Planning Christmas shipping from abroad in 2025 takes time, planning, and expertise. It pays off to partner with a freight forwarder that has experience and expertise in global shipping, especially during the busy run up to Christmas. There are many different challenges and pressures at this time of year, more so than at other times of the year.

For businesses with customers in Ireland or abroad, ensuring smooth holiday shipping is a vital part of maintaining customer loyalty and making sure that any new customers that come your way at this time of year are immediately impressed and trust your brand. This guide will look at tips you can use to implement a smooth holiday shipping process that meets high standards of security and safety of your goods while meeting the shorter, tighter deadlines that Christmas demands as consumers look to buy gifts and goods in time for the festive period.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the higher demands of Christmas

Spending is set to increase for Irish consumers at the end of 2025, with a record-breaking Black Friday expected this year. The demands of Christmas seem to get higher every year, and with the growing popularity of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in Ireland (where once this was a purely American concept) with the big discounts on offer, has increased pressures on delivery dates. If you are thinking of getting ahead of Christmas delivery dates and ensuring smooth holiday shipping, you need to be considering your plan from early to mid-November. For example, looking at one of the major shipping points for consumer products at this time of year, China, for budget-conscious consumers you will be looking at an economy shipping service of between 7-14 days on average. For express shipping, 2-5 days is the average from that part of the world to Ireland.

Tips for smooth holiday shipping

As a business with customers looking to purchase gifts and items in the run up to the holiday season, there are some steps you can follow to ensure that you have smooth holiday shipping and everything in place in time. You don’t want to miss out on potential custom because you’ve missed the Christmas shipping dates. On the flip side, if you are shipping to customers, you must ensure that you are clear with the delivery dates, so items are purchased in time.

1. Check your inventory

The main tip is to not get caught short when your customers need you the most. Check your inventory and stock up on materials and items well in advance of the Christmas rush. If there is a rise in demand for any of your specific products, it’s vital that you have the stock levels to match. Have accurate forecasts in place, and that way you can ship in time to meet the Christmas deadlines, and your customers won’t miss out.

2. Be prepared for packaging and paperwork

One of the biggest pressure points with any international shipment is the paperwork. If your shipment doesn’t have the correct labelling or documentation when it gets to border control, it could be delayed or held. That’s why working with a global freight forwarder like Emerald Freight makes a lot of sense. Our team has the experience and knowledge to ensure that your consignment is labelled correctly, with the right documentation and paperwork for customs clearance, minimising delays at the border.

3. Good communication

Transparency and clear communication is key for any business. Keeping your customers informed at every stage is vital to build genuine connections and to maintain brand positivity. At Christmas time, when delivery deadlines are shorter, it’s important that you keep your customers in the loop. Have clear deadlines on your website and social channels so customers know the last date they can order in time for Christmas. Keep them fully informed during the delivery, providing peace of mind, and a way to contact you should things go awry.

4. Book early

There are more businesses shipping higher volumes of goods at this time of year. Parcel volumes peak way beyond the average levels, so as a business you must take this into consideration. It could mean that you face unexpected delays on deliveries coming from abroad. One way to mitigate this is to book your shipments well in advance. Have a clear plan and strategy to reduce the risk of longer transit times and book your shipments as early as you can.

5. Organise your returns well

There is a higher chance that you’ll be dealing with returns during the holiday period. With longer delivery times, the returns process can also be challenging. Implementing a clear returns policy helps you to manage them more effectively and stands you in good stead for the rest of the year. A clear returns policy gives you a better chance of stock being available for resale and customer refunds to be actioned swiftly.

Ensure smooth holiday shipping this Christmas with Emerald Freight

If you are planning for Christmas and are awaiting packages to be sent from other countries, or you are exporting goods within the Christmas period, it is important that you understand the parameters that ensure packages arrive on time, safe and secure. If you are a business looking to ship goods to meet the expectations of your clients and customers during the busy festive period, working with Emerald Freight ensures that you have the expertise at hand to assist you.

Holiday shipping with a freight expert

We offer a range of freight services, by land, air, or sea, including express services if you require goods to be delivered as soon as possible. We have built a network of trusted logistics partners across the globe, allowing us to handpick the best solution for your needs, even at the peak delivery times, such as in the run-up to the Christmas period. Emerald Freight helps Irish businesses import and export goods, offering professional assistance from start to finish, maintaining high levels of security whilst meeting strict delivery schedules and budgets. Connect with a freight expert today and our team will help you put together a plan that enables smooth holiday shipping.