THE last day to send parcels via Royal Mail Second Class to arrive in time for Christmas is tomorrow, Wednesday December 18.

If you’re taking a trip to the post office this week, here’s how to cut the cost of sending your pressies.

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If you’re posting parcels this week, here are five ways how to cut the cost of sending your pressies[/caption]

DOUBLE UP: Save on packaging by wrapping small gifts inside larger ones. For example, you could tuck a small item, like a mug, inside a scarf or pair of socks.

This reduces the need for extra gift wrap and, especially if you have more fragile items, it will keep them protected.

REUSE & REPURPOSE: Instead of buying new envelopes or packing boxes, reuse the packaging from any online deliveries sent to you this week.

Trim boxes to size if needed and cut off any unnecessary cardboard.

If you haven’t saved any packaging over the year, ask a neighbour or post a request on street or community WhatsApp groups or forums.

It’s also worth checking out any communal recycling bins for items you can repurpose.

BETTER TOGETHER: Rather than sending multiple smaller parcels, combine gifts into one larger box. This simplifies shipping and usually costs less, especially if the items are lightweight.

One big parcel is often far cheaper than several small ones.

SNUG SAVING: Oversized parcels often cost more to send.

Remove bulky outer packaging where possible and tightly pack items using just enough padding to protect them — you could try scrunching up this newspaper after you’ve read it, and packing it around the edges to prevent items from moving around inside the packaging.

COMPARE & CONTRAST: Use a comparison site such as Parcel2go.com to make sure you’re getting the cheapest delivery deal for your gifts.

Some companies offer a flat-rate fee instead of a weight-based fee for a certain size of delivery box which could work out cheaper if sending heavy gifts.

• All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability

Deal of day

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Save £28.99 on this Sekonda watch at HM Samuel[/caption]

CHECK out the 50 per cent off sale at HSamuel.co.uk – this Sekonda Maverick Men’s Chronograph watch was £59.99, now £28.99.

SAVE: £31

Cheap treat

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Save £2.50 on Options White Hot Chocolate with your Tesco Clubcard[/caption]

WARM up with an Options White Hot Chocolate – a tub was £5, now £2.50 when you use your Tesco Clubcard.

SAVE: £2.50

Top swap

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This Baby Grinch sleepsuit is £9 at Primark[/caption]

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The George at Asda version, above, is £8[/caption]

HAVE a merry Grinchmas!

This cute baby Grinch sleepsuit is £9 at Primark, top, or get the George at Asda version, above, £8.

SAVE: £1

Shop and save

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Bali Body Self-Tanning water RRP £24.95 is now £5 at Poundland[/caption]

PICK up premium beauty items at Poundland.co.uk – the Bali Body Self-Tanning water RRP £24.95 is £5 now. Online only.

SAVE: £19.95

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A MAN has been arrested after a two-year-old boy was killed in a crash.

The child was travelling in a Toyota car when it was struck by a Porsche in Smethwick, West Midlands, on Saturday evening.

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The scene on Dartmouth Road, Smethwick, in the West Midlands[/caption]

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Police tape left at the scene[/caption]

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A police car passes tape near where the crash happened[/caption]

Cops confirmed a 30-year-old has been arrested today on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

West Midlands Police (WMP) said in a statement this evening: “We’ve this afternoon arrested a man after a two-year-old boy tragically died following a collision in Smethwick.

“We acted on information and detained a 30-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving in Dartmouth Road on Saturday evening (14 December).

“He is now in custody for questioning.”

The force previously said the car involved, a grey Porsche Cayenne, had come from the roundabout on Kenrick Way.

The incident took place near a railway bridge on Dartmouth Road which runs through an industrial estate just after 11pm.

TRIBUTES

A teddy bear and a bunch of flowers were attached to railings next to leftover police accident tape.

The two-year-old was travelling in a Toyota with four adults at the time of the collision.

All four were taken to hospital and police said a 29-year-old woman and 30-year-old man remain in a serious condition.

Another man and woman, both 30, are both said to be stable.

Tributes have poured in for the youngster.

One woman said: “How tragic. My heart goes out to the poor family who lost their little one. Just heartbreaking.”

Another added: “That little boy has a family, presents for Christmas, a bedroom.

“I feel so sorry for the family and hope the person responsible does the right thing and hands themself in.”

Anyone with information can contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on email at SCIU@westmidlands.police.uk.

Or, call 101 quoting log 4421 14 December.

THE World Darts Championship is underway at Ally Pally – and there has been a shock exit already!

James Wade became the first seed to get dumped out of the competition courtesy of a 3-0 loss against Jermaine Wattimena.

Gerwyn Price is in action a little later and he faces a tough Keane Barry test.

While teen sensation Luke Littler and his army of fans face a lengthy wait to kickstart his campaign.

• Start time: From 12.40pm GMT
• Live stream: NOWTV / Sky Sports app
• TV channel: Sky Sports Darts
• Explainer: When does Luke Littler play?

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

Follow ALL the action from the World Darts Championship with our live blog below…

DANNY DYER landed the most unlikely job of his career – as a teacher.

I can reveal his latest role isn’t even being filmed, as he has been giving advice to a class of performing arts students at a school.

One of the pupils happens to be his daughter Sunnie – who he has tipped to follow him into acting.

But it has not been plain sailing for the former EastEnders actor, as he has already been told off for his bad language.

Danny said: “I did swear a lot in the lessons.” Also, some of the students did not complete the task he set.

He added: “Hardly any of them learned their f***ing lines.

“I said to them, if you want to be an actor, you’ve got to learn lines. It’s the most f***ing basic thing.”

Asked on the Live And Let Dyers’ podcast if he would like the job full-time, he said: “Let’s not go too far.

“I’m not exactly ‘Good morning Mr Dyer’ and all that caper.”

Rex

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MALCOLM In The Middle is being revived to mark its 25th anniversary.

Cast members Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek will return to the family comedy for a four-episode run on Disney+.

The original show ran for seven series before ending in 2006.

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BEDTIME FOR IDRIS AND KYLIE

ACTION hero Idris Elba will return in his role as a sleep-time saviour for CBeebies Bedtime Story.

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Idris Elba will return in his role as a sleep-time saviour for CBeebies Bedtime Story[/caption]

He was one of the first celebrities to read a tale for the night-time slot in 2017.

Now he will lead the festive line-up, which also features Kylie Minogue.

The Aussie pop singer will appear on Christmas Day.

Other famous faces who will grace the big red chair are children’s TV favourite Justin Fletcher, comic Mo Gilligan, pop star Perrie Edwards, Happy Valley actor James Norton and wrestler Cody Rhodes.

Idris kicks things off on Saturday, when he reads Hedgehog’s Big Balloon by Nick Butterworth.

On Christmas Day, Kylie has The Australian 12 Days of Christmas by Michael Salmon – complete with 12 possums playing, 11 lizards leaping,  and a kookaburra in a gum tree.

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ROWAN ATKINSON will be back on the box with Man Vs Baby, after his success with Man Vs Bee.

The comedy great returns as stressed-out Trevor Bingley, who finds himself with another unwelcome companion.

Production has started on the four-parter which airs on Netflix next year.

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TRIBUTE TO DAVID CLASSIC

THE BBC will mark the 50th anniversary of Sir David Attenborough‘s landmark production Life On Earth with a triumphant special.

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The BBC will mark the 50th anniversary of Sir David Attenborough’s Life On Earth with a special[/caption]

The 1979 series set the template for modern natural history programmes.

The corporation’s natural history unit has already begun work on Life On Earth At 50 and is “optimistic” that Sir David, now 98, can be involved.

He no longer films on location but still narrates series, such as recent hit Asia.

A BBC source told Deadline: “Life On Earth was a pivotal series in global natural history filmmaking, so naturally the BBC will be marking this anniversary.”

Life On Earth featured the now-iconic scenes of Sir David sitting among a group of mountain gorillas.

RESUME LOTUS POSITION

SKY has announced its release date for the third series of The White Lotus, one of 2025’s the most eagerly anticipated dramas.

The first two series of the black comedy, which were released in 2021 and 2022, received huge acclaim.

Now the new eight-parter will drop on February 17 with creator, director and writer Mike White returning to take the reins.

Familiar names in the cast include Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Aimee Lou Wood.

The first outings were set in the tropical climates of Hawaii and Sicily, but the action now moves to an exclusive resort in Thailand.

KROGER has been slammed by one of its customers who claimed their return policy is not good enough.

The furious shopper took to social media site X on Friday to make the complaint, labelling the system as “painful”.

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Kroger was the victim of a social media rant on Friday[/caption]

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Shaym used X to voice is annoyances at Kroger[/caption]

The post from Shyam Sundar read: @kroger Quite painful to do returns at Kroger, Have been trying to return clothes at Frisco Custer/edlorado TX.

“They say system doesnt work / need to return at store we purchased.

“If i ask, can manager help – agent says – no use – need to fix your systems.”

Kroger responded: “Hi, Shyam Sundar! We are very sorry for any frustrations with store upon returning the item, and we would be happy to share your concerns with our Store Leadership Teams.

“Please sent us DM with store address, as well as any further feedback you wish to provide. Thank you!”

It is not known if Shyam has had his complaints properly addressed by Kroger, as the matter was likely settled in private if so.

KROGER COMPLAINTS

This is not the only time recently in which Kroger has come under fire from its customers online.

A shopper has also taken to X to rant about a poor experience with the chain, The US Sun reports.

On 5 December X user John posted: “@kroger literally I ordered groceries last night, paid for them, had them delivered today, and before delivery the price went up?

“I got charged again today because the price went up before delivery happened?

“That’s called fraud. I agreed to pay the price on my receipt.”

Kroger responded: “Hello John. We’re sorry to know about this.

“This is not the experience we want for our customers.

“Kindly call us at 1-800-576-4377 or send us a DM with your shopper’s card number, name, and email address so we can make things right.

“Looking forward to hearing from you.”

On November 29, an angry shopper took to the social media p-platform X to complain about the supermarket always being out of the items they need.

This forces them to go to other places when they are in need of a few bits.

The post read: “Every single time I go there they are always out of something I need, so I end up driving 3x as far to Walmart.

“I just ran to Kroger for two items, and they are out of both. From now on I’m just going to Walmart.”

Kroger replied: “Hi! Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

“We Suggest you sending us private message to provide you with the best assistance, Thank you. Looking forward to hearing from you.”

The customer was quick to hit back at the response, saying that it was pointless, and not completely their fault.

He wrote: “Why bother? I have been assured the issues are on the distribution side. Stores order product that doesn’t show up.”

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Kroger has faced more complaints recently from dissatisfied shoppers[/caption]

MICHAEL Strahan couldn’t stop laughing after poking fun at Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee.

The New York Giants legend made the joke during the Week 15 edition of the NFL pregame show.

During a segment, Strahan was tasked with analyzing Detroit Lions star running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

The NFL Hall of Fame pass rusher gave his analysis on how the 22-year-old scored a 70-yard touchdown against the Tennesee Titans last month.

Strahan gave his kudos to tight end Sam LaPorta and the offensive line’s blocking to help Gibbs find a hole and run for the score.

The 53-year-old then managed to playfully mock Menefee during his analysis.

“Jahmyr Gibbs is off to the races. You’re not going to catch that guy,” Strahan said.

“He’s running like Curt Menefee back in middle school baby.”

Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, and even Menefee laughed at the joke.

“You know it, right!” Strahan said and pointed to Bradshaw.

Menefee did see the joke coming a mile away.

“I saw what you were about to do,” he told Strahan.

Strahan then pointed at Menefee and burst out laughing as the rest of the cast was also in hysterics.

“They cut the video short,” he said as he shifted back to praising the Lions and their offensive line.

Strahan was in a roasting type of mood as he took a shot at Bradshaw earlier in the program.

The Pittsburgh Steelers icon runs a musical show called The Terry Bradshaw Show which is held in Branson, Missouri, and was last played earlier this month.

The show is 2 hours long and has a 15-minute intermission which will have Bradshaw joke about his journey to the NFL and post-career world.

As the Fox NFL Sunday program opened, Bradshaw joked about his show touring worldlike like Taylor Swift and had an idea to copy the name of the 14-time Grammy winner’s Eras Tour in the process.

“Actually, I’m taking the Terry Bradshaw Show on the road,” Bradshaw said.

“My tour is going to be called the Erase Tour. Just like Taylor Swift, her Eras Tour.”

However, Strahan wasn’t a fan of the idea and found a way to diss his colleague.

“Well, hers is Eras yours is Erase,” Strahan said.

“Somebody sees it and wants to erase it from their memory.”

Bradshaw didn’t like the joke and said to Strahan, “Hey now, be nice.”

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Detroit Lions star running back Jahmyr Gibbs runs for a 70-yard touchdown against the Tennessee Titans on October 27[/caption]

A MAJOR Social Security change is coming in just weeks after select recipients received their final payment of $943.

The annual update comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and affects those who benefit from one of its programs.

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Some Social Security recipients have only days before their check amounts are updated (stock image)[/caption]

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The payment increase comes due to the schedule set by the Social Security Administration (stock image)[/caption]

Around 72.5 million Americans depend on the SSA’s portfolio of programs, especially Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

SSI assists those with limited access to income and resources who have disabilities at any age or who are 65 and older.

Eligible candidates who fall into those categories must also have less than $2,000 in assets as an individual or $3,000 as a couple to benefit from SSI funds.

Money from the SSI program is sent out every month through a check or direct deposit, and the amount is updated every year through the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

The COLA is determined by the SSA in October based on inflation rates and economic trends in the United States.

A 2.5% increase was announced on October 10, 2024, for the 2025 tax year, the lowest in four years.

PAY UP

That means SSI recipients will receive an average payout amount of $967 each month in 2025, up from $943 this year.

Again, these are the averages, and amounts will vary depending on variables personal to each recipient, like income, assets, and more.

The 2.5% increase will still apply no matter what.

SSI recipients can see when they will get their monthly distributions through a schedule on the administration’s website.

A final payment of $943 already went out on November 29, Black Friday.

Typically, SSI payments are always sent out on the first day of each month.

So, why was there a distribution on the 29th?

DATE DYNAMICS

There are exceptions when a date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, making November and December complicated this year.

November 1 fell on a Friday, so there was a $943 payment then, but December 1 arrived on Sunday, making the nearest weekday November 29.

That’s because the Black Friday distribution represents funds for December.

Still, the SSA calendar shows another distribution for December 31, which is the first going out for January 2025, as the 1st is New Year’s Day — a federal holiday.

Given that it’s for next year, the COLA increase also applies, making the payment worth $967 instead of $941.

Recipients can use the calendar to make sense of other awkward dates coming up in 2025, like in February and March, given the Leap Year.

There are more recent updates from the SSA that Americans should remain aware of.

Thousands of Social Security recipients are also at risk of not getting benefits in one US state.

The SSA also issued a grim warning earlier this month about a potential “funding freeze” and “50-year low.”

A TECH expert has issued a warning to iPhone users on why you should never use a stranger’s charging cable.

Some chargers can give anyone full access to your devices, even though they look just like a regular Apple charger.

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Ryan M. Montgomery has shared a video about a dangerous iPhone hack[/caption]

0DAY/INSTAGRAM

He filmed himself plugging in an ordinary-looking charger cable[/caption]

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Tech whizz Ryan M. Montgomery posted a video for his one million followers under his 0day Instagram account.

The short video quickly racked up more than 13,000 likes.

Holding up two iPhone charging cables, Montgomery explained how data-stealing devices can be disguised to look just like the real thing.

“One of these two identical-looking chargers can cause havoc to your computer or phone,” he said.

“I’m going to plug this ordinary-looking cable into a new computer.

“With this cable plugged in, I have full access to the computer.”

Montgomery then pulled out his phone to show how he was now able to use it to access the computer.

“If I click this button, it opens up a terminal on the computer.”

He even plugged it in to prove that the data-stealing cable still worked as a regular charger.

“This is a fully-functional cable, you can still charge your phone with it,” he said.

Montgomery issued advice to any iPhone users worried about keeping their data protected.

“Never trust a cable that’s not yours and if you’re still concerned, get a USB data blocker,” he said.

“Stay safe.”

Many viewers were stunned to see the cable in action.

“We are not safe, our privacy is long gone,” one commenter wrote.

“WTF,” a second wrote. “Can we just all agree to go back to stone tablets and hammer and chisels, please?”

While a third asked if it was safest to use only “wireless charging” from now on.

In the comments section, Montgomery added that iPhone owners should use a USB data blocker to be safe.

These are small devices which prevent data from being transferred from a device while its charging.

Also known as a USB condom, they work by selectively disabling the data transfer pins in the USB cable, allowing only power to pass through.

The two-night special goes behind the scenes of the shocking new abuse allegations from season two's cliffhanger ending.

Steve Pink's TIFF crowdpleaser is heading to theaters.