Practical gifting
Can You Send Chocolate and Food to Australia from the UK?
Check food, packaging and paperwork before posting from the UK. Understand the difference when a gift is dispatched within Australia.
Read guideChristmas, across the miles
Christmas gifts for family in Australia from the UK
A family morning or a quiet moment on the other side of the world. Choose something that feels like it came from you.
The short answer
What should you send family in Australia for Christmas?
Pick one gift per person that fits their summer Christmas and their actual life over there, then get it moving early. Posting from the UK means getting airmail away by the end of November to be safe, because Royal Mail hasn't published 2026 dates for Australia. A box packed in Sydney can be ordered until Tuesday 15 December (12:59pm UK time) for most of Australia, and it never goes through customs.
A Christmas that happens in summer.
Christmas in Australia lands in the middle of summer. Lunch might be prawns and salad in the garden, the afternoon might be the beach, and the pudding might not happen at all. A Christmas without them at the table feels strange at your end, and theirs can feel just as odd in shorts. A gift that suits where they are says you've noticed, without asking them to recreate your Christmas.
So think summer first. A beach towel gets used on Boxing Day. Chocolate is lovely, but it doesn't love a hot doorstep, so it's worth knowing someone will be in, or forwarding them the tracking. A candle is better for the evenings than the afternoons. And anything woolly can wait for their winter.
The New Beginning box, pictured above, includes a Canvas-Bound A5 Notebook, Café Latte Candle and A3 Matte Art Print (unframed), alongside Marc de Champagne Truffles, a Pour-Over Coffee Duo and Australian Macadamias. It suits someone still settling into their place. The print is A3 and unframed, so check they've got wall space and fancy choosing a frame.
If you add a note, mention something you're looking forward to hearing about from their side of the world. Leave room for their day to feel different from yours.
Ideas for each person on the list.
Most families sending to Australia are buying for more than one person, and they're rarely the same kind of person. Here's where we'd start for each, and our page of Christmas gifts to Australia puts every option in one place.
For Mum
Mums who've moved out there are often the ones who never sit down. Give her a reason to. A bath soak, a candle and something sweet make a proper evening off, and a crochet pal on the shelf is a daft little reminder of you. Hug Away From Home has all of that, plus an A3 print. If she's more of a skincare person, the box for her has a Collagen Hydration Mask, a Sculpted Bubble Candle and GNAW Milk Chocolate instead.
For Dad
Dads are hard to buy for in any hemisphere. Food tends to win. The box for him has Jalapeño & Lime Salt for the barbecue, Australian Shortbread, Honey-Glazed Popcorn and a Pour-Over Coffee Duo. There's no candle in it, which some dads will see as a feature.
For your son or daughter
If they're the reason you're searching, start with what they're doing now rather than what they used to like. Planning trips? The Traveller has a Hardcover Travel Journal, Cabana Beach Towel and Passport Wallet & Tag Set. New job or new flat? The New Beginning box. We've a whole page of gifts for your son or daughter in Australia if you want more ideas.
For the grandkids
Kids care less about what's in the box than about it being from you. A Crochet Comfort Companion (avocado, pear, pickle, potato, duck or axolotl, you choose) is soft, daft and about 12cm tall, easy to tuck into a bed. Better still, record yourself reading their favourite story and put the video on the card. They can replay it for around six months.
For the friend who moved
The best mate who went out there doesn't need much. They need to know you haven't forgotten. Something small, a bit silly and a bit comforting works, and our care package ideas for a friend in Australia has more.
Who are you picturing opening it?
A gift for one person and a gift for the whole household need different things in the box.
Just for them
Follow a familiar interest.
A notebook for the one always writing things down. A travel journal for the one planning another trip. Choose something you can picture them using.
For the household
Think of a moment to share.
Coffee and treats might become part of a slow Boxing Day morning. Check quantities, ingredients and everyone's preferences; one box won't automatically suit a whole family. For a gift the whole house can dig into, start with our Christmas hampers to Australia.
Choose around their everyday rituals.
A quiet moment
For the one who likes to slow down.
Choose around an actual routine: an after-dinner treat, a bath if they have one, or a candle if they enjoy fragrance.
Hug Away From Home brings together a Botanical Bath Soak, Hand-Poured Soy Candle (hand-poured in Australia), Marc de Champagne Truffles and Candy Kittens Strawberry sweets, with an A3 Matte Art Print (unframed) for their space.
For tastes that are very much their own.
Start with one thing you know they enjoy. Build their box around an item they'll use, a treat and a shared memory: six gifts in the Twilight box or eight in the Midnight, with scents, colours, prints and characters to choose. The thought is in the choices, rather than the number of extras.
A little of home, in your own words.
You don't need a speech. One recognisable detail can make a note feel as though it came straight from your living room.
Message example, make it yours
Swap in your own tradition, a shared joke or something you're looking forward to doing together. Address it to everyone you mean to include.
With every Same Skies box, your words live behind a QR code on a premium card inside the box. Write a message of up to 280 characters, free, and add a photo or a video if you like. They point their phone camera at the code and it opens on their screen, and photos and videos replay for around six months.
Making Christmas Day feel shared, 11 hours apart.
In December, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart are 11 hours ahead of the UK. Brisbane is 10 hours ahead, Adelaide 10 and a half, Darwin 9 and a half and Perth 8. So when they sit down to Christmas lunch at noon in Sydney, it's 1am on Christmas morning for you.
The trick is to stop chasing the same moment and pick two that suit both ends. Christmas Eve evening in the UK is Christmas morning in Sydney: about 8pm your time is 7am theirs, perfect for watching them open presents. Christmas morning in the UK is Christmas evening there: 9am your time is 8pm theirs, when they've had lunch and a swim and are finally sitting still. In Perth, that same 9am UK call is 5pm.
- Agree the call times in both time zones a week before, and write them on the calendar at each end.
- Ask them to keep your gift back for the call, so you see it opened.
- Do one thing at the same time, even if it's just pulling a cracker each.
- Record a video for the card in case the call drops or the Wi-Fi gives up.
Order-by dates and final checks.
Same Skies boxes are packed in Sydney, so you can send a gift to Australia from the UK without a trip to the Post Office. Lewis and Jess pack every box by hand, Monday to Friday, and send it with Australia Post. It's a domestic Australian delivery, so your gift never goes through customs. Delivery is free on every box. For Christmas 2026, Standard delivery, order by 11:59pm Sydney time on:
| Delivering to | Order by (11:59pm Sydney) | UK time |
|---|---|---|
| NSW, ACT, Vic, Qld, SA and Tas | Tuesday 15 December | 12:59pm the same day |
| WA | Monday 14 December | 12:59pm the same day |
| NT, and regional or remote addresses | Thursday 10 December | 12:59pm the same day |
After dispatch, delivery usually takes 2 to 5 business days to most addresses: about 2 within Sydney, 3 to Melbourne or Brisbane, 4 to Adelaide, 5 to Perth or Hobart and 6 to Darwin. Regional and remote areas can take longer. Tracking is emailed to you, so forward it to whoever's likely to be home. Express is available at checkout, but we don't put a Christmas date on it. Prices are shown in pounds as a guide; you pay in Australian dollars and your bank converts at checkout.
Posting your own parcel instead? Check the last posting dates to Australia first, and our guide to sending food to Australia before you pack any treats.
Before you order
- Decide if it's for one person or for sharing.
- Check current contents, ingredients, space and preferences.
- Confirm where they'll be over Christmas, including the unit number and postcode, especially if they're visiting friends or heading away.
- Note the order-by date for their state, and the UK time it falls at.
- Write your message, or record the video, so it sounds like you.
Content and delivery guidance reviewed 21 October 2026.
Build your own
Start with an empty box. Fill it with them.
Choose every piece from the UK, pick a print that feels like them, then add your letter with a photo or video behind the QR card. We hand-pack it in Sydney and deliver it in Australia.
- You choose every piece, and the print on the lid
- Your letter, plus a free photo or video behind the QR card
- Built from the UK, hand-packed in Sydney, delivered in Australia only
Questions people ask
What's the last day to order a Christmas gift for family in Australia from the UK?
For free Standard delivery on a Same Skies box, order by 11:59pm Sydney time on Tuesday 15 December for NSW, ACT, Vic, Qld, SA and Tas, Monday 14 December for WA, and Thursday 10 December for the NT and regional addresses. In the UK that's 12:59pm on the same day.
Will my gift have to go through customs?
Not with a Same Skies box. It's packed in Sydney and delivered by Australia Post, so it's a domestic Australian delivery and your gift never goes through customs. A parcel you post from the UK needs a customs form.
What do you send someone for a summer Christmas?
Things that suit hot days and long evenings: a beach towel, coffee, treats, a candle for after dark. Be careful with chocolate if the parcel could sit on a sunny doorstep, and forward the tracking so someone brings it in.
What time should we call on Christmas Day?
Sydney is 11 hours ahead of the UK in December and Perth is 8. Around 8pm on Christmas Eve in the UK is Christmas morning in Sydney, and 9am on Christmas Day in the UK is 8pm there, so both ends are awake.
How do I pay from the UK?
Prices are shown in pounds as a guide; you pay in Australian dollars and your bank converts at checkout.
Christmas from home, packed in Sydney.
Find the box that fits their life, add your message, photo or video, and order by 15 December for most of Australia.
Explore the gift boxesKeep reading
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