with pictures of holly and mistletoe, or large ones with Santa Claus heads or Christmas bells on them. If you prefer tying, to sealing, the ten cents will buy a dozen yards of “tying” ribbon, which is crimson “baby” ribbon in a cheaper grade than is ordinarily sold. Gilt cord is also very attractive for tying up gifts, and a tiny spray of holly tucked under the cord or ribbon gives a final dainty Christmas touch.

Perhaps, though, you live so far away from a town that you are not able to buy these Christmas seals, and the tying ribbon. Almost, if not quite as pretty to fasten the inside tissue paper wrapping of a gift will be some very tiny, red maple leaves gathered in the fall with the thought of Christmas in mind, and pressed with a hot flat iron on which some beeswax has been rubbed. This preserves the bright color of the leaves and keeps them stiff until you need to use them. After carefully folding in the ends of the tissue paper about the gift, the paper is fastened down by gluing on a few of these gay, pressed leaves, and in the folds of the paper a wee spray of pine or a little wreath made of ground pine, or a bunch of partridge berries may be tucked. Another way of making a gift look like the country is to tie it with strands of sweet grass.

When the gifts are wrapped, and you are ready to pack them for shipment, there are a few general rules that must be remembered.

First: That the gifts must be packed as snugly as it is possible to do without harming them.

Second: That nothing—not even excelsior—is quite as effective in stopping the transmission of bumps and jars as crumpled up newspapers.

Third: That the name and address of the person to whom the gift is sent and also the address of the sender must be legibly written in your best school hand on the outer covering where they are not liable to be torn off. You must remember that, while the names and addresses are perfectly familiar to you, they are totally unknown to the men through whose hands the parcels go, and in handling thousands of packages, illegible writing means much delay.

The rule of packing things tightly refers to everything—even things which would seem most crushable, for there is far more harm done by packing these loosely so that they slip around with every turn of the package, than by crushing them flat in one position. Take a delicate waist, for instance. If packed loosely, it will come out of its box rumpled and wrinkled in every direction, but if it is folded flat, the sleeves stuffed with crumpled tissue paper, and the spaces around it in the box filled with the same, it will reach its destination quite as fresh as when it started.

It is better to box all gifts if possible. Very pretty Christmas boxes of all sizes and shapes may be bought in the shops, or, in place of these, you can use empty candy boxes which most people stow away for just such purposes.

Do not select a box that is too small and leaves too little space for filling in with crushed paper, and try and think, too, of the weight of the gift in selecting your box.

If you are packing odd pieces of china, wrap each piece separately, and see that they are well segregated with the crushed paper. If you are packing a number of pieces of uniform size and shape—such as saucers, plates, etc.—place them in a pile with every second one well wrapped. Then wrap the whole pile and pack edgewise.

China should be packed in a wooden box, with an addressed baggage tag nailed on, or the address put on the wood itself with India ink.

Flat things, calendars, cards, photographs, and handkerchiefs, gloves, neckties, ribbons, etc. if unboxed, must be protected by pasteboard. For this, the corrugated pasteboard that is used by department stores is much more effective than the ordinary flat sort. It is much less easily bent, and is lighter in weight, which is of course a great advantage, because it makes the cost of mailing less.

This corrugated pasteboard is also very good for wrapping things which are light in weight, but bulky and of awkward shape, for it may be rolled to accommodate almost any object.

Doilies, centerpieces, and other flat embroideries must necessarily be kept uncreased in shipping, but are too large to be sent flat. Lay them first on a sheet of heavy wrapping paper, cut square and slightly larger than the embroidered piece. Then lay over the embroidery a sheet of tissue paper, and carefully roll the whole thing. Then form a tubular covering of the corrugated pasteboard, and wrap with hardware paper outside. In tying up a tube, the cord should go twice around the tube—once near each end—and the cord which goes lengthwise should go through the opening of the tube so that the contents will not slip out.

In tying packages for mailing, use good strong cord, and remember that a package must bear no kind of a seal and contain no kind of writing beyond a simple Christmas greeting if it is to go as “merchandise.” Even one of the little paper seals stuck over the string will render the package “first class” and subject to letter postage.

Just one more thing to be remembered at Christmas time. Courtesy is only another name for kindness, and it would be discourteous to send a gift which was not fully prepaid; or to send a gift “across the line,” which is dutiable to any great extent. And in courtesy to the men and women who have to handle your gifts on their journeys, send your Christmas presents long enough ahead of time so that these men and women may not be too tired when Christmas comes to feel themselves its blessed peace and cheer.