US – Christmas is only weeks away, I know you are feeling the pressure, but make sure you get those cards and presents in before this date or your packages and cards will arrive late.
WHile a lot of people do their shopping early they delay shipping and that could be stressful. Here are the dates you need to ship by to get it to its location before Christmas.
Christmas this year is on a Sunday so, that’s not a usual day for shipping.
United States Postal Service
These are the USPS’ recommended “send-by” dates to ensure a gift is delivered in the lower 48 states by Christmas Day:
- Retail ground — Dec. 17
- First-class mail — Dec. 17
- Priority mail — Dec. 19
- Priority mail express — Dec. 23
For Alaska:
- Retail ground — Dec. 2
- First-class mail — Dec. 17
- Priority mail — Dec. 17
- Priority mail express — Dec. 21
For Hawaii:
- Retail ground — N/A
- First-class mail — Dec. 17
- Priority mail — Dec. 17
- Priority mail express — Dec. 21
You can find the USPS send-by dates for international mail and military mail here, and the hours for post office locations during the days around Christmas and the New Year here.
UPS
These are the UPS’ recommended send-by dates to ensure a gift is delivered before Christmas:
- Ground shipping — Use this calculator
- Three-Day Select — Dec. 20
- Second-day air — Dec. 21
- Next-day air — Dec. 22
Information on shipping to other countries and the services available on the days around Christmas and the New Year here
FedEx
These are FedEx’s recommended send-by dates to ensure delivery by Christmas Day.
- Ground economy — Dec. 8
- Ground contiguous, Alaska and Hawaii — Dec. 14
- Express Saver — Dec. 20
- Express 2Day — Dec. 21
- Express SameDay — Dec. 23
Information on freight shipping and shipping to other countries here
