What do we send where at Christmas, and how much are our gifts worth?

5th December 2015

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The global courier ParcelHero says the average value for a gift parcel delivered overseas last Christmas was £109. The most popular gifts were books to France, board games to Japan and... socks to Spain.

ParcelHeros new infographic reveals not only top gifts and how much we spend per country, but also last mailing dates and other useful information.

As David Jinks, Head of Public Relations at ParcelHero, explains Last year 12 % of gifts didnt arrive in time for Christmas when they were sent beyond the EU, to places such as the USA and Australia, just because people dont know enough about completing Customs information. They were sat in a Customs warehouse instead of under the tree.

Says David: Shipping beyond the EU, senders must be aware that they may have to pay import duty and tax, even on gifts. Different countries will decide their own levels of import duties and taxes. However, there are many counties that have quite generous exemption levels on gifts, or have quite a high value threshold before duties and taxes are imposed. Australia wont charge duties or taxes on any goods below 1000 Australian Dollars - around £480, and the US wont impose charges on gifts below $100 US Dollars, around £65. But India imposes these on any gift above just 1000 Rupees, around £10; and South Africa above 400 Rand, around £18.

Concludes David: ‘Sending parcels abroad isnt a minefield, but it can be confusing for people who only send items once a year. That's why we have launched our new Christmas page with last mailing dates and gift duty exemption limits for non EU countries - to take all the stress out of sending presents overseas. Our Christmas page even includes last order dates for Christmas from retail stores, from Argos to Harrods!’