It’s that time of year. Address the Christmas cards and get the packages ready.
The U.S. Postal Service is gearing up to deliver 15 billion pieces of mail and 900 million packages this month.
We can remember from years past that each year the Postal Service would let us know what the busiest day of the year would be. That doesn’t happen anymore. Online shopping has changed things, as has the variety of options available online through the post office that prevents you from having to actually having to go wait in line. “USPS.com. Visit us there. You can do almost 80% of your transactions online and you don’t even have to visit the post office,” says Nikki Johnson at Houston’s USPS office.
A new feature this year is “Informed Delivery.” You sign up online and can get a digital image of the mail coming to your mailbox before it gets there.
Also new this year are Sparkling Santa Forever stamps, a collection of 1940’s paintings of Santa from old Coca-Cola advertisements.
From the USPS website, these are their shipping deadlines:
2018 Holiday Shipping DeadlinesThe Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines*:
Dec. 4 – 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
Dec. 14 – USPS Retail Ground
Dec. 18 – APO/FPO/DPO (except ZIP Code 093) USPS Priority Mail Express
Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail (including greeting cards)
Dec. 20 – First-class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
Dec. 20 – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
Dec. 20 – Priority Mail
Dec. 20 – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
Dec. 22 – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail Express
Dec. 22 – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail Express
Dec. 22 – Priority Mail Express
*Not a guarantee, unless otherwise noted. Dates are for estimated delivery before December 25. Actual delivery date may vary depending on origin, destination, Post Office acceptance date and time and other conditions. Some restrictions apply. For Priority Mail Express shipments mailed December 22 through December 25, the money-back guarantee applies only if the shipment was not delivered, or delivery was not attempted, within two (2) business days.