People are running out of time to have gifts shipped in time for Christmas, with at least one deadline arriving as early as this weekend.
Saturday is the last day you can have something shipped by the U.S. Postal Service in time for the holiday. The Postal Service’s first-class or Ground Advantage mail service will get items to their destination by Dec. 23, USPS spokesman Mark Lawrence said. There is no mail delivery Dec. 24 or 25.
Wednesday (Dec. 20) is the Christmas-delivery deadline for using Priority mail, Lawrence said. The Priority Express deadline is Dec. 21.
“With Christmas coming — and Christmas Eve over a weekend — it’s going to sneak up a little more than anticipated,” Lawrence said. “We’re urging people to mail early. Get it done with. Have a little time before the family comes in.”
Other services offer a little more time.
The deadline for Christmas delivery through UPS 3 Day Select is Tuesday (Dec. 19), spokeswoman Regina Dalton told TribLive.
Two-day UPS shipments need to be made by Dec. 20 to hit the Christmas deadline, Dalton said. UPS’ next-day option runs through Dec. 21. UPS will not make deliveries on Christmas, according to its website.
There might be a bit of Christmas-delivery loophole, though, for people who like to test the limit.
Dalton said late shoppers could ship via next-day mail on Dec. 22 and still have gifts arrive by Dec. 23. There would be an additional fee for a Saturday delivery.
“But that’s not what we’re encouraging people to do,” she said. “We’re encouraging everyone to ship early and often. It’ll be better for their budget.”
Really feel like pushing your luck? DHL Express, using its Same Day delivery service, delivers shipments 365 days a year, including on Christmas.
It guarantees Christmas Day delivery up until Dec. 24, according to its website.
“To meet your shipping deadlines and ensure your gifts arrive on time during the holiday season, we recommend scheduling your deliveries with DHL Express to arrive a day before a public holiday,” the company said on its website.
DHL did not respond to requests for comment.
Deadlines at FedEx are similar to those of UPS.
To ensure delivery on or before Christmas Eve, a FedEx 3-Day Freight package must be mailed by Dec. 19, according to its website. Late shoppers can mail via FedEx SameDay until the end of the day Dec. 22.
The holiday season is the busiest time of year for those in the mailing and shipping industries.
In 2022, the U.S. Postal service accepted more than 13.2 billion pieces of mail and packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas — 2.8 billion of them the week after Thanksgiving alone, the agency announced on its website.
As of Friday afternoon, USPS had accepted about 8.5 billion pieces of mail and packages so far this holiday season.
On its busiest days of the holiday season, UPS will be handling more than 30 million deliveries a day, Dalton said.
Work for those in the industry won’t end after the holiday arrives.
“Then,” Dalton said, “we get into the returns.”
