WASHINGTON — Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, and holiday gifts will be in the mail soon. This year, the U.S. Postal Service has tips to make sure that your items get to the destination all in one piece.

U.S. Postal Service Consumer Advocate John Budzynski says people should know what can’t go in the mail.

“Aerosols, nail polish, perfumes, dry ice. All of those things are prohibited from being mailed,” Budzynski says.

Lithium batteries can’t be packed either, he adds.

If a package breaks open or an address label comes off or the address ink runs making it illegible, the package will be sent to the Mail Recovery Center. When it gets there, employees can open the package.

People should put the package’s destination and return address inside the box for this reason, Budzynski says.

“They have the authorization to look inside those boxes and when they find those return addresses or mailing addresses inside, they’re able to get the package back to the right people,” he says.

Also, Budzynski says, no ZIP code on a package is better than the wrong ZIP code.

“It can really delay the mail getting to its final destination.”

WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.