Will My Cookies Arrive Safe by Post?

TL;DR: Yes! I can post my decorated sugar cookies UK-wide, and I take great care to package every order as safely as possible. I use protective packaging, wrap the cookies individually and, just to give myself (and you!) a little extra peace of mind, I even pop a couple of extra cookies into every postal order. Once your box leaves me, though, I have to trust the postal service to treat it with the same care I have!

If I had a pound for every time someone asked me, “Will my cookies arrive safe by post?”, I’d probably have enough money to buy myself a delivery service!

And honestly, I completely understand why people ask.

If you’re ordering a box of beautiful, personalised decorated sugar cookies for a birthday, wedding, baby shower, Christmas, corporate event or just because you fancy sending someone something lovely, the last thing you want is to spend your money and then open the parcel to find a box full of cookie crumbs.

Nobody wants that!

So, can decorated sugar cookies be posted safely around the UK?

Yes, they absolutely can!!

I send my decorated sugar cookies by post UK-wide, and I take a lot of care when preparing them for their journey.

But I also want to be completely honest with you about what I can control… and what I can't.

Yes, I post decorated sugar cookies UK-wide

Decorated sugar cookies are actually a great option if you want to send something special to someone who doesn't live nearby.

You don't have to be in the same town as me. You don't even have to be able to pop round and collect your cookies.

I can prepare your personalised sugar cookies, package them carefully and send them off so they can make their way to you or directly to the person you're buying them for.

And yes, I know what you're thinking:

“But won't they get broken?”

Well… that's the bit we need to talk about.

Because while I can't promise that a parcel will be handled like a precious Fabergé egg from the moment it leaves my hands, I can promise that I take the packaging very seriously.

Royal Mail's own guidance confirms that biscuits are classed as non-perishable food and provides specific advice for sending baked goods, including individually wrapping biscuits and using protective packaging.

So sending cookies by post isn't some wild experiment I've decided to try.

It's absolutely doable!

And I’ve got a few things in place to give your cookies the best possible chance of arriving looking as lovely as when they left me.

What happens before your cookies leave me?

This is the part I can control!

Once your decorated sugar cookies are baked, decorated and ready for their journey, I don't simply chuck them in a box, tape it up and hope for the best.

There is a little more to it than that.

I take time to package them carefully, using protective materials to help cushion them during their journey. I use shredded paper and bubble wrap, and I take care when arranging everything inside the postal box.

The aim is to make sure your cookies aren't rattling around with lots of room to move.

I want the box to be neat, secure and properly protected before it leaves me.

I also use fragile stickers and “this way up” stickers on the packaging because, well, surely if you cover a parcel in enough stickers, everyone will definitely read them… right?

We'll come back to that…

The part I can't control… the postal service!

Now, this is where I have to be honest with you.

I can control how I bake your cookies, I can control how I decorate them, I can control how carefully I wrap and package them, I can control how much protection I put around them before they leave me.

But once I hand that parcel over to the postal service, I can't follow it around the country holding its hand.

And believe me, if I could, I probably would, especially after one particular experience.

The day my parcel became a frisbee

This happened around Christmas last year when I was sending out gift boxes.

I'd carefully prepared the cookies, packed everything up and made sure the box was covered in fragile stickers. And when I say covered, I mean COVERED!! There were fragile stickers, “this way up” stickers, on pretty much every side of the box.

So, I walked into the Post Office feeling reasonably confident that I'd done everything I could. I handed my parcel over to the employee, and then…he threw it, not gently, not carefully. He basically picked up my beautifully labelled, carefully packaged Christmas cookie box and tossed it onto the pile of other parcels like a frisbee!

I stood there with my jaw somewhere around my knees thinking: “I'm sorry… did you not see the SIX HUNDRED FRAGILE STICKERS?”

I said nothing, I just stood there in complete shock and watched my parcel disappear into the pile. And then I went home and waited, until I knew the cookies had arrived safely. And do you know what? They did! Not one was broken.

At that point I think I had aged approximately ten years, but at least the cookies were fine!

That experience actually sums up the whole question perfectly. I can do everything possible on my side to protect your cookies. But once the parcel is handed over, I can't control exactly how every person handles it.

And I think it's much better to be honest about that than to promise something I can't guarantee.

So, what are the chances of cookies being damaged?

Postal delivery is not completely risk-free.

That's simply the reality of sending anything fragile through a delivery network.

In fact, Ofcom's latest research found that 78% of people were satisfied with parcel delivery services overall, but 68% of respondents said they'd experienced some kind of delivery issue in the previous six months. The issues weren't all related to damage, but the research does show that things can occasionally go wrong during the delivery process.

And that's why I don't want to tell you: “Don't worry, your cookies definitely cannot break.”

Because I can't honestly promise that. What I can tell you is that I take every reasonable precaution I can before your cookies leave me.

And now for my little secret…

Here's something I don't always shout about.

When I send a postal cookie order, I usually include a couple of extra cookies. Yep. A couple of bonus cookies.

They're not there because I think your cookies are going to arrive broken. They're there as a little bit of extra insurance against what I like to call collateral damage.

Because after my Christmas parcel experience, I decided I'd rather build a little bit of extra peace of mind into my postal orders.

If everything arrives perfectly, brilliant! You get your beautiful cookies and your little extras. If something unexpected happens along the way, those extra cookies may help soften the blow.

And let's be honest, who is ever going to complain about receiving a couple of extra cookies? Exactly!

How far in advance should you order cookies by post?

If you're ordering personalised decorated sugar cookies for an important date, my advice is simple, don't leave it until the last minute.

Your cookies need to be designed, baked, decorated, allowed to dry properly, packaged and then posted. Once posted they will arrive the next day via Royal Mail’s Tracked 24 service.

Giving yourself plenty of time means we don't have to panic if there is a delay somewhere along the way.

This is especially important if your cookies are for a birthday, wedding, baby shower, hen party, anniversary, Christmas or another special event.

I would much rather have your cookies arrive with time to spare than have you sitting by the front door refreshing the tracking information every five minutes.

Although… let's be honest, we've all done that…

Can I send decorated sugar cookies as a gift?

Absolutely!!!

This is actually one of the lovely things about being able to post decorated sugar cookies UK-wide. You don't have to live near the person you're buying for. You can order personalised cookies and have them sent directly to their door.

That makes them a lovely option for:

• Birthdays

• Weddings

• Engagements

• Baby showers

• Christenings

• Anniversaries

• Christmas

• Valentine's Day

• Thank-you gifts

• Teacher gifts

• Corporate gifts

• Hen parties

• Special celebrations

• Or simply because you want to make someone smile

And because the cookies can be personalised, you can make them feel much more thoughtful than simply sending a generic box of biscuits.

Imagine someone opening their front door and finding a box of beautifully decorated cookies made especially for them.

That's the kind of post I like! Not bills, not junk mail, cookies!

Why I love posting personalised sugar cookies

There is something particularly lovely about knowing that a box of cookies I've made here is travelling to someone I've never met. Sometimes I know exactly what the cookies are for. Sometimes I know they're going to a birthday, or they're being sent as a surprise. And sometimes I don't know the full story at all.

But I do know that someone has taken the time to order something personalised for someone else, and that's rather lovely.

It also means that I can create cookies for people all over the UK, rather than only for people who live close enough to collect them.

That's why posting is such an important part of what I offer.

So, will your cookies arrive safely by post?

If you've skipped straight to this bit because you want the answer, here it is:

Yes, decorated sugar cookies can be posted UK-wide.

And yes, I take great care when preparing them for their journey. I wrap and protect them carefully, use suitable packaging and take every reasonable step I can to reduce the chance of damage. I also add a couple of extra cookies to postal orders because I like having that little bit of extra peace of mind.

But I won't pretend that I can control what happens to the box after I hand it over. My Post Office frisbee incident taught me that lesson very well. Fortunately, the cookies arrived safely and that's what I want for every postal order.

Beautiful cookies leaving me safely packed and ready for their journey, then arriving at their destination ready to make someone smile.

So if you've been wondering whether you can order decorated sugar cookies by post in the UK, hopefully I've answered your question.

Yes, you can!

A little packaging shout-out

I couldn't finish a blog about posting cookies without giving a little shout-out to the company that supplies my packaging.

For all my packaging materials, including my branded cookie boxes, I use Tiny Box Company. I love being able to send my cookies out in packaging that not only helps keep them safe but also looks lovely and professional when they arrive.

And if you're a fellow small business owner looking for packaging, I've got a little treat for you too!

You can use my code FLOCBAKES10 to get 10% off your first order with Tiny Box Company at www.tinyboxcompany.co.uk

So there you go, now you know where I get my boxes from, how I protect your cookies, and why there might be a couple of bonus cookies hiding inside your parcel.

Ready to order your decorated sugar cookies?

If you're looking for personalised decorated sugar cookies that can be posted UK-wide, I'd love to create something for your occasion.

Whether you're ordering for a birthday, wedding favours, baby shower, gift or another special event, get in touch and tell me what you have in mind.