DOING IT RIGHT Follow the rules and deadlines

Some dos and don'ts when preparing a package to be mailed
Begin with a sturdy corrugated cardboard box. Reusing boxes is almost always fine; just X out anything printed on the box that might lead to its being misdirected. If you are going to use a box that has been used before, whether for shipping or for storage, do NOT use one that has been marked to indicate that it carried corrosive or other dangerous materials.
On a practical note, start with a layer of packing material at the bottom of the box, then lay the largest, most awkwardly shaped or heaviest items in first. Continue to layer items into the box, alternately layering in appropriate packing materials to ensure that the items being shipped are stabilized. As a rule, you'll find, it's easier to tuck smaller items into the crannies around larger items than vice versa.
Good packing materials include plastic-foam peanuts, crumpled newspaper, or bunched-up plastic bags. If you are sending anything that is especially fragile, wrap it in multiple layers of bubble wrap first, then use the peanuts, newspaper or plastic bags to support and secure it in place within the shipping box.
Close the box and secure it with packing tape; you may want to run a strip of packing tape across the bottom seam of the box as well. Be sure to use a sturdy, strong packing tape. Do NOT use masking tape, duct tape, or the half-inch wide cellophane tape generally used to wrap presents.
Do NOT wrap the package in brown paper. Do NOT use string. Both can get caught in the Postal Service's automated machines; when that happens, not only does it slow things down for the USPS, but it can also damage the package. Clearly address the package to the recipient; be sure to include your complete return address.
Address the package ON ONLY ONE SIDE. If your pen is not indelible, place a strip of clear packing tape over the address so it cannot be smudged or erased.
DEADLINES
This year's deadlines for international holiday air parcel post, letters and cards:
Dec. 3: Africa, Central America and South America
Dec. 10: Asia/Pacific Rim, Australia/New Zealand, Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East
Dec. 14: Canada
For first-class holiday letters and priority mail to military APO and FPO boxes, the deadline is Dec. 11.
MORE REGULATIONS
International packages cannot be mailed without a completed customs declaration and dispatch note.
While the form is to be completed in English, you may add a translation of the contents in the language of the destination country to facilitate customs treatment there.
This form requires the sender's name and address, the addressee's name and address, as well as a complete list of package contents and their approximate value. When listing the contents, use general terms like "clothing," "toy," "game." You don't want the contents to sound so enticing that someone in the intended recipient's country might feel compelled to spirit the contents away.
You will also have to indicate whether the package's contents are either "commercial sample," "documents," "gift," or "merchandise," and designate your preference should the package prove undeliverable at the other end ("Return to sender," "Abandon," or "Redirect to a different address").
If you request the return of the package, you will be asked to pay return postage and any other charges assessed by the foreign postal authorities on any parcel sent back to you; if you are not willing to pay the return postage, you'll want to check "Abandon."
The customs form will also require your signature and the date. This is a declaration and guarantee on your part that the particulars given are correct and that the package does not contain any dangerous substances or article prohibited by postal regulation.
When you are ready to mail your package, hand the package and your completed form to the clerk at the post office. At this time, the paperwork you have already completed will allow you the opportunity to insure the package, should you so desire.
Keep in mind:
Postal regulations in some countries require that upon its arrival, the package be opened and fully inspected by a postal or customs employee in the recipient's presence. If you are sending gifts, therefore, you may want to wrap them in untaped tissue paper and/or gift bags secured with ribbon.
Although you will be dependent upon the kindness of the strangers responsible for the inspection, such wrapping keeps alive the possibility that the inspection can be done in the presence of your intended recipient without its contents being revealed too soon.