When is the last day to send parcels for Christmas? Here are the delivery deadlines you can’t miss

On By Littum

We are a little over a week away from some of them the biggest holidays of the year, have you sent your packages yet?

We are entering the busiest part of the year for postal workers and delivery companies. And if you want to make sure that your loved ones get that card or package before Christmas or the first day of Hanukkah or Kwanza, you only have a few days to send packages to get there, and even then it can be a tight squeeze.

“Thanks to the significant progress we’ve made under the Delivering for America plan, we’re ready and confident to handle the holiday surge,” USPS Chief Retail and Delivery Officer and Executive Vice President Dr. Joshua Colin said in a statement. “Our ability to move packages and mail through our network has never been stronger. USPS remains the most affordable and reliable way to send packages and mail this holiday season and year-round.”

In anticipation of the holiday rush this year, the Postal Service hired 7,500 seasonal employees to help.

And they’re not the only ones with extra hands on deck to ensure packages reach their destinations ahead of the holidays.

If you want your packages to reach their destination on time, this is when they should be postmarked.

When is the last day to send packages USPS to get there before Christmas?

You have two days left to send packages to the 48 states of the United States if you do not want to pay any additional fees. This is where you need to get packages to the United States Postal Service so they are delivered by December 25th.

  • USPS Ground Advantage service (2-5 working days): 18 Dec

  • First class postal service (1–5 business days): December 18

  • Priority Mail service (1-3 working days): 19 Dec

  • Priority Mail Express service (1-2 day delivery): 21 Dec

The recommended USPS holiday mail and shipping dates in 2024 for items shipped to addresses in Alaska and Hawaii:

  • USPS Ground Advantage service: December 16

  • First class postal service: December 18

  • Priority Mail service: 19 Dec

  • Priority Mail Express Service: December 20

FedEx shipping dates for holidays

Do you ship via FedEx? To get your packages to their destination on or before Tuesday, December 24th, your time to ship items is a little shorter. Here are the dates when the items will be shipped.

  • FedEx Home Delivery 5-Day Shipping: Tuesday 17 Dec

  • FedEx Home Delivery 4-Day Shipping: Wednesday 18 Dec

  • FedEx Home Delivery 2-to-3-Day Shipping: Friday 20 Dec

  • FedEx Home Delivery 1-Day Shipping: Monday 23 Dec

  • FedEx Overnight: Monday 23 Dec

  • FedEx same day: Tuesday 24 Dec

  • FedEx Ground Economy: Friday 13 Dec

  • FedEx Ground 5-Day Shipping: Tuesday 17 Dec

  • FedEx Ground 4-Day Shipping: Wednesday 18 Dec

  • FedEx Ground 3-Day Shipping: Thursday 19 Dec

Find out more about shipping dates and prices for the different shipping options can be calculated fedex.com.

UPS holiday schedule 2024

Are you going with UPS? Here’s when things will ship domestically for December 24th delivery:

Is the post office open on Christmas Day, December 25? New Year’s Day, January 1, 2005?

Post offices throughout the United States are closed Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, and also New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

USA TODAY contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on the Nashville Tennessean: When should I send packages to arrive by Christmas? Here’s when