The U.S. Postal Service has announced its holiday shipping deadlines as we approach a holiday season like none in our lifetime.
Delivering cards and gifts through the mail may be more important than ever this year because many people will refrain from visiting loved ones to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Postal Service says you can you rely on them to deliver your parcels to family and friends, whether they’re overseas, across the country or just on the other side of town.
USPS officials recommend the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery by Christmas Day to domestic addresses and Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office addresses:
- Nov. 6 — APO/FPO/DPO (all ZIP Codes) USPS Retail Ground service
- Dec. 9 — APO/FPO/DPO (ZIP Code 093 only) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
- Dec. 11 — APO/FPO/DPO (all other ZIP Codes) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail services
- Dec. 15 — USPS Retail Ground service
- Dec. 18 — APO/FPO/DPO (except ZIP Code 093) USPS Priority Mail Express service
- Dec. 18 — First-Class Mail service (including greeting cards)
- Dec. 18 — First-class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
- Dec. 19 — Priority Mail service
- Dec. 23 — Priority Mail Express* service
USPS also suggests skipping the trip to your post office and using their online tools to ship your items.
The Postal Service anticipates Dec. 14 will be its busiest day online with more than 13 million consumers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping things. Officials estimate nearly 500,000 consumers will use their Click-N-Ship feature and other online services on that day to order Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day package pickup.
The Postal Service has offered these tips for a successful holiday mailing and shipping season:
- Use free Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes. They are available at local Post Offices or online at usps.com/freeboxes.
- Make it easy with Click-N-Ship. You can create shipping labels and pay for postage online at usps.com/ship.
- Schedule a free Package Pickup when the carrier delivers your mail. It’s free regardless of the number of packages. Or, pickups can be scheduled at usps.com/pickup.
- Mail and packages that weigh more than 10 ounces and/or are more than a half-inch thick using stamps as postage cannot be dropped into a collection box or left for a carrier to pick up. Instead, take them to a window clerk at a Post Office.
