Last Days of Sending Parcels Before Christmas
FedEx estimates that in the days leading up to Black Friday, they will ship 33 million packages in just one day. And while Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals mostly come and go, this isn’t the end of the shipping frenzy for companies like FedEx or UPS. UPS expects to ship 750 million packages this holiday season, or just over 30 million packages a day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. (And according to the USPS website , the busiest time of the season for the Postal Service is two weeks before Christmas – which means tomorrow.)
And if you’re procrastinating when it comes to holiday shopping, well, you should probably act sooner. Generally, the longer you wait, the more you will have to pay for last minute delivery of gifts. Below are a few important dates to keep in mind if you want your gifts to arrive for Christmas – and since this has to be said again, don’t wait another day. (We mean this.)
FedEx
Smartpost: December 9 Home delivery and ground delivery: December 16 Express Economy: December 192 Day: December 20 Standard overnight, priority overnight and first night: December 23
UPS
Earth: Dec 133 Select a day: Dec 192 Day on air: Dec 20 Next day on air: Dec 23
USPS
Retail: December 14. First Class Mail: Dec 20 (Dec 18 to Alaska, Dec 19 to Hawaii). Priority Mail: December 21 (December 19 – to Alaska and Hawaii) – Priority Mail Express: December 23 (December 21 – to Alaska and Hawaii)
Finally, keep in mind that if you are shipping overseas, you will have to set aside at least a few extra days for delivery. FedEx, for example, requires you to ship ground parcels by December 13th so that they reach our Canadian neighbors by December 25th (as opposed to the in-country deadline of December 16th).
And here’s another important thing to keep in mind: Same Day Shipping for Amazon Prime customers is free until December 24 for orders of $ 35 or more. (One-day shipping is also free until December 23rd.) However, if you want to stop using Amazon altogether, we have a few ideas .