USPS: If you want your holiday gifts to arrive on time, here’s by when you should ship
Thanksgiving and Black Friday are kicking off next week — marking the official beginning of the holiday season and, depending on how you celebrate, you may be gearing up to buy gifts.
It's no secret that the "most wonderful time of the year" is also the busiest — especially for retailers and shipping companies such as the United States Postal Service .
During the holiday season, the USPS increases its daily processing capacity from 60 million to 88 million parcels a day and hires 14,000 seasonal employees to help with the uptick in shipping demands.
Every year, the USPS issues guidelines on when you should send your holiday mail if you want it to arrive on time.
While that list comes with special deadlines, the simplest rule of thumb is "The earlier you send, the better," USPS advises.
If you're shipping holiday cards and gifts for Hanukkah — which is celebrated from Dec. 14 to Dec. 22, Christmas on Dec. 25, or Kwanzaa from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 — the USPS recommends sending your parcels on or before the following dates for an arrival time before Dec. 25:
For contiguous U.S., lower 48 states
| Domestic Mail Class |
Date, excluding Alaska and Hawaii |
|---|---|
| USPS Ground Advantage |
Dec. 17 |
| First Class Mail |
Dec. 17 |
| Priority Mail |
Dec. 18 |
| Priority Mail Express |
Dec. 20 |
For Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories
| USPS Ground Advantage |
First Class Mail |
Priority Mail |
Priority Mail Express |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 16 |
Dec. 17 |
Dec. 18 |
Dec. 20 |
For international mail
| Destination |
First Class Package International |
Priority Mail International |
Priority Mail Express International |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Asia/Pacific Rim |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Australia/New Zealand |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Canada |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Caribbean |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Central and South America |
Dec. 2 |
Dec. 2 |
Dec. 16 |
| Europe |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Mexico |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
| Middle East |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 9 |
Dec. 16 |
More Business News
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
