Just in time for holiday traveling, we get this missive from our friendly TIA agents: Don't wrap those gifts you're dragging across the skies to Grandma's house.
Why? Because it just might be someone other than Grandma who opens them.
If the airport security people see something suspicious (or if they're in crabby moods because they're working on Christmas Eve, or they just had a fight with the hubby, or they aren't feeling up to snuff, or they are doing Grinch duty.... you get the picture), they will open the package. It's just another service they perform in their never-ending search to make our lives miserable. Oops, I meant to say, in their never-ending search to keep our skies safe.
So unless your relatives live close enough to drive or you planned far enough ahead to ship the packages, just pack the paper and plan to wrap when you arrive.
On another front, I just realized my family's passports expire in April. Anyone tried to renew a passport lately? How long did you wait? We're headed to Mexico the last week in March and I want to know whether I should start worrying now....
Happy travels.