Road safety regulations mean you’re going to need to plan for presents and passengers (as well as that all-important in-drive entertainment).

As an expert on rotating oddly shaped blocks into impossible spaces, DanV has some initial advice:

In Tetris, Dan says, “the ‘O piece’ can be the perfect piece to start out with”. And when it comes to festive packing, the O-block (or square to you and me) basically comes down to those big, bulky items we need to find a space for.

Think suitcases, the biggest presents, and anything that “typically comes in a ‘box’ shape.”

“O pieces have a reputation as a piece you’d rather not have, as it always seems to come at the wrong time,” notes Dan. And this wisdom goes double for packing – you’ll be trading festive cheer for a Christmassy sigh if you think you’ve finally finished arranging your car, only to notice a chunky, weighty present that now needs to precariously perch atop your valuables.

Dan says larger items, just like the O-block, “provide a good foundation for you to start stacking other items on top of.” Just be careful with breakables though!  

So, those larger items can create a foundation to fit your festive gifts, gear, and gadgets around. But that’s the easy part. When the other pieces start falling, that’s when the game truly begins.

In complete contrast to bulky blocks, more complicated or ‘spiky’ items prove harder to find a ‘simple’ place for.

Dan notes that “in the almost 40 years of Tetris’ existence, there’s always been fierce debate on which is ‘the worst possible piece.’”

For DanV, there’s one that really puts the coal in his stocking: the dreaded ‘T-Piece’.

“…the T-piece is one of the trickiest blocks to deal with. If you don’t know what to do with a T-piece, you’ll most likely find yourself in trouble.”

DanV says it's the iconic Christmas tree that best represents the T-Piece in Tetris, and if you’ve ever had to lug a yuletide spruce or fir any kind of distance, you’ll probably agree too.

Luckily, you can cheat trunk-Tetris a little bit with a touch of festive ingenuity.

If you’re finding yourself struggling to fit other tricky things in, changing the way in which your gifts are packaged is a great idea. Disassembling a large gift or packing toys into a more reasonably shaped box means you’re not completely at the mercy of the shapes you’re given.

Once the larger and more difficult items have been stowed, it’s time to slot in the smaller stuff.

Our Tetris Expert suggests that“smaller items can either go in the backseat, or be squeezed into any gaps boxes may have left behind, to ensure you use up as much space as possible.”

Towards the end of a Tetris game, fitting blocks into ever tighter spaces on the board becomes more and more important. Thankfully, if you put a block in badly in real-life, you can always try a new angle.

More compact festive items you might want to bring include:

• Lighter presents
• Candles
• Wreathes
• Decorations
• Christmas crackers
• Books

Think about those things that aren’t quite fragile enough to need looking after, but could still be damaged if slung on the bottom without a thought.

Leaving blankets, slippers, pyjamas and all other soft, fluffy, and comfy things to last is a sound strategy to achieving a packing high score. In Tetris, the S and Z-blocks are wildcards – able to fit on the board in unexpected ways, with a bit creativity.

Keeping soft, flexible items in reserve lets you stop bigger items from sliding around and can protect your other items. With some clever arrangement, you can pack a lot without taking up too much useable space.

If your passengers are needing a festive nap though, you may want to ensure pillows and blankets are close-to-hand – we’re sure Santa and his ever-busy elves would be jealous.

Don’t leave your passengers out in the cold. Mostly, because Christmas is all about friends and family. But also, because they can be incredibly useful for transporting fragile items.

Asking people to supervise a breakable gift – or spillable trifle – while you drive, may make the difference between triumph and disaster.