My husband and I are planning to just take carryon to Paris. We won't have room for an extra bag stashed inside one of our carryons and I don't really want to buy more luggage to check for any purchases. Do you ever pack up sturdy purchases in a box with lots of cushioning and check it, rather than paying a store to ship it home?

Could you possibly squeeze in a nylon duffle bag? A duffle coule hold your dirty laundry, leaving your carryon for your purchases.

Just buy a cheap bag in Paris and check all the stuff you don't need and isn't likely to be stolen

Alternatively buy small things that aren't fragile

We always do carryon as well. This summer, we did a girls trip, so did a lot of shopping. We didn't have any stores ship, but instead we did it ourselves through La Poste. Very easy! You can go purchase the unfolded box and they will give you the form to fill out. The boxes we purchased were an orangy-red, the XL size which is about 8x12x18. Go back to your hotel, unfold the box, cram as much stuff in there as you can, and seal it up. The box is self sealing so you don't need any supplies. Take it back to La Poste and in about a week it will arrive at home. For the large size, shipping to the US was 38 euro. All our boxes made it home in exactly one week, except one that took almost 2 weeks. So while this does cost money, it really is easy and we didn't have any problems.

I recommend jewelry as a souvenir--there's always room in the suitcase!

Hi V,

Where you gonna get the box and the cushioning?

Good advice from missy.

Bring bubble wrap with you.

Well ira as mms suggests you can get the box and packing from the post office. Downside of that is that customs may want their share of the goodies when you post them home. Maybe you should post your dirty washing back to yourself instead of your shiny new purchases.
Or buy a cheap bag in Paris and stuff it with your dirties to check on the way home, probably a cheaper solution than posting the stuff.

Supermarkets carry mailing supplies. Bring printed addresses. Use paper towels or TP to pad breakables. Fill empty space with folded cardboard. Consider mailing as gifts.

Wine shops will have boxes. You can wrap with your dirty clothing as well. I have done this from various places and it always worked well. Note that I had a very difficult time finding bubble wrap last Spring in Paris..but I did have a good amount which I brought from home to pack wine. You can ev en bring a roll of packing tape and a magic marker.