With an increase in early and online shopping for gifts, there is no longer a "busiest day" for holiday shipping, the U.S. Postal Service said in a news release last week.
Instead, the USPS predicts this week to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week, with nearly 3 billion pieces of first class mail, including greeting cards, likely to be processed and delivered.
In addition, the Postal Service is projecting about 15 billion pieces of mail, including 900 million packages, will be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.
Using correct addressing, packaging gifts well and mailing by recommended deadline dates can help ensure holiday wishes are received by loved-ones by Dec. 25.
To meet the holiday deadline, the Postal Service set the following deadlines:
- Thursday for first class packages (up to 15.99 ounces), first class mail (including greeting cards) and priority mail.
- Saturday for priority mail express.
Even then, with the mail volumes, not all deliveries are guaranteed to be made before Christmas Day.
Additional news and information can be found at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom: usps.com/holidaynews.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.