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While Christmas is an exciting time of year, it can be a stressful one, too.
There's food to buy, houses to decorate, travel to plan ... there's a lot to think about.
But one seriously stressful element of the holiday season takes place at the post office.
If you can't be with all of your loved ones in person, you'll want to make sure they know you care.
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And one of the most essential ways to do just that?
Make sure they get their Christmas presents in time for the big day.
The Christmas season is notoriously one of the busiest times for the postal season, so there can be delays in the usual postage times to consider.
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But one Evri delivery driver, Vince Carr, has revealed to Wales Online the five things you need to know to ensure your parcels arrive by Christmas day ...
The first tip is to get to know your driver: Vince recommends "having a chat with them and letting them know a bit about you.
"If you’re someone who works from home, you might want your parcel left in your porch, if you’ve got a newborn and want us to knock quietly or if you’re out and about regularly but want your parcel left in a safe place it’s great to know what customer’s preferred safe place is. It makes everything so much simpler, and no amount of technology can replace that human connection.”
The second way to ensure good service is having a clearly visible house number!
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“This should be an easy one for most people, pop to a local DIY shop and pick up a cheap house number sticker, or better still, if you can get a personalised one which has your house number and street name, it means delivery drivers know they’re at the right address,” Vince explains.
“We have such a complex network of roads in the UK and house types can vary so much from maisonettes to flat blocks and gated estates to estates with identical houses and no numbers, it’s just so helpful to know you’re at the right house so customers can get their parcel successfully first time. I
"It's even more important now it’s getting darker, earlier.”
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Vince's third essential is to let your courier know your preferences.
“Evri and other companies have invested in technology to help make sure you can still get your parcel even if you’re out. I love it when a customer has chosen a preferred neighbour or safe location and perhaps even chosen a neighbour to avoid, because that way, I know the neighbour they’ve chosen is probably someone that’s going to accept the parcel without any hassle meaning I can get on with my day and my customer can get their parcel and have a chat with their neighbour at the same time," Vince recommends.
He also advises you double-check you've got the correct address.
“I know it might sound a bit silly but it’s so important to double check your address, including your postcode, when you’re ordering from a retailer.
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"I’ve had so many parcels that have either gone to someone’s old address so I’m met with a ‘they don’t live here anymore’ or ‘they moved out last year’ but also, I’ve had countless parcels missing a house number or road name and although we do our best to work it out, it’s just so simple to take a few extra seconds to check it’s a correct and complete address – especially when it comes to getting presents delivered before the big day!”
Vince's final postage hack is to use post lockers.
“This is especially handy if you’re working nights or if you’re going on holiday – most customers can divert to a ParcelShop so if you’re not going to be in, it saves us drivers a wasted journey, and you can collect the parcel at a more convenient time.
"It also has the added benefit of being a greener way to get stuff you’ve ordered online.”
Annie Walton Doyle