ParcelPedia Podcast

Believe It or Not, ParcelPedia Does Holiday Wrapping: Wrap Relief For Busy Gift Givers

• James Banks • Episode 46

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Do You Offer Holiday Gift Wrapping?

Ever wish the gifts could wrap themselves and ship out without a second errand? We’re pulling back the curtain on how we turned a simple request into a full-service wrap-and-ship workflow that saves time, tames chaos, and actually makes gifting fun. From holiday rushes to birthdays and corporate events, we share how a shipping-first mindset delivers clean lines, safe packaging, and the kind of presentation that makes unboxing feel special.

James walks through the origins of our wrapping service and why it fits so naturally inside a shipping store: big tables, precise cutters, a wall of box sizes, and staff who think in dimensions and durability. You’ll hear how we keep pricing simple by charging per box, how we hit same-day or next-day turnarounds, and why labeling each wrapped item prevents last-minute mix-ups. We talk options too—choose our paper and ribbons or bring your own theme, then decide if the wrapped gift goes inside a shipping carton or heads home ready for the tree.

We get into the fun challenges, including the now-famous puffer jacket that fought back until we double-boxed it. That story captures our broader approach to tricky shapes and oversized items: box first, wrap second. When a standard carton won’t do, we fabricate custom boxes with telescoping or stitched cardboard, then finish with crisp wrapping and clear tags by recipient. It’s the fastest path to a polished look and a safer journey through carriers like US Mail and FedEx, especially when multiple gifts need to arrive together and still feel thoughtfully curated.

If you want fewer errands and better-looking gifts, this is your playbook. Drop the items, pick the style, and let us handle the corners, the labels, and the logistics. Subscribe for more behind-the-counter tips, share this episode with a friend who’s drowning in ribbon, and leave a quick review to help others find smarter ways to ship and save.

To learn more about ParcelPedia visit:
https://www.ParcelPedia.com
ParcelPedia
8992 Preston Road, Suite 110
Frisco, Texas
972- 335-1450

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Parcelpedia Podcast, the ultimate guide to all things shipping and business services in Frisco, Texas. From US Mail and FedEx to private mailboxes and package supplies, we've got you covered. Stay tuned for a special discount code to safe on your next order. And now, delivering expert tips and insider insights with a smile. Here's your host, James Banks, owner of Parcelpedia.

SPEAKER_02:

From shipping to shredding, Parcelpedia does it all. But wait until you hear how they save your holidays with one unexpected service. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yuvet, co-host and producer, back in the studio today with owner of Parcelpedia, James Banks. James, how's it going today?

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, Sophia, I'm doing well. How are you today?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm doing well also. Now it's always great to be here with you, James. So let's jump in. Talk to us about Parcelpedia's holiday wrapping.

SPEAKER_01:

Sure thing. Yes. So uh like you said, we offer tons of services here at Parcelpedia. And one of them that some people don't know about, but definitely want to get the word out, is that we do offer holiday wrapping or even gift wrapping, you know, if it's like birthday or anniversary or something of that nature. So what we do is we have a select, you know, supply of wrapping paper and ribbons, things that nature, so you can peruse, or you can always supply your own if you want a certain color or your certain pattern. And what we do is package or wrap your packages just like you would want them, you know, under the tree or to give to a friend. They can be part of the shipping process if you want them to open the box and have like a nicely wrapped gift inside, or it can be one where we wrap them up and you just come back and pick them up. So we do it every year, normally obviously closer to the holiday times when it gets done. But yeah, we offer it at a very low rate. Uh typically we just go off of the number of boxes you have. We don't have like awkward size fees or anything silly like that. Um, so it's pretty low cost. It's one of those things that just helps you get a lot of your holiday errands done, and that part of it's just knocked out, you know, you don't have to worry about that. Going around to all these different stores and malls, and then at the end of the day, it's like midnight and you still have to wrap everything in no one wants to do that. So if we can help ease the load or uh ease that uh burden, we can definitely offer that for you. So just wanted to throw that out there that that's a possibility. Again, it doesn't have to be a holiday or uh, you know, like Christmas or something like that. It can be a birthday, it could be an event. I mean, if you have an event coming up and you want to kind of get some goodie bags out to your attendants and you want to have things wrapped up nicely, bring them by Parcelpedia. So we typically get things done if not same day, next day. It's all depends on when it's delivered to us. Uh if we get it in the morning, typically we'll have it for you by that same day. So it's a very quick turnaround, very easy, it's hands-free for you, and again, it's pretty low cost. So we just love offering that. We love you know being able to help people in that way. Some people don't even realize it and and they realize how much of a help it is to them during the holiday time. So please, you know, feel free to call, ask any questions you have. And again, you know, if you want to supply your own, go crazy with it. You want ribbons, you know, you want different paper, that's fine. You know, we know how to apply that stuff. So just bring it. We do have some things too. If you if you're not sure what to have or to use, we'll show you our supply. Um, I don't know if we're the most fashionable. We've got some pretty basic paper, but we do have it. So come by anytime you want and come check it out.

SPEAKER_02:

Now, James, what inspired you to offer holiday wrapping as part of your services in the first place?

SPEAKER_01:

That that's a great question. It actually became, it was kind of organic. It kind of happened where we had a like an elderly customer come and just asked us. They had a bunch of stuff, they had the paper. I think they were almost anticipating that yes, because they had all this stuff ready and they were just like, hey, you know, I just can't really do it. Like I used to. Would y'all mind wrapping it for us? And I was like, sure, you know, no problem. So we took it back, wrapped it up. I personally don't think I'm the world's best rapper. I didn't spend any time at the workshop as a kid, unfortunately, up in north the North Pole. But uh, I do the best I can. But the customer was very, very satisfied, they were really ecstatic. And so when they were done, you know, we again at the time I just did it as a favor, and so I wasn't even you know interested in charging them for it. It was just like, yeah, I'll help you out, no problem. You know, you've been coming here for years. But then he gave a tip and he's like, Yeah, that was worth it, you know. And it just was like, hey, if he's willing to pay for a service, boom, I mean, you have a that's a service right there. And it's something that obviously we have all the material necessary. We have the scissors, we have the flat workshop tables, we have straight edge cutters, you know, everything necessary that you may need, tape, of course, to wrap wrap boxes up. So I was like, why not just implement that? So it's part of the part of the program now. So that's kind of the story of Parcelpedia as far as how we help the community and others. It's like things we've discovered that, yeah, you know, I think we can do that. We can handle that, and let's just tack it on, add it on.

SPEAKER_02:

So now, what kinds of wrapping options do you provide? Paper, bows, themes?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, yes. So I will say there's uh like the standard wrap, right, which I would call just completely wrapped in paper, you know, try to hide the seams, and a nice bow on top. If you want like the cross ribbon, we can do that too. You know, we'll pull up the YouTube tutorial, it's okay, we'll figure it out. Um, but yeah, I mean, for the most part, just your basic box wrapping, the ones you see with the paper or maybe a ribbon on it. I have not tried to wrap in a specific item. Typically, anything you give to me, I will box it first. It's just a six-sided box is much easier for me to wrap than uh the decahedron or whatever you may bring to me, right? So I try to just put it all in a box since we have so many boxes of all sizes. I just find the closest box size to what you're giving me. And that's cool too, because sometimes people that give me multiple items say, hey, all of these are going to one person, you know, they may be shipping it. All of these are going to other person, so they can all go into one box, and that way they just have nice, you know, sectioned out items. So that's kind of the gist of it. You know, we get it, we box it for you, we wrap it up, and we label it. Because once everything's wrapped, it's kind of hard to tell what's what, right? So we make sure to label everything as well. That way nothing gets crisscrossed or confused. So it's a very good streamlined service. We love doing it, and you know, we challenge you. Come come give us a challenge, see uh if we can help you out this year.

SPEAKER_02:

James, what's the most interesting thing someone has asked you to wrap as a Christmas gift or your holiday gift?

SPEAKER_01:

So I interesting, you know, the gifts I will say interesting because they're pretty much standard gifts, you know, clothing, colognes, you know, games, things of that nature. Though I will say my most challenging, if if you're okay with with taking that as an answer, my most challenging one was this very nice, very beautiful, like floor-length big puffer jacket. And man, it just did not want to go in the box and stay, you know, boxy. It just wanted to expand and expand. So like as I'm wrapping it, I'm like, is this thing growing? It just kept expanding on me. So I ended up having to double box it to contain you know its puffiness and then and then wrapped it. So it was pretty funny. It's like I was wrestling on an alligator in here, it was just not working for me. I was getting a little frustrated, but got it figured out, and we got it wrapped, and the customer loved it. So that was a good story by the end of it. But it was, I wish I had a live feed I could show you. It was pretty funny. I was just like fighting that thing. It's like, what is going on? I measured, I know I measured it because I'd measure it, cut the paper, and then it would not fit. I was like, what? What is going on? So yeah, that was that was a pretty good one.

SPEAKER_02:

Have you ever wrapped another puffer jacket again?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I just get a huge box now. When I see them coming my way, I'm like, you know what? I'm not even gonna try to make it nice and tight. I'm just gonna put it, you're gonna get a big old box, big crate. They're like, oh, what is this? Just a jacket. What? That's all? Like, yeah, sorry.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sure it makes it more entertaining for the person receiving the gift.

SPEAKER_01:

Like, oh my goodness, what could that be? Why is it so light? Just a pair of socks. Like, yeah, you're not trying to wrap anything this air.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, one final question for you today. Um, how do you handle oddly shaped or oversized gifts other than a puffer jacket?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, yeah, I mean, again, I just try to get the a box that's gonna be as close to as possible. Some things are too big. I mean, I have boxes and they're capped, right? I don't have an infinite amount of boxes. So if I do get something that's too large for a box or just awkwardly shaped, we typically will then make the box. So we take the cardboard or we do have to do stitching or telescoping and we make the box. And that way, when we make the box, I mean when you make a box, you know that box, right? By the time you're done with it. You you remember making it, breaking it down, everything you measure, the size. So it's actually, I'll say it's easier to wrap, but it's not really that much more difficult than a smaller thing or a standard size, just because you were you've become intimate with by that time because you had to do so much measuring. I mean, making a custom box is a little bit of work, but we love doing it because it has a really great impression when someone brings something that thinks that this can't be wrapped up, you know, it's gonna be loose, it's gonna look a little tacky hanging out, but when they see it come back and it's nice, wrapped, perfect to go, you know, that's a very good experience for the customer. So we do enjoy this.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, thank you for sharing that festive side of Parcelpedia, James. We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, take care.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for joining us on the Parcelpedia Podcast. Don't forget, mention podcast at our store to snag 10% off select shipping services. Stop by at 8992 Preston Road, Suite 110, Frisco, Texas. Or give us a ring at 972 335 1450. We're here to make your shipping a breeze. Until next time, keep shipping and smiling.