Early does it, is the message from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEX and UPS, if you want your holiday gifts and cards arriving on time for Christmas.
“Timing is everything, especially when it comes to shipping holiday items,” said the Postal Service in a statement.
They noted that the busiest time of the season for the USPS begins two weeks before Christmas, the Postal Service issued deadline dates for the holiday surge and urged customers to ship early for targeted arrive-by dates.
It’s expected that customer traffic at all Post Office locations will steadily increase during the holidays, according to a statement released by the company.
The week of Dec. 12 is anticipated to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week of the season.
Whether shopping and shipping online or by in-store purchases, the key to getting ahead of the holiday surge is getting your packages, cards and gifts to your preferred shipping location as soon as you can.
Here are the major deadlines for the USPS, FedEx and UPS:
US Postal Service*
Dec. 17 — USPS retail ground serviceDec. 17 — First-class mail service (including greeting cards)Dec. 17 — First-class packagesDec. 19 — Priority Mail Dec. 22 — Priority Mail Express
*International and military deadlines are earlier; see the USPS website here, for a complete list.
FedEx
December 12: Ground & freight economyDecember 14: Ground & home deliveryDecember 20: Express SaverDecember 21: 2Day & 2Day-AMDecember 22: Overnight servicesDecember 23: Same-day services
For more options including international dates, see the full FedEx list here.
UPS
December 20: 3-Day SelectDecember 21: 2nd day air servicesDecember 22: Next-day air servicesFor ground shipping, UPS recommends checking the website for a quote.
For the full chart of UPS options, including international shipping, click here.
Dates noted are for domestic service only. Service hours may vary for Alaska and Hawaii in all cases.
Visit each site for international deadlines and service hours during the holidays.
