THE United States Postal Service (USPS) is warning millions of shoppers of its deadlines for mailing this holiday season.
With less than 100 days until Christmas, shoppers need to be mindful of the day they order and mail out gifts to have them in time to put under the tree.
Along with these deadlines, the USPS also unveiled new stamps for the holiday season[/caption]
“During the holiday season, customers should always plan to mail and ship packages early to ensure arrival by Dec. 25,” the postal service advised.
The USPS revealed it took an average of 2.5 days to deliver packages and mail during the 2022 holiday season.
If shipping with USPS Ground Advantage service or First-Class Mail to the lower 48 states, your package must be shipped by December 17 to arrive by Christmas.
Priority Mail has a cut off date of December 18 and Priority Mail Express should be mailed out no later than December 20.
For Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, USPS ground service has a deadline of December 16.
Similarly, First-Class mail to those areas should be mailed by December 17 and Priority Mail Express by December 20.
USPS added that December 18 is the deadline for Priority Mail to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.
Consumers looking to save on shipping costs should consider using Ground Advantage with prices starting at $6.80. The longer you wait, the more necessary it may be to use Priority Mail Express which has prices from $31.40.
The postal service also revealed the deadlines for sending mail internationally.
Shipping to Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean have cut off dates of December 9.
The absolute latest a package can be shipped to these locations is December 16 with the Priority Mail Express International Service.
Mailing to Central and South America with First-Class Package International Service and Priority Mail International Service faces an earlier deadline of December 2.
Central and South America also have a December 16 cut off for Priority Mail Express International Service.
The 2025 shipping dates for military mail were also shared. If using USPS Ground Advantage, packages should be shipped out no later than November 4. First-Class and Priority Mail deadlines are December 9 and Priority Mail Express has a cut off of December 16.
NEW STAMPS
Along with these deadlines, the USPS also unveiled new stamps for the holiday season and announced Operation Santa is now up and running.
Four stamp designs were revealed on September 13. The designs include a pear, pomegranate and clementine against an evergreen tree branch, a wreath, two cardinals on a mistletoe branch and three scarlet amaryllis flowers tied with a red bow.
USPS kicked off its Operation Santa, inviting children nationwide to write and send letters to Santa Claus for the 113th year. People can then adopt letters and find gifts to “help make holiday wishes come true.”
USPS issued a deadline of December 6 for letters to be postmarked so that they are eligible for adoption and fulfillment.
Delivery dates are not always guaranteed, so consumers worried about missing the deadlines could consider in-store pickup or digital gift options.
Four changes needed at USPS
THE head of the US Postal Service issued an urgent warning about changes needed at the agency. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy laid out four big challenges in a letter to Congress in March:
- Retail Leases: DeJoy asked for help reviewing nearly 31,000 retail centers and the challenges of renewing leases due to ownership consolidation, urban development, and rising rental rates as long-term leases expire.
- Counterfeit Postage Crackdown: DeJoy highlighted USPS is combating an estimated $1 billion issue with counterfeit postage and called for “additional innovative solutions” to tackle the problem.
- Federal Law: DeJoy stated unfunded congressional mandates imposed by legislation are costing USPS between $6 billion and $11 billion annually.
- Regulations: DeJoy criticized “burdensome regulatory requirements” that limit USPS’s ability to operate normally, estimating that the Postal Regulatory Commission has caused over $50 billion in damage with defective pricing models.
Source: AXIOS
GIFT GIVING
Some digital gift options include gift cards, e-books and subscriptions to various services like fragrances, snack boxes and flowers.
Gift givers planning to send loved ones money can opt for money transferring apps like Zelle, PayPal, Venmo and Cash App if they miss deadlines to mail a check.
Some more gifts include purchasing custom digital art prints from websites like Etsy, which can be downloaded and printed at a later date.
Another digital alternative could be an online cooking or bartending class.
