Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2017: Make Sure Gifts Arrive On Time

To make sure your cards and packages arrive on the doorstep of family and friends ahead of Christmas, it's not too soon to get your items to the post office. So start thinking about your gift list and specifically how you plan to get your holiday gifts from here to there. The U.S. Postal Service, UPS and FedEx have all released their recommended shipping dates for the 2017 holiday season, as well as some helpful tips to make the holidays a little less hectic.

For holiday procrastinators, the very last day to mail a first class greeting card is Dec. 19. For serious procrastinators, you can hold off another day by using Priority Mail and three more days if you choose Priority Express. Of course they are costlier options.
The Postal Service expects to deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail this holiday season and 850 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. That's up 10 percent from last year so think early if you want your packages and cards to arrive on time.

Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days
With an increase in early and online shopping for gifts, there is no longer a "busiest day" for holiday shipping. Instead, the Postal Service's busiest time is now two weeks before Christmas. Starting the week of Dec. 11, customer traffic is expected to increase, with the week of Dec. 18 - 24 predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week. During this week, nearly 3 billion pieces of First Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered. The Postal Service also expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages per week during these two weeks.

Skip the Trip and Ship Online
While there may not be a busiest day for shipping this year, the Postal Service anticipates that Dec. 18 will be the Postal Service's busiest day online with more than 7 million customers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping that special holiday gift. Millions of customers will skip the trip to the Post Office altogether and use online shipping this holiday season. Click-N-Ship and other online services allow customers to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup from the mail carrier. And usps.com is always open.

The Postal Service will expand its Sunday delivery operations in locations with high package volumes after Thanksgiving, beginning on Nov. 26. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities and anticipates delivering more than six million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations.

Here are the 2017 holiday season recommended Postal Service mailing and shipping deadlines:

• Dec. 11 APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail & First Class Mail
• Dec. 14 USPS Retail Ground
• Dec. 15 Hawaii to Mainland Priority Mail & amp; First-Class Mail
• Dec. 16 APO/FPO/DPO USPS Priority Mail Express
• Dec. 16 First Class Packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
• Dec. 19 First Class Mail (including greeting cards)
• Dec. 20 Priority Mail
• Dec. 20 Hawaii to Mainland Priority Mail Express
• Dec. 20 Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail & First-Class Mail
• Dec. 21 Alaska to Mainland Priority Mail Express
• Dec. 22 Priority Mail Express

FedEx
Here are your last days to ship with FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery so your shipments arrive on or before Monday, Dec. 25:
Because Christmas Eve falls on Sunday this year, the company has made some changes the week of Christmas:

• FedEx Express and FedEx Ground will not be delivering on Sunday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) or Monday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day).
• FedEx Office locations will close by 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve).

Last Days to Ship:

• These FedEx Express services will deliver on Saturday, Dec. 23: FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx 2Day. A $16 Saturday delivery fee will apply per package.
• FedEx Ground will not deliver on Saturday, Dec. 23. Check out the FedEx Ground Service Maps to determine the day-definite transit time of FedEx Ground shipments.
• With FedEx SameDay service and some expedited services, you can ship on Christmas Day. FedEx SameDay is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for most urgent shipments.
• You can find the delivery time and FedEx delivery choices for your U.S. and international shipments by using the Get Rates & Transit Times application at fedex.com.

UPS
Here are the UPS deadlines to ship to make sure your packages arrive by Christmas:

Christmas Delivery

Monday, Dec. 18: Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS 3 Day Select service for delivery before Christmas Day with delivery on Friday, Dec. 22.
Tuesday, Dec. 19: Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 3 Day Select shipments picked up today will be scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
Wednesday, Dec. 20: Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air packages for delivery before Christmas Day (delivery on Friday, Dec. 22).
Thursday, Dec. 21: Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 2nd Day Air service is available for delivery before Christmas Day (delivery on Saturday, Dec. 23). Packages must be processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery, which is not available to all ZIP codes. All UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Friday, Dec. 22.
Friday, Dec. 22: Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS Next Day Air packages to be delivered before Christmas Day (delivery on Saturday, Dec. 23). Packages must be processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery, which is not available to all ZIP codes.
Saturday, Dec. 23: Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery. Pickup and delivery of UPS Ground on Saturday packages will be available in many metro area ZIP codes.
Sunday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve: No UPS pickup or delivery service. UPS Express Critical service available.
Monday, Dec. 25, Christmas (UPS Holiday): No UPS pickup or delivery service. UPS Express Critical service available.
Tuesday, Dec. 26: Normal pickup and delivery service resumes. UPS 3 Day Select packages picked up today will be delivered on Friday, Dec. 29.

Finding The Right Box
"Choose a box with enough room for cushioning material around the contents. Sturdy paperboard or corrugated fiberboard boxes are best for weights up to 10 pounds. If you are reusing a box, totally remove or obliterate all previous labels and markings with heavy black marker," according to the Postal Service.
Most Post Offices sell boxes and tubes in multiple sizes. Some Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail boxes are available free at the Post Office for items using either of these services. While you are not required to use the free packaging, you must use the USPS-produced address label provided by the Post Office for Priority Mail Express. To order Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail boxes at no extra charge, call 800-222-1811 or visit www.usps.com/store.

Cushioning
Place the cushioning all around your item or items. You can use newspaper, "foam peanuts," or shredded paper. Close and shake the box to see if you have enough cushioning. If you hear items shifting, postal officials suggest adding more cushioning.
Another pro tip is to place an extra address label with the delivery and return addresses inside the package in case the outside label becomes damaged or falls off.

Mailing Fragile Items
Mark your packages "Fragile" if they can break. Mark food items as "Perishable."

Mailing Heavy Items
If you are mailing a very heavy or dense item, postal officials suggest using a sturdy box. Pack the contents securely with a strong material for bracing to prevent shifting and tape all the edges with reinforced tape. Packages heavier than 70 pounds cannot be mailed, according to postal officials.

Sealing
Postal officials suggest taping the opening of your box and reinforcing all seams with 2-inch-wide tape. "Use clear or brown packaging tape, reinforced packing tape, or paper tape," officials said. "Do not use cord, string, twine, masking or cellophane tape. Place a strip of clear packaging tape over your label to prevent the address from smearing."

Return Address
Remember to print or type your address in the upper left corner on the same side of the package as the delivery address.

Extra Services
"Place labels for extra services above the delivery address and to the right of the return address, or to the left of the delivery address," according to postal officials.

Postage
You can use stamps, a postage meter or a PC Postage system to apply the correct postage. You can also calculate and purchase postage online at www.usps.com.

Delivery Address
"Print or type the delivery address parallel to the longest side of the package," postal officials advised. "Type or print clearly with a pen or permanent marker so that your address is legible from an arm's length away. Do not use commas or periods."

Confirmation Services
Labels for USPS Tracking or signature confirmation should be placed to the left of the address label.

City, State and ZIP Code
To find the correct spelling of a city name and state abbreviation or to find a ZIP Code visit www.usps.com or call 800·ASK·USPS. Using the correct ZIP Code helps direct your mail more efficiently and accurately.

Drop Off
If your mail item weighs 13 ounces or less, and you have used correct postage, you can save time by mailing it in one the blue collection boxes that your parents still refer to as mailboxes. If your item weighs more than 13 ounces, and you have affixed postage stamps, you must take it to an employee at the retail counter of a Post Office.

Article by Paul Scicchitano and Deb Belt (Patch Staff); photo from the US Postal Service