Here are the deadlines for shipping your Christmas cards, presents
Mail those Christmas cards and gifts soon. The deadlines are approaching.
Need to ship holiday gifts or letters? It’s coming down to the wire.
The deadline to get your packages to the U.S. Postal Service for domestic ground-delivery service by Christmas is Thursday, Dec. 15.
Here are the other U.S. Postal Service deadlines for delivery before Christmas:
▪ Dec. 20: First-Class Mail — service for standard-sized, single-piece envelopes and small packages weighing up to 13 ounces with domestic delivery in three business days or less.
▪ Dec. 21: Priority Mail — Domestic service in one, two or three business days based on where the package is mailed and where it’s being sent, variety of flat-rate options.
▪ Dec. 23: Priority Mail Express — Guaranteed overnight scheduled delivery to most U.S. locations. (Some restrictions and exceptions apply.)
Learn more about the United States Postal Service at usps.com. Learn more about the deadlines here.
FedEx deadlines:
▪ Dec. 16: Ground and home delivery
▪ Dec. 20: Express Saver
▪ Dec. 21: 2-Day and 2-Day a.m.
▪ Dec. 22: First Overnight, Priority Overnight and Standard Overnight
▪ Dec. 23: SameDay City (Standard)
▪ Dec. 25: SameDay and SameDay City (Priority)
Learn more at fedex.com/us/holiday/last-days-to-ship.html.
United Parcel Service (UPS)
▪ Dec. 19: UPS 3 Day Select (delivery by Friday, Dec. 23)
▪ Dec. 21: UPS 2nd Day Air (delivery by Friday, Dec. 23)
▪ Dec. 22: UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air (2nd Day Air must use Saturday Delivery option for delivery on Dec. 24)
▪ Dec. 23: UPS Next Day Air (Must use Saturday delivery option)
Learn more about ups.com deadlines here and in this press release.
Other shipping notes
▪ Free Shipping Day is Friday, Dec. 16. More than 1,000 retailers are participating and often the free shipping is offered on all orders (no minimum purchase). Learn more at FreeShippingDay.com. Target, Walmart and Barnes and Noble are among the larger retailers participating.
▪ The fine folks at BestBlackFriday.com, a holiday shopping advice website, have put together a list of ordering deadlines to ensure Christmas delivery for many major companies such as Amazon and Walmart. See a list here.
For instance, to get free shipping from Amazon.com on orders of $49 or more, you must order by Dec. 16. For standard delivery, order by Dec. 19. (Prime members have more options.)
▪ One final tip: Shop locally for those gifts that don’t need to be mailed, and you won’t have to worry about shipping deadlines.
This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Here are the deadlines for shipping your Christmas cards, presents."