We’ve all returned home at one time or another with a present for someone special. Something that they will absolutely love and cherish, and crucially something that will least expect. The feeling of achievement usually lasts right up until the realisation that deciding what to get was the easy part. Packaging it up ready to post is where the real challenge starts! The basics To package oddly-shaped items there are basic essentials that are always needed – scissors, sticky tape and lots and lots of bubble wrap. If you’re lucky, the addition of an oversized cardboard box will ... [More]

It’s easy to take the postal service for granted, particularly in the UK where sending a parcel or receiving a package requires relatively little effort. It might cause a certain degree of surprise, then, that a professionally organised service has only been in existence for little over a hundred years. From horses to pigeons to motorcycles, delivery methods have evolved considerably since the days of the knee-high chimneysweep, let’s take a look. Horses In the past the quickest way to move a letter from place to place was via horseback messenger, with heavier items following close... [More]

Most of the time when we send something through the post it gets there when it's meant to, whether that's with next day delivery or takes much longer as part of an overseas journey However, there are plenty of tales about things going awry and getting lost in the system somewhere and not emerging until many years later. Postcards are the most common examples, such as the one sent from Egypt in 1954 that landed on its destination doormat in Britain 57 years later. 80-year-old Margaret Eastham picked up the black-and-white card delivered by the postman along with her usual mail and was stunned ... [More]

Everyone loves getting deliveries – it’s usually the sign that the pair of shoes that were ordered weeks ago have finally arrived. Or maybe it’s the birthday present from that long-forgotten family member on the other side of the world! Alternatively it might be the piece of pipe that you’ve needed to fix the dripping tap that’s kept you awake at night for the last three months... Whatever the parcel is that’s arrived, the chances are that it will come in some sort of delivery box – a load of cardboard that is already destined for the recycling bin. Or... [More]

It's Parcel Pete here, signing on for today’s blog to give you an update on the latest charity initiatives I’ve been involved in. The NSPCC ipostparcels, part of the UK Mail Group, have been supporting the NSPCC for 2 years now. I recently presented a cheque for over £82,000 to the NSPCC at Featherstone Primary School in Birmingham by UK Mail. The money was all raised by staff at UK Mail through skydives, bike rides, marathons, cake bakes, dress down days, payroll giving and two major donations. The funds raised will be making a big difference to their Childline service and w... [More]

It’s getting all very ‘Easterly’ here at ipostparcels.com, we’ve got Easter eggs, bunny races, Easter bonnets and chicks everywhere! On top of all that and the extra calories we’re piling on , we’re also giving away a fabulous, Samsung 22” FULL HD LED TV away!! Competition: Now we know you’ve all got some brilliant Easter photos, whether it’s of your kids all dressed up in their Easter attire or of lots of scrumptious Chocolate Easter Eggs, we want you to share them with us! Enter your pictures here: http://woobox.com/mgyqvb Parcel Pete wil... [More]

ipostparcels and Parcel Pete are celebrating Mother’s Day with a bang this year! We’ve got a fabulous prize up for grabs- Afternoon Tea along with a Spa Retreat up for grabs. All you have to do to enter is vote in our ‘Hottest Celeb Mum’ poll. Mother’s Day Gift Ideas: Just in case you don’t win our brilliant prize, we’ve found some great last minute mother’s day gifts and pinned them to our pinterest board. Here’s a few that will surely see them smile: 1. Homemade Sugar Scrub Bring the spa treatments to your home with a luxurious homemade s... [More]

  Sports Relief, introduced by Comic Relief and in association with BBC Sport, is one of the UK’s biggest fundraising events.  Occurring every two years, Sports Relief together the worlds of sport and entertainment to get active and raise money to help people in the UK and the world's poorest countries. Here at ipostparcels.com we’ve been having a look at all the fab celebs getting involved this year in challenging events, here are our faves. Sports Relief Challenges Davina McCall-completed her ‘Beyond Breaking Point’ challenge of running, swimming and cycling... [More]

  The 17th March is known for being Irelands National Day of their patron Saint, St Patrick. For everyone in Ireland, 17th March is a Bank Holiday filled with celebrations and all things Irish. History of St Patricks Day: St Patrick was born around AD 385 in Britain. When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. After a few years as a slave, he escaped and began studying to be a priest. St Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland and used a 3-leaved shamrock (a clover-like plant) to explain Christianity to the Irish people. Many of his followers began to wear ... [More]

Happy Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day! Everyone loves a good old pancake, especially our Parcel Pete. He’s been in the kitchen experimenting with all sorts of toppings that you’ve all been sending in to him on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s Parcel Pete's top 5 faves: 1.Healthy Pancakes By Emma Speers   The batter consists of porridge, yoghurt and eggs, topped with berries, honey and a squirt of cream. 2.Chocolate Pancakes By Chris Fliss Pancakes covered in hot chocolate sauce with bananas and a few cheeky marshmallows thrown in. 3.Strawberries and Cream Pancakes B... [More]