Avoid Air Travel With Gifts. Ship Early; Ship Cheap!

A few weeks ago, I went to my high school reunion in New Jersey. I traveled by plane and while going through airline security, I lost my toothpaste. It was confiscated. My little tube didn't clear security because it was a 4 oz container instead of the 3 oz standard required under the new TSA rules.

So I faced the cost of the buying a new tube in order to show up at my reunion looking fresh and bright. This experience contributed to my latest column in the Miami Herald.

What would have happened if I were shipping holiday gifts that did not meet the airline security requirements? That's the question that I was asked by my editor Kathy Foster. Here's the column I wrote in response to her question:

When traveling with holiday packages, you can easily become a bundle of nerves, especially if you're headed for the airport. Even basic gifts such as fruit cakes and scented candles are subject to higher levels of scrutiny from the Transportation Security Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

How strict are the guidelines? Gifts should remain unwrapped so that security officers can inspect your package. And don't even attempt to carry on gift sets of food, toiletries or perfume that exceed three ounces. As carry-on bundles, toiletry gift sets or food items must fit into a single quart-size plastic bag with a limit of one bag per passenger.

Bottom line: Ship your presents before you leave home and leave enough time to meet the most affordable rates for domestic shipping. The post office says ground-package rates are the cheapest; delivery time ranges from two to nine days.

Of course, after clearing airport security, you can always shop for gift sets and other items in the shops near your ticket gate, but you might not find the cheapest deals.

Here are some suggestions from the TSA about carry-on and checked gift items. Of course, each airline may have additional size and weight requirements, so check with your carrier before departure. TSA has also prepared a free holiday travel publication, which you can download at www.TSA.gov.

• Do not wrap gifts. Security officers may want to inspect your package. Wrap at your destination.

• Food gifts -- salsa, jams, syrups and other edible products -- must not exceed three ounces and must fit into one quart-sized plastic bag. TSA recommends shipping food gifts before you travel.

• Scented candles, perfumes, snow globes, oils and toiletry gift sets must be three ounces or less. TSA recommendation: Ship gift sets before you travel.

WHAT'S ALLOWED

You can carry on: cigar cutters, corkscrews, toy robot transformers, umbrellas, walking canes, camcorders, PDAs, laptops, cellphones and tools such as pliers that are less than seven inches long.

WHAT'S FORBIDDEN

The following cannot be carry-ons: kitchen gifts with sharp objects, baseball bats, hockey sticks, ski poles, golf clubs, hammers and saws.

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The Frugal Duchess Boutique
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Meaningful, But Frugal Gifts for Teachers

It was a scrapbook to remember, organized by a few parents as a going-away gift for a beloved early-childhood teacher. Each family was given a blank page from an album, with instructions to fill the empty space with photos, recipes or decorations.

When the individual pages came together, the scrapbook was filled with irreplaceable records of shared moments in the classroom, dance festivals and other school events. As a bonus, families also contributed cash for a beautiful silver candle set.

There are many ways to select and package holiday and year-end presents for educators and classroom assistants. At one area school, PTA members collect small contributions from parents and compile the funds to provide a substantial gift certificate or cash gift for each teacher, with each family signing the card.

At my house, my children have enjoyed making necklaces, pictures and cards for their teachers. From their enthusiasm, I've learned the importance of incorporating children into the gift process for teachers. Kids also enjoy customizing calendars, T-shirts, mugs or canvas bags as gifts for their favorite teachers.

More ideas, including a wide range of activities for the child to do alone or with parents, are posted on www.familyfun.com. These projects can involve the entire class or a single family.

Homemade gift projects include personalized calendars that are printed from your home computer, with children drawing pictures and graphics. Other gift ideas include a mini-garden, decorated trays, a handmade storybook or scrapbook, a custom collage on a clipboard, poems and letters.

The classroom cookbook is one of my favorite ideas. This year in my son's English class, each student wrote down a favorite recipe and filled the page with a story and an illustration about that food item. My son contributed a story about the hamburgers our family had prepared on the grill and consumed during the power outage following Hurricane Katrina.

Although it was a classroom assignment, the project -- and a gift certificate to the teacher's favorite restaurant -- would have been an ideal holiday present. I'm keeping it on my file for next year.

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The Frugal Duchess Boutique
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