elp for those swamped with Christmas packages to wrap, pack and ship may be here.

No, Santa has not set up an annexe to his North Pole outfit right here in Hamilton ? but you might say that Steve Thompson has.

Mr. Thompson, president of Mailboxes Unlimited, said in the run-up to Christmas, he and some 16 staff members have been inundated with a rush of Christmas packages pouring in ? both coming in from overseas (largely through the company's US Express service) and being shipped out.

During most of the year, Mr. Thompson said Mailboxes handles about 75 to 100 shipments a day but at the moment business has increased to between 200 and 250 packages a day.

The jump was attributed to a strong marketing campaign, Mr. Thompson said.

As for critics who say services like US Express, and rival operation ZipX ? both of which facilitate shipments into the Island from overseas ? Mr. Thompson says he still sees it as 'buying Bermuda' because people who use the service are contributing to the jobs of his 16 staff.

As for those needing help with Christmas packages, Mr. Thompson said all customers need to do is drop off their items with the names and addresses of recipients and the value of the shipment for insurance purposes. Mailboxes staff then wrap, package and ship them out.

And it is not too late, with Mr. Thompson saying they will take packages for shipping overseas through couriers DHL or FedEx right up to December 21.

Mailboxes ? which has been operating for about five years and has grown its client base to about 3,000 customers ? operates in three locations; two in Hamilton and one in Paget which includes a subsidiary dry cleaning operation. Mr. Thompson said the Par-la-Ville location is their "main packing hub".

He boasted that Mailboxes was a one-shop stop for sending documents and packages up to 150 lbs., based on their ability to send items by surface mail, air mail or through courier services DHL or FedEx.

What may be little known, Mr. Thompson said, is that it can actually prove cheaper to ship some items by courier than by air mail.

He said that was the case for packages up to the 20-lb. range. To demonstrate this fact, Mr. Thompson showed that a 22 lb. package shipped to Canada by air mail would run you $132.60 while it could go DHL for $129.88.

Rival shipping company International Bonded Couriers and affiliate ZipX were also reported recently in the Bermuda Sun as saying business was up about 20 percent for this time of year.