Is there any way to safely transport breakable Christmas gifts when I fly home for Thanksgiving?

I made photo gifts for my mom and grandmother and put them in picture frames. How can I make sure that the glass in them doesn't get broken en route? Is putting them in my checked luggage just asking for them to be broken? Solutions?

Is there any way to safely transport breakable Christmas gifts when I fly home for Thanksgiving?
NO to checked baggage. Not only do you have the handlers, but other baggage that may fall on top of yours, the sorting machines, etc.





Best way would just be to ship it to yourself. Sounds like you put some work into it... isn't it worth it to pay a little to get them there safe?
Reply:Get them packed by a reputable company such as UPS who will insure them and deliver them to yur door. They are expensive, though. Don't put in yr checked baggage, my wife did that and ended up with an expensive broken jar.
Reply:Do not check them in!!! If at all possible, take them with you as carry-ons. That way they're in your hands at all times (except at the security checkpoint). Most airlines allow 2 pieces of carry on luggage so try to pack accordingly!! I'm sure they'll love their gifts!!
Reply:Pack them well and put them in your carry-on. It doesn't sound like it's too fragile to start with, so you should be just fine. I wouldn't reccomend checking them unless you're REALLY confident in your packing ability.
Reply:Take them with you inside your hand luggage.
Reply:Anything you carry on has to be inspectable so if you pack/wrap the items in bubble wrap, you're taking a big chance that you'll have to unwrap them for screening. Plus the last-minute scramble for the overhead bin space can get ugly with people trying to cram everything they can into the limited space. So carrying items on is not really any less risky than checking them. Your best bet would be to ship them via FedEx or UPS or USPS, whichever you trust the most, wrapped in lots of bubble wrap. Never take anything on a plane--- checked bags or carry-on--- that you don't want to risk being broken.
Reply:Putting anything that is breakable in your checked bag is risky. Its not like the baggage handlers personally seek out bags with breakables and jump on them in a retaliatory effort. Its all a matter of they deal with thousands of bags a day, repeatative motion and time deadlines and HEAVY bags, you just get into the habit of "throwing bags" or just not placing them gently on the belt or in the bins, or containers. Secondly, people want to pack 80lb worth of crap and bags have to be stacked on top of each other. So...gravity and physics rule.





If you cant carry them on, I suggest investing in some really good hard sided luggage, packing and wrapping in bubble wrap and then in your clothes. The other thing to keep in mind, is that if they are large or the picture frames are decently heavy, that will add addtional weight to your bag, so you will need to accomidate your packing accordingly, or bring extra money for an over weight bag. If you can, ship them. Wrap them really well and buy the insurance. Even then its not a guarentee it won't break in transit if not properly packaged. If its not a lot, pack it in your carry on.





Ship your bags if you can. Its better to pay $30 to over night them than not have a bag at all. The holidays every year has been the worst for missing or lost luggage. 2 years ago was the worst at Chrismas when between Delta, ASA and Comair, the ramp guys managed to lose some 50,000 bags. I worked for Delta then and it was my first holiday away from home, and the worst ever. Granted, this past Christmas was far better industry wide, but with the sheer volume of people, bags will get lost or delayed, and people will be with out presents for Christmas. So, in short, ship your presents. You are far less likely to have them lost or damaged that way. If you can, ship your luggage over night or next day if you can. Its better to pay for it that way than not have it at all.

Bad Breath