How to Ship a Glass Ornament

Shipping companies will offer to pack and ship ornaments for you — essentially removing the risk for you — but their materials are often expensive and unnecessary. With the right shipping supplies, you can easily pack the glassware and other fragile items properly prior to shipping to ensure they arrive in one piece.

The simple shipping tips in this tutorial will help ensure that your glass ornament gets to its destination in its original condition.

Select a shipping box that is 2 or more inches larger than your glass ornament. Be sure this box is sturdy so that it can help protect your glass ornament and keep it safe during transport. The best way to ship Christmas ornaments is by wrapping them securely and packing them in a very strong box or carton.

Wrap your glass ornament in several layers of foam packing sheets. Keep the foam sheets close to the shape of the ornament with the first few layers so that any impact will be on the foam instead of the ornament itself. Carefully tape the foam sheets into place. The Christmas ornament packaging should fit snugly around the fragile object.

Roll the foam-wrapped glass ornament in two layers of bubble wrap, making sure to keep it snug but not so tight that the pressure breaks the ornament. Tape the bubble wrap in place securely but not too tightly.

Place packing peanuts on the bottom of the box, filling about half of it with them. Leave room for the ornament to be surrounded with the rest of the packing peanuts.

Place the wrapped ornament on top of the packing peanuts and fill in the remainder of the space with more packing peanuts for cushioning. Fill the box with peanuts so that the box is full but not mounded with material to the point of overflowing.

Tape the box with at least two layers of packing tape. If the contents of your box move around after sealing it, your ornament is more likely to break. To check this, lightly jostle your box and if the contents move, consider repacking the box.

Write "FRAGILE" on all surfaces of the box in large letters with a permanent marker. Make sure the color you use is bold and easy to see because if the handlers cannot see it, they may not treat your package any more carefully than nonfragile packages. Take the box to the shipping company to get the correct postage and mail the package.

With a few simple steps, you can ship a glass ornament or other fragile items and be sure they will arrive in one piece. Wrap the item with foam followed by bubble wrap. Then, place the wrapped item in a box filled with packing peanuts. Label the box "FRAGILE" and be sure to purchase shipping insurance before your send it off. Your recipient will be delighted when they unwrap the package and find that the ornament has arrived safe and sound!