Advice on Letter Mail

[triber]

We have family in the US and UK. Can I mail things like a calendar, craft book or pattern with letter mail, is it still considered "goods" if it is a gift?

[marnotom!]

I doubt that anybody handling letterpost envelopes and checking them for the possibility of them containing goods is going to be able to tell the difference between gifts and merchandise, particularly as they’re not going to have a customs form to indicate that they’re gifts.