Presents for someone who lives away

Newry sends a lot of people away, to university, to Dublin, to Australia, and the shop sees the result of that every autumn and every December. The brief is nearly always the same: something personal, not too big, and it has to survive the post.

What posts well

Flat and soft travel best. A blanket folds into very little, weighs almost nothing for its size, and is the single most used thing on this list. Students keep them for years.

Tote bags and aprons pack flat and cannot really be broken. A photo book is the right shape for a parcel and does not need wrapping to arrive intact.

What does not

Anything ceramic. A mug is a lovely present handed over and a gamble in a box going to Melbourne. If it has to be a mug, an enamel one will not chip in transit.

Glass, slate and framed pieces are better kept for people you will see. They are not fragile in normal use, they are fragile in a sorting office.

What actually gets used

The things that get used are the ones that do a job. A calendar goes on a wall in a shared kitchen and everybody in the house looks at it. A keyring goes in a pocket. A blanket ends up on a sofa.

Decorative objects go on a shelf and then into a box at the end of term. That is not a reason not to send one, but it is worth knowing.

Leave time, and send the right file

Everything here is made to order, so the clock starts when you approve a proof rather than when you pay. Posting to Great Britain or further wants more time than you think in December.

Send the largest version of the photograph you have. Images pulled out of a group chat are compressed, and the bigger the item, the more obvious that becomes.