Sending gifts to the UK can be quite a task.

I know this from personal experience!

I have a rather large family in UK who have birthdays, anniversaries and of course the big one Christmas.

Sending presents overseas can end up a very costly and time consuming exercise.

Not to mention that in the cold hard light of day, it just seems so ridiculous to send presents around the world.

There has to be a better way to send gifts to UK.

Apart from the cost involved in shipping presents overseas, there is all the effort. You have to:

• shop for the present
• gift wrap it
• pack it into boxes for sending overseas
• go to post office to send it
  
• fill in forms for customs
• insure it, register it or courier the gifts if they are expensive, or you have left it to the last minute.
• make the deadlines for postage! October in Australia for Sea Mail!
  

Those deadlines, they are the killer for me. In the 20 years I have lived in Australia, I don't believe I have ever made the postage deadlines. Every year, I end up paying more for postage than the gifts are worth.

And finally, have you horror stories about gifts going astray in the post?  After all your hard work your gift may not even arrive. That has happened too!

So, this year, I have a new found friend! Almost like a personal shopper in the UK who will do everything for me and I don't even have to leave home. I can do it all from my computer.

How to send gifts to UK without leaving home isn't rocket science, however, there are some nifty tricks I have discovered to make it even better when sending gifts to overseas friends and family.

My secret weapon is Amazon UK.

I am amazed at what I can buy from that one place.

_{If I was sending gifts to USA I would use Amazon in USA, but since most of my friends and family are in the UK, it makes more sense to buy and ship from within the UK.}

Not only can you select all your purchases online but there is an additional service that will gift wrap, add a gift card and then send to family or friends.

As well as being time saving and stress free way to shop for UK Christmas presents from overseas, I can see great money saving in sending gifts this way.

Depending upon availability, I can still send gifts for Christmas as late as the week running up to Christmas day on 25 December each year.

That is such a bonus for me sending gifts from Australia it gives me so much more time to get organised!

And if I totally mess up, I can even send ecards and gift certificates on Christmas Day and they will get to the destination! How cool is that.

So to recap:

• Easy - one stop shopping
• Time saving - no going to the shops or malls to buy presents, can do it from the comfort of my own home!
• Stress Free - have deadlines to organise gifts by, but much later than when sending from Australia or elsewhere in the world and I don't have to fight with the hordes to get my presents.
  
• Saves money - postage from Australia is pretty hefty, so it stands to reason that delivery is going to be less than the postage!
  

But wait there is more....

I don't know this will be the deal maker for you, but I think this is a really big reason to use a service like the Amazon UK one.

Using an online service for your gifts in another country, to cut down the shipping element of the whole transaction, is a really green gift giving strategy.

Think of all that carbon saved by not flying, or shipping my gift  to UK or Europe from Australia!

The other difficulty I have being in another country and choosing gifts to send for Christmas, birthdays or anniversaries is that I never know what my neices, nephews, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, parents and friends would really like to receive.

There are two features that can help you on Amazon UK. One is the wishlist and the other is the gift ideas section.

In the wishlist, you can ask your family and friends to set up what they would like to receive. And then simply login to see what they want before you order.

A great way to avoid sending them an unwanted gift.

Genius! Send them what they want!

Not only that it is a much greener gift giving strategy! Sending gifts back (or taking them back to the store) is not very planet friendly!

If you are really stuck for ideas, the gift ideas section is for you. In this often updated area you will find current popular choices for girls, boys, babies, adults, teenagers and just about anyone. Or you can see gifts by price range to help fit your budget.

Just pop in and check out what teenagers are wanting this christmas or what to buy Grandma! Here are the latest Christmas 2009 Gift Ideas For UK

It makes it so easy.

When you are finished shopping simply check out. Don't forget to add giftwrap and cards with your personal message.

That is it. Time to head off to the beach with no worries. All your UK Christmas shopping is done!